Simon Rattle leads concert performances of Janáček's The Makropulos Affair

Sir Simon Rattle led two concert performances of Leoš Janáček’s The Makropulos Affair at the Barbican Hall, and the review called his first-night account “simply sensational”. The critic noted that Rattle plunged at almost manic speed into the opera’s prelude and barely let up for the best part of two hours as the work played without an interval.

Although that fierce tension sometimes came at the expense of lighter touches heard in Jakub Hrůša’s recent Covent Garden account, Janáček’s orchestral detail — exemplified by the bassoon solo that announces the central character’s first appearance — was preserved, and the London Symphony Orchestra “played thrillingly”.

The German soprano Marlis Petersen was praised for a commanding performance as Emilia Marty, the alchemically young diva, showing emotional intelligence and vocal grandeur. The review singled out several sharply drawn supporting roles, many sung by native Czechs: Aleš Briscein (Albert Gregor), Vít Nosek (Janek), Jan Martiník (Kolenaty), Svatopluk Sem (Baron Prus), Doubravka Novotná (Krista), with Peter Hoare as Vitek and Alan Oke as Count Hauk‑Šendorf.

Key Topics

Culture, Simon Rattle, London Symphony Orchestra, Barbican Hall, Marlis Petersen, Leoš Janáček