Customer Reviews

Leos Janacek: Vec Makropulos (The Makropulos Case) / Lachian Dances

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This is fine recording of this rarely performed opera. Soderstrom specialized in Janacek and her performance is excellent. I think this opera contains some of Janacek's best music. In my experience, few are indifferent about Janacek; either its enthusiasm or disdain. For those who are enthusiastic, this recording is a fine investment.

Somatic immortality -- never-ending bodily life -- is not all it's cracked up to be. So learns Emilia Marty, an opera star dying in Prague in 1912. She was born Elina Makropulos, on Crete, in 1575, and became the victim of a life-extension experiment carried out by her father, a doctor, at the behest of his boss, Emperor Rudolph II.

Changing her name once a generation, but always with the initials E.M., and always beautiful, she has seduced countless men, broken countless hearts, and shriveled up inside. Having at last recovered her father's formula, she gives it up, saying to the mortals around her: "Fools, you are so blissful, just because you are going to die! You believe in humanity, in greatness, in love! There's nothing more you could wish for!" So she too finally dies, with the Greek version of the Our Father on her lips.

Elisabeth Soderstrom was one of the great sopranos of the 20th century. In her native Sweden she was one of those rare opera stars who becomes a pop culture heroine as well (not unlike Beverly Sills in the U.S.) Emilia Marty/Elina Makropulos was her favorite role. But she had a wide repertory, and also recorded most of the other major Janacek heroines, again under the baton of Sir Charles Mackerras, who did more than any other conductor to popularize Janacek outside of Czechoslovakia.

Learn this opera, and start with this recording.

En esta maravillosa ópera, Leos Janacek mustra su lenguaje más duro y disonante concebido hasta entonces mostrando el camino hacia el que se dirigía al componer posteriormente Desde la casa de los Muertos. Como Kata Kavanova el Caso Makropulos esta lleno de profunda pasión, con alguna de la música más conmovedora que jamás escribió y alguna de la música más grande del siglo XX. Nuevamente encontramos la colaboración de la Filarmónica de Viena y de Sir Charles Mackerras, con una interpretación a la altura de las demás que han hecho de Janacek para Decca. Es una grabación remasterizada (fue lanzada en LP en 1979) pero con un sonido inconfundible de Decca. El preludio es maravilloso, una obra maestra de orquestación que nos da una introducción a la clase de música que vamos a escuchar a continuación. Elisabeth Soderstrom muestra nuevamente su afinidad a esta música, canta conmovedoramente y el resto de reparto es bastante sólido. Makropulos es la octava y penúltima ópera de Janacek, basada en una obra del escritor checo Karel Capek, producida en Praga de 1922, año en el que se desarrolla también la trama, contando la historia de una mujer llamada Elina Makropulos que cuenta con 337 años de edad, llamada a lo largo de su vida con diferentes nombres, todos iniciando con E. El "Caso" se refiere al secreto de su longevidad. En fin, a todos los interesados en la música de este gran compositor, esta ópera es altamente recomendable e indispensable en cualquier colección de Opera.

The series of Janacek operas under Sir Charles Mackerras is without doubt one of the most valuable recording projects of the 20th century. The success or failure of The Makropulos Affair depends to a large extent on the performance of the title role, of course, and let it be immediately clear that Elisabeth Söderström's performance is a stunning success. She manages to create a character whose complexity and depth is almost unrivalled, wizened but elegant, determined and sensitive and with a marvelous range of nuances in the interaction with the characters surrounding here. In addition, the singing is technically superb and beautiful.

Fortunately those other characters are almost as superbly cast; thus, we get a splendid, even touching, Hauk-Sendorf from Beno Blachut and a powerful Prus from Vaclav Zitek, for instance; but as with the other Mackerras sets, there really is no weak link at all here. And the orchestral contributions under Mackerras himself are of course fabulous, sharply characterized, rhythmically pungent and wonderfully nuanced. Full texts and a splendid companion essay are included, and the sound is superb; vibrant, spacious and detailed.

As a bonus, we get a vivid performance of the Lachian Dances - but a performance with a slightly dark undercurrent (no drawback). In sum, then, this is another real classic in this unmissable series, urgently recommended.

An excellent performance all around. Soderstrom and cast in excellent voice conducted by a specialist. First introduced to Janacek by the Sinfonietta, one finds all the elements that distinguish his music as his own and thus pervades the music of his operas so one may discern a sameness but I think one could say the same of several operas by Strauss, a result of a music theater that discards separate arias, ensembles etc. and emphasises sung through drama. Barely a dissonant note, very easy to listen to.

I have listened to 2 other Janacek operas: Mackerras' Katya Kabanova (the 2nd version) and Haitink's Jenufa. Vec Makropulos sounds almost exactly like those other two. Elizabeth Soderstrom is particularly good. If you just love Janacek's operas then you'll probably love Vec Makropulos. But if your not quite that enthusiastic about them then skip this one because like I said it sounds pretty much like his others.