PracticalFor her début at la Monnaie, the German mezzo-soprano Renée Morloc puts on the chilling appearance of Marfa Kabanova (Kabanicha), Kat’a’s mother-in-law. The Austrian alto Natascha Petrinski is another well-known name on la Monnaie’s stage. She plays here Varvara, Kat’a’s sister-in-law. The Canadian tenor Gordon Giets is making his début at la Monnaie in the role of Vana Kudrjas. The Austrian baritone Georg Nigl plays the role of Kuligin, the mezzo-soprano Emma Sarkisyan and the Belgian mezzo-soprano Mireille Cappelle respectively Glasa and Feklusa The two domestic employees, Blanka Modra the role of Grunja.
PERFORMANCES 26 & 30 October 2010 - 20:00 28 October 2010 - 20:00 – Gala 2, 4, 5, 9 & 12 November - 2010 20:00 7 & 14 November - 2010 15:00 MEET THE ARTISTS Saturday 23 October 2010 at 16:00 in the Grand Foyer of La Monnaie INFO & TICKETS + 32 70 233 939 www.lamonnaie.be Box office open since 11/09/2010 PRICE Performances : from € 10 to € 108 Meet the Artists : € 5 RADIOBROADCAST Musiq'3, 21 November 2010 Klara, 06 November 2010
Kat’a Kabanova opened the most prolific period in the life of Leos Janacek, who had at last met success with his opera Jenufa, presented five years earlier. The opera tells the story of a young woman’ secret passion, in a claustrophobic ambiance. In the oppressive atmosphere of a small provincial town, Kat’a is rocked between adultery, remorse and suicide. More than with anybody else, intolerance – the true leading thread of the season, already explored in Yvonne – is evident in the cold impassiveness of the respectable but insensitive mother-in-law. Janacek himself wrote the libretto, which he drew from The Storm, a play by the Russian writer Alexander Ostrovsky who was mainly active during the realistic period of Russian literature. Janacek perceived the great force of the work and its ardent pathos, which suited him well. As always, he probed the heart of the drama and managed to concentrate the original text into a powerful psychological tragedy of less than two hours. The text and music are perfectly functional and entirely devoted to the development of the drama. Nothing is superfluous, everything is focused to the extreme, to the point of giving up any local colour, which gives the opera its peculiar character and emotive power with which the spectator is confronted. The work was widely inspired by the composer’s passion for Kamilla Stösslova, a married young woman whom he met in 1917 and was the Muse of his last twelve years. To Kamilla, who was never to return his love, he wrote about Kat’a Kabanova : “I know that it’s your work.”
After his sensational debut at la Monnaie in Le Grand Macabre, we will meet again, with great pleasure, the conductor Leo Hussein at the rostrum of the Symphonic Orchestra of la Monnaie: The young Englishman invests all his ardour and vigour for us to decipher the secrets and subtle refinements of the score. For the first time, the audience of la Monnaie will discover the world of the German producer Andrea Breth (1952-), who, albeit a long time friend of our opera house, has never managed until now to work with us. The soprano Evelyn Herlitzius is making her début in the title role of Kat’a. The German singer made her début at la Monnaie in Elektra (Strauss) in 2010, and her performance at the time fascinated the audience and critics alike. In the role of Tichon Kabanov, Kat’a’s husband and Kabanicha’s son, we will meet again John Graham-Hall, who was an unforgettable and magnificent Gustav von Aschenbach in the new la Monnaie production of Death in Venice, in January 2009. Kurt Streit is back in Brussels to play Boris Grigorjevic, Kat’a’s lover. The bass Pavlo Hunka who made his début at la Monnaie in Nekrotzar (Le Grand Macabre) in 2009, plays Savjol Dikoj, the domineering uncle of Boris.
Leos Janacek
Soprano Evelyn Herlitzius
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