Tenderness and Hatred in Music and Vision 20 febbraio 2017

Tenderness and Hatred

Janácek's 'Kát'a Kabanová' in Turin
impresses GIUSEPPE PENNISI

Finally, and fortunately, one of Leoš Janáček's last four masterpieces, Kát'a Kabanová, reached Turin for the first time, more than a century after its first performance in Prague. But the opera moves from the banks of the Volga River to those of the Po River in splendid conditions. It is part of a cycle conceived almost fifteen years ago at the Opera Vlaanderen of Antwerp and Ghent with the same team for dramaturgy and staging. Robert Carsen is the director, the stage sets and the costumes are by Patrik Kinmonth, lighting by Peter van Praet and choreography by Philippe Giraudeau. This method provides unity in the interpretation of Janáček's dramatic and musical world. Turin's Teatro Regio has programmed to stage the full cycle over six seasons. It started last year with The Cunning Little Vixen. This year it's the turn of Kát'a Kabanová [seen 15 February 2017 — the opening night]. The other operas will follow. Teatro Regio does not have exclusive rights to the Janáček-Carsen cycle. The Kát'a Kabanová production was seen and heard at La Scala some ten years ago. Jenůfa was shown last year in Palermo ('An Engrossing Premiere', 27 October 2016) and The Makropoulos Case in Venice in the Spring of 2013 ('A Real Thriller', 25 March 2013).

From left to right, Lena Belkina as Varvara, Štefan Margita as Tochon, Andrea Dankova as Kát'a and Rebecca de Pont Davies as Kabanicha in Janáček's 'Kát'a Kabanová' at Teatro Regio Torino. Photo © 2017 Ramella & Giannese. Click on the image for higher resolution

Kát'a Kabanová initiated the great final period of Janáček's career. With the confidence gained by the success of Jenůfa in Prague in 1916, he proceeded to crown his career with the composition of his four final operas. Of these Kát'a Kabanová is the most conventional as far as the libretto is concerned: the hatred of a mother-in-law for the innocent, pure and religious wife of her impotent son, a sentimental (but not sexual) affair between Kát'a and a village fellow named Boris, the pressures on Kát'a who eventually, in a very stormy day, throws herself into the Volga River. Rainfall, water ponds and floods are always present in the three acts and six scenes (for a total of ninety minutes). The tension is extreme with the exception of Kát'a and Boris' walk along the river bank.

Andrea Dankova as Kát'a and Misha Didyk as Boris in Janáček's 'Kát'a Kabanová' at Teatro Regio Torino. Photo © 2017 Ramella & Giannese. Click on the image for higher resolution

However, Kát'a Kabanová is also the most tender of Janáček's operas. In a sense, it is autobiographical as it reflects his love for Kamila Stösslová, a young woman thirty-eight years his junior.

Andrea Dankova as Kát'a and Lena Belkina as Varvara in Janáček's 'Kát'a Kabanová' at Teatro Regio Torino. Photo © 2017 Ramella & Giannese. Click on the image for higher resolution

The blend between tenderness and hatred is well depicted in the acting and setting of this engrossing production. The orchestra is conducted by Marco Angius, normally a conductor of contemporary music: he emphasized Janáček's modernity with his careful work on the words and on the music, with his kaleidoscope of short themes, and with his arioso. The excellent protagonists were mostly from Eastern Europe because the libretto is in the Moravian language and each word must be fully understood and molded perfectly with the music. Kát'a Kabanová is Andrea Dankova, Štefan Margita her husband, Rebecca de Pont Davies her mother-in-law, and Misha Didyk is Boris.

A scene from Act III of Janáček's 'Kát'a Kabanová' at Teatro Regio Torino. Photo © 2017 Ramella & Giannese. Click on the image for higher resolution

The audience was enthralled.

Copyright © 20 February 2017 Giuseppe Pennisi,
Rome, Italy