Tune in on Saturday, July 11 at 1 p.m. to hear Leoš Janáček’s The Makropulos Affair. Janáček drafted The Makropulos Affair after watching Karel Čapek’s play of the same name at the National Theatre in Prague in 1922. Although it had a successful premiere in 1926, The Makropulos Affair remains infrequently staged. WRTI will carry this 2025 broadcast by the Royal Opera as a part of the WFMT Opera Series.
The Makropulos Affair centers around Emilia Marty, a famous opera singer who consumed a life elixir and has been living under various identities for 300 years. The elixir is wearing off, so Emilia involves herself in the heated Gregor v. Prus estate dispute in an attempt to recover the recipe and extend her immortality.
This production features soprano Aušrinė Stundytė as Emilia, the 300 year old woman. Tenor Sean Panikkar and bass-baritone Johan Reuter are Albert Gregor and Baron Jaroslav Prus, the two parties in the estate dispute, and bass-baritone Henry Waddington is Dr. Kolenatý, Gregor’s lawyer. Tenor Peter Hoare is Vitek, Dr. Kolenatý’s solicitor. Tenor Daniel Matoušek is Janek, tenor Alan Oke is Count Hauk-Šendorf, and soprano Heather Engebretson is Kristina. Jakub Hrůša conducts the Chorus & Orchestra of The Royal Opera.
Cast:
Aušrinė Stundytė as Emilia Marty
Sean Panikkar as Albert Gregor
Johan Reuter as Baron Jaroslav Prus
Henry Waddington as Dr. Kolenatý
Peter Hoare as Vitek
Daniel Matoušek as Janek
Alan Oke as Count Hauk-Šendorf
Heather Engebretson as Kristina
Jakub Hrůša conducts the Chorus & Orchestra of The Royal Opera.