The greatest operatic soprano in the world, with an irresistible beauty, who is 300 years old, preserved by an occult elixir – that is some role. If the thought of playing this was intimidating, there is no indication of that in Orla Boylan’s superb performance as Emilia Marty / Ellian MacGregor / Eugenia Montez / Elina Makropulos. Emilia is rude, selfish, mocking and dismissive. Yet Boylan manages a delicious balance between these aspects while providing an attractive sense of rascally humour, with occasional flashes of physical weakness; features which reinforce the impact of the final denouement. Boylan provides a level of acting and singing that is appropriately supernatural.
A showcase of talent
This Scottish Opera production of Janáček’s The Makropulos Affair is a showcase of talent. Another highly successful co-production, this time with Welsh National Opera, it brings to Scotland the direction of the acclaimed Olivia Fuchs, the ingenious and felicitous sets by Nicola Turner, lighting by Robbie Butler and video by Sam Sharpes. It combines these elements with Scottish Opera's accomplished Orchestra conducted by Martyn Brabbins (making his company debut) and a new cast (with the exception of Mark Le Brocq, who also sang the role of Vivek for WNO).
The cast sings in English with a clarity that makes the surtitles largely redundant. Each cast member brings something special. Le Brocq not only aces the comedy in the first act but also, in tandem with Catriona Hewitson playing the novice opera-singer Kristina, brings a wonderful sense of a father-daughter relationship. Hewitson's expressive singing and characterisation bring a moral center to the action, which, with the exception of Vivek, is largely dominated by men behaving like spoilt children
Roland Wood perfectly captures the entitled, bullying Baron Prus, pushing the role as far as possible while avoiding pantomime villain territory. Due to the indisposition of Ryan Capozzo, Thorbjørn Gulbrandsøy took the major part of Albert Gregor with a fine performance, although he sometimes lacked the high standard of enunciation. Henry Waddington’s Dr Kolenatý is perhaps underused. Michael Lafferty plays Baron Prus’s son with a mixture of irritating soppiness and Succession-style daddy issues, while the aged lecher, Count Hauk-Šendorf, is played by Alasdair Elliott with a suitable sense of comedy and selfishness.
Janáček's libretto stays faithful to the source play by Karel Čapek. So be warned, if you are not aware: there are no arias in this opera. However, be assured, this is no loss, as Janáček constantly provides a musical flow of interest and charm. His work is a model of marrying the music of the words (in David Pountney's masterly translation of the libretto) with the music of the orchestra.
Is The Makropulos Affair a feminist tale – Emilia’s character shaped by the cruelties she endured in her youth? Or a comedy about a person who has reached the age where they don’t care what other people think? Or a tragedy about the awful tedium of living too long? A night at the opera with comedy, tragedy, music, and something to think about.
