Prom 45: The Makropulos Affair Mattila/ BBC SO/Bělohlávek, Royal Albert Hall, review: ‘Karita Mattila triumphed again’

‘The Makropulos Affair’ is the last of Janáček’s trilogy of operas exploring different aspects of womanhood

Cara Chanteau
Monday 22 August 2016 15:32 BST
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Soprano Karita Mattila bounds through a range of emotions, resplendent in red
Soprano Karita Mattila bounds through a range of emotions, resplendent in red

Finnish Karita Mattila, reigning queen of Janáček dramatic sopranos, triumphed again last night, this time as Emilia Marty, the mysterious, compelling, cold-hearted 337-year-old protagonist at the heart of The Makropulos Affair, the last of Janáček’s trilogy of operas exploring different aspects of womanhood.

Again surrounded by Czech singers as she was for her stunning Kostelnička in Jenůfa in April, and paired again with Czech conductor Jiří Bělohlávek, with whom she scored a notable success in this at the Met, Mattila resplendent in red was by turns imperious, scornful, dismissive, flirtatious, vulnerable and ultimately despairing: the very embodiment of one who has seen it all before, burdened with the awful realisation that a life without limit is vitiated of meaning. It was a masterclass of vocal characterisation, turning on a sixpence.

Strong performances, too, from the surrounding men in thrall to her, notably Svatopluk Sem as the cynical Prus, a fine high tenor from Aleš Briscein as Gegor, and a lovely comic turn from Jan Ježek, her semi-senile admirer Hauk-Šendorf. Bělohlávek with the BBC Symphony Orchestra brilliantly negotiated the complex score in all its Janáčekian lyricism, wide-lying textures and organically developing motifs.

But a heartfelt plea to the BBC – trying to follow a fast-moving, very wordy libretto in an unfamiliar language in near darkness, while constantly switching focus between the page and stage, inevitably detracts from the immersive experience. Surtitles please.

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