Makropoulos, Feature for DLR

The introduction of surtitles has led to an increased repertory at many opera houses. The ability of audiences to read translations from foreign languages during a performance has given new popularity to works that previously could only be heard in weak translations, or not at all. One of these operas is "The Makropoulos Case," a work that is not even mentioned in some older opera guides. On the other hand, this opera written by Leos Janacek is one of the most multi-faceted works. Besides being an opera, it is a detective story, a comedy, and a horror story, as the character of an attractive diva turns out to be a ghost. Her main victim is Gregor Albert, who is both her adorer and her alleged great grandson. His moods are subject to extreme swings, therefore the role requires a singer with great talents as an actor. One of the stongest characters in the present opera world is singing the role in today's live broadcast from the Metropolitan Opera. His name is Graham Clark, he is from England, and he started his career in a very uncommon way, as Georg Hirsch reports.

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