English National Opera
2nd June 2006
The ENO might have abandoned their plams for a Monteverdi cycle, but one composer who will be appearing in at least two consecutive seasons is Janacek: The Makropulos Case this season; Jenufa next, and I’m hoping my favourite Janacek opera (the title of which I’m sure you can guess) will follow.
If operas were classed in the same way as TV programmes, The Makropulos Case would be described as a psychological drama. Emilia Marty is certainly not someone you’d want to meet on a dark night. Cheryl Barker communicated both the intruguing and terrifying sides of the character, and also gave the character a great vulnerability. She did not neglect the character’s attractive features either. It’s easy to understand why practically every man in the opera – plus Kristina – is in love with her. It was a fascinating, yet utterly terrifying performance – just how Emilia Marty ought to be.
If no-one else in the cast measured up to Barker, this is hardly their fault: they don’t have anything like the material she has to work with. Thomas Walker made a very strong impression as the chronically tongue-tied Janek, singing sweetly whilst looking as though he wanted to run and hide, and Elena Xanthoudakis was memorable as the dreadful Kristina. Sadly, it’s probably impossible to perform this role well without making the audience cringe. The role of Hauk-Sendorf was performed rather charmingly by Graham Clark. (But I did think the strait-jacket was unnecessary.)
The three singers in the tiny roles of the Cleaning Woman, Stage Technician and Chambermaid were also excellent. Kathleen Wilkinson and Graeme Danby, as the Cleaning Woman and Stage Technician, had a brilliant comic partnership: it was a shame that their scene was so short because I’d have liked to watch them all night. Danby was also notable for having the best diction in the evening (though, on the whole, it was good by ENO’s standards), despite singing in a non-conventional accent. Chorus member Susanna Tudor-Thomas was delightful in the role of the gossip-loving Chambermaid, also proving herself skilled in the very difficult task of staying onstage with nothing to do – remaining involved with the action, but never quite upstaging anybody.
As for the rest, the singing was consistently excellent throughout the evening, but there was still one small problem. It’s quite possibly a problem that most members of the audience did not experience, but, as someone who likes to know what’s going on at all times, onstage and off, I found it rather annoying that it was not only extremely difficult to follow the ins and outs of the plot, it was also difficult to remember who was who, and whose side they were on. Dr Kolenaty (Neal Davies), John Wegner (Jaroslav Prus), John Graham-Hall (Vitek) and Robert Brubaker (Albert Gregor) looked so similar, I kept getting them mixed up.
The set was full of chairs and blackboards. It was all effectively spooky, but rather distracting. Probably part of the reason I couldn’t follow the plot was because I was too busy counting the chairs (twenty-three, I believe), and reading what was on the blackboard. (but failing to make any sense of it). But it was still a riveting performance. It’s disturbing and, at times, frustrating, but it’s never boring. And if you only go to the opera for the music, you’ll probably like it even more.
Cunning Little Vixen
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