This Glyndebourne production,
directed by Nikolaus Lehnhoff, designed
by Tobias Hoheisel and conducted by
Andrew Davis, made a terrific impact
when it was first staged, and it is
wonderful to have it on DVD. The whole
thing centres on Anja Silja’s performance
as the enigmatic opera singer Emilia
Marty. Although a purist might wish
to see a younger woman in the role,
she is magnetically powerful. Her reading
carries the authority and depth that
can only be acquired by years of familiarity
with the music and drama.
This is very much an
‘indoors’ opera, much of the action
taking place in the unpromising surroundings
of solicitors’ offices or hotel bedrooms.
But that gives the whole thing greater
realism, a total absence of the Romantic
trappings of 19th century
opera. Apart from Silja’s great portrayal
of the central character, there are
fine performances from Kim Begley as
Albert Gregor and Manuela Kriscak as
Kristina, to name but two. There are
also nice cameos for such perennial
favourites as Robert Tear, who is excellent
as poor mad Hauk, and Susan Gorton as
Marty’s maid.
The playing by the
LPO under Davis is very fine, as one
is aware from
the very beginning of the overture,
in which typical Janáček motoric
rhythms alternate with moments of impassioned
lyricism. The eye is allowed to wander
around the office of solicitor Kolenatý,
taking in the piles of documents, but
also, more significantly the
row upon row of luggage with the initials
E.M. for Emilia Marty. This lady has
been around a bit, we surmise, and how
very right we prove to be! The obsessive
two note phrases in brass and timpani
become a wake-up call for the dozing
legal clerk Vítek – as the orchestra
cuts off, the alarm clock on his desk
goes off – the production is full of
touches like that, witty but significant
brush-strokes which enliven the whole
thing.
There is humour and
pathos in the ridiculous posturing of
Marty’s former lover Hauk, now demented,
as well as darker moments, of which
the most chilling is Marty’s cold, inhuman
reaction at the news of the suicide
of Janek, Prus’s son. It all moves inexorably
towards the stunning final scene, when
the ailing Marty offers the young and
beautiful Kristina the Makropulos formula
for a life lasting three hundred years.
Kristina, though, takes the document
and sets it alight, and the charred
pieces of paper float around aimlessly
through the strident closing bars of
orchestral music.
This is opera at its
best, exploring the often uncomfortable
interface between intellect and intuition,
between emotion and cold realism. The
production of this great piece of music-theatre
to DVD has been overseen with conspicuous
success by Brian Large. It is of course
taken from live performance(s), so that
there are some small glitches in the
orchestral playing, and some mildly
untidy ensemble here and there. The
worst drawback is that singers inevitably
move off-mike from time to time. But
none of this is serious enough to detract
from what is a memorable dramatic and
musical experience.
Gwyn Parry-Jones
The Glyndebourne Chorus 
WARNER
MUSIC VIDEO 0630-14016-2 [95:00] 