Emilia Marty, the protagonist of Leos Janácek's bewitching opera The Makropulos Case, is a diva's diva, a soprano who remains vocally potent, sexually magnetic, and outrageously narcissistic even 300 years after drinking an elixir of longevity. And who better to sing the role at the Metropolitan Opera than Karita Mattila, Emilia's younger but equally overpowering colleague. The rhythms of Czech speech permeate this opera, and the conductor Jirí Belohlávek brings a native speaker's ear and authentic expertise to this revival.
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