Welsh National Opera’s Autumn 2022 Season features The Makropulos Affairby Czech composer Leoš Janáček. A rarely performed whirlwind of mystery, seduction and turmoil, our brand-new production has received fantastic five-star reviews but our relationship with the Czech composer goes back many years to the 1970’s.
Janáček’s operas were more of a rarity in operatic circles in the mid-20th century, following the composer’s death in 1928 and as the long-lasting effects of World War II still wracked Europe. The introduction of Sir David Pountney to Welsh National Opera as director of the Janáček Cycle, which lasted between 1975 – 1982 helped introduce a host of opera goers to the Czech operas across the United Kingdom. This original Janáček Cycle from Welsh National Opera consisted of performances of five operas: Jenůfa, The Makropulos Case, The Cunning Little Vixen, Kátya Kabanová and From the House of the Dead.
Following the completion of this Cycle, Welsh National Opera appointed Charles Mackerras as Music Director. Mackerras had a long history with WNO, having been associated with the Company for over 30 years, and had long been a prominent supporter of Janáček’s work throughout his career in the United Kingdom.
Tomáš Hanus, WNO Music DirectorThese two artists, and others have created a fantastic Janáček tradition in the UK and particularly here in Wales
Tomáš Hanus was appointed WNO Music Director in 2016. The experienced conductor from the Czech Republic has a long-held passion for the works of Leoš Janáček. Hanus grew up on the very street where Janáček worked in Brno and was awarded the Leoš Janáček Memorial Medal for his services to the music of the Moravian conductor. A vocal supporter of Janáček’s operas, and the depth and intensity of the drama they contain, Hanus took the helm of our latest Janáček Cycle, which began in 2019 with a production of The Cunning Little Vixen.
The Cycle continued during our Spring 2022 Season with Katie Mitchell’s acclaimed production of his heartbreaking Jenůfa. The jarring tale of life, and familial tension in a small Moravian village was received well by audiences and critics alike, with standout performances by Eliška Weissová and Elizabeth Llewelyn. This opera set the scene for our latest Janáček opera, The Makropulos Affair, which tours this Season as part of our Autumn 2022 Season, and can still be seen in Southampton and Oxford.
Welsh National Opera was invited to perform The Makropulos Affair in Janáček’s hometown at the Janáček Brno Festival in November 2022, and you can watch WNO Orchestra performing the Overture to The Makropulos Affair here.