The best of best productions! Almost perfect! Perfect performance in every area!”
– El Norte de Castilla

Having recently travelled to Madrid, I couldn’t pass up the chance to showcase this upcoming screening at Vancity Theatre.

Katia Kabanova

Teatro Real’s much-awaited production of Katia Kabanova, featuring Finnish soprano sensation Karita Mattila, is universally acclaimed by critics as a perfect piece of opera. The production dazzles due to the stunning beauty of Canadian Robert Carsen’s theatrical production, his magical direction, and a bold stage design. And it’s coming to the Vancity Theatre on April 22 and 23.

The action takes place on a huge expanse of water, filled with the reflections of graceful images shaped by exquisite lighting. The cast is dominated by the remarkable Karita Mattila as Janacek, a doomed dreamer who finds both excitement and crushing torment in a torrid affair with a stranger. Her performance is unforgettable: once experienced, it is difficult to imagine the opera without her. Gifted conductor Jiri Belohlavek provides musical direction while Madrid’s Teatro Real Orchestra gives one of its best performances ever.

Katia Kabanova

Katia Kabanova premiered in Brno (Czech Republic) in November, 1921.

According to Wikipedia, “Káťa Kabanová (also known in various spellings including Katia, Katja, Katya, and Kabanowa) is an opera in three acts, with music by Leoš Janáček to a libretto by Vincenc Červinka, based on The Storm, a play by Alexander Ostrovsky. The opera was also largely inspired by Janáček’s love for Kamila Stösslová. This is often considered his first “mature” opera, despite the fact that he was 67 when it was premiered. Káťa Kabanová is a clear response to Janáček’s feelings for Kamila, and the work is dedicated to her.

The opera has had a complex publication history. František Neumann, the conductor of the opera’s first performance, made changes that were incorporated into the 1922 Universal Edition, the first publication of the score. Conductor Václav Talich later produced a “re-orchestrated” version of the score. In 1992, Sir Charles Mackerras published a critical edition of the opera.

Katia Kabanova
Dates: Sunday, April 22, 2:30 pm; Monday, April 23, 6:30 pm
Venue: Vancity Theatre, 1181 Seymour Street, Vancouver
Click here for information and tickets

All photos courtesy of Javier del Real.

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