Watch Nikolaus Lehnhoff's 1995 Glyndebourne Festival production of Janáček's darkly metaphorical 1926 opera The Makropoulos Case, featuring the London Philharmonic Orchestra under the baton of Andrew Davis, and starring Anja Silja, Kim Begley, Victor Braun, Andrew Shore, and others.
Janáček's penultimate opera The Makropoulos Case takes a highly original look at the age-old question of what would happen if humans could live forever. In Nikolaus Lehnhoff's 1995 production—described by The Guardian as "one of Glyndebourne's most memorable events of the last decade"—the so-called Callas of the German repertory Anja Silja presents an arresting portrayal of a certain 337-year-old diva, Emilia Marty, alias Elina Makropulos. The excellent Kim Begley (Albert Gregor), Victor Braun (Baron Prus), and Andrew Shore (Dr. Kolenatý) head up the rest of the stellar cast, and conductor Andrew Davis' generous conducting brings vitality and character to Janáček's highly chromatic and frenetic music.
Photo: Anja Silja as Emilia Marty © Donald Cooper
