The Opera Tattler

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Opening of Věc Makropulos at the Met

Met-makropulos-act-3-2012* Notes *
A revival of Elijah Moshinsky's 1996 The Makropulos Case opened last night in New York. The performance marked the Met role debut of Karita Mattila (pictured left in Act III, photograph by Cory Weaver/Metropolitan Opera) as Emilia Marty. Mattila is somehow completely convincing as Marty, her voice is otherworldly and icily perfect. Since I was reading the piano score, I did notice that Mattila may have come in at the wrong time twice in Act I. This hardly mattered, and it was almost difficult to focus on the other singers, as Mattila is so compelling. The rest of the cast all seemed fine, only occasionally overwhelmed by the orchestra. Conducted by Jiří Bělohlávek, the musicians in the pit played powerfully and with a beautiful transparency.

* Tattling * 
The few people that sat in the Family Circle Boxes were silent. I was told by my friends on the orchestra level that snoring and flatulence were noted.

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4 responses to “Opening of Věc Makropulos at the Met”

  1. Daniel Avatar
    Daniel

    I heard the performance from the orchestra level, house right. From there, the orchestra sounded a bit wan, but that may have much to do with the acoustics of the house. I also could not understand one vowel as sung by Ms. Mattila. Yes, the voice was lovely, but without the supertitles I wouldn’t have understood anything. That’s a shame.

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  2. sfmike Avatar
    sfmike

    How did the Moshinsky production stack up to the one done with Mattila at the San Francisco Opera? From that single publicity shot, it looks like Emilia Marty has morphed into Carrie at the Prom.

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  3. The Opera Tattler Avatar
    The Opera Tattler

    Good point. Yes, even with the score it was hard to tell what words Mattila was saying, and I had to rely on the notes to know where I was.

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  4. The Opera Tattler Avatar
    The Opera Tattler

    I could not see the production, and plan to watch it next time. I will be sure to write about it soon.

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