The Concert

A 300-year-old woman confronts mortality, identity and lost love in this concert performance of Janáček’s intense operatic drama.

The Music

The Makropoulos Affair contains some of Janáček’s most compelling music, starting with its Prelude that hints at the 16th-century birth year of Emilia Marty, complete with pounding timpani and fanfares. From there, Janáček spins a taut drama culminating in a heartbreaking scene as Emilia finally confesses to her identity.

The Performers

This is the fourth Janáček opera performed by Sir Simon Rattle and the London Symphony Orchestra. This year’s cast is as exceptional as ever, with soprano Marlis Petersen as the emotionally complex Emilia, and tenor Aleš Briscein – a veteran of Janáček’s distinctive musical style – as Albert Gregor, the young lawyer enamoured with Emilia.

I’ve always thought that Janáček was the composer to take people to in the opera house who have never seen an opera, but who love theatre.
Sir Simon Rattle