The prestigious German stage director, Christof Loy is behind a new production of the intense score by Leoš Janácek. This performance in Czech with subtitles in English and Spanish can be seen at the Teatro Real on 13, 16, 19, 22, 25 and 28 February and 3 and 5 March.
The production is conducted by Gustavo Gimeno at the helm of the Resident Orchestra of the Teatro Real with a cast led by Mané Galoyan, Bogdan Volkov, Christa Mayer and Matthew Newlin, among other major performers.
The opera is set in a small and remote Russian village on the shores of River Volga, where moral strictness and social pressure shape every aspect of daily life. Katia, a sensitive and tormented woman who feels trapped in a loveless marriage to Tijon, a weak man under the iron-fist authority of his mother, Kabanija, lives in this stifling environment. Unable to find any freedom in a society dominated by conventions and appearances, the main character dreams of escaping from a place that she feels to be a prison sentence.
The opportunity to break out of this emotional prison arises when Tijon goes away temporarily on a business trip. In his absence, Katia succumbs to the pent-up passion she feels for Boris, a young man who loves her from afar. However, the clandestine relationship is abruptly cut short by her husband’s return during a violent storm, an episode that Janácek turns into a sound reflection of the main character’s inner conflict. Unable to bear the weight of her guilt, Katia confesses her infidelity and flees.
Katia is reunited with Boris, but discovers that he is also about to leave. Although she begs him to take her with him, she understands for a brief moment that there is no longer any place for hope. Devastated by him leaving and the impossibility of finding redemption, she throws herself into the waters of the River Volga before the desperate gaze of Tijon, whose mother stops him from rescuing her. The tragic end turns Katia Kabanová into a devastating portrait of oppression, desire and human fragility.
Artistic File:
- Conductor - Gustavo Gimeno
- Stage Director - Christof Loy
- Stage Design - Etienne Pluss
- Wardrobe - Robbie Duiveman
- Lighting - Fabrice Lebour
- Choirmaster - José Luis Basso
- Orchestra - Teatro Real Resident Orchestra and Choir
Cast:
- Dikoi - Peter Kálmán
- Boris - Matthew Newlin
- Kabanija - Christa Mayer
- Tijon - Michael Laurenz
- Katia - Mané Galoyan
- Kudriash - Bogdan Volkov
- Varvara - Jana Kurucová
- Kuliguin - Manel Esteve
- Glasha - Laura Vila
- Feklusha - Laura Orueta
Programme:
- Opera in Three Acts
- Music by Leoš Janácek (1854-1928)
- Libretto by Leoš Janácek, based on The Storm (1860) by Aleksandr Nikolaevich Ostrovsky
- New production by the Teatro Real, in co-production with the Teatro alla Scala of Milan and the Houston Grand Opera
- Premièred at the Teatro Lírico in Milan on 17 November 1898
- Premièred at the Teatro Real on 25 March 1917
Language: Czech with English and Spanish subtitles
