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Opera Matinee: Janacek's Fate

Janacek's opera Fate, in an idiomatic performance recorded in 2018 at the National Moravian-Silesian Theatre.

Fate, written in 1904, is the strangest of Leo拧 闯补苍谩膷别办鈥檚 peculiar operas. The relationship of the main character, composer 沤ivn媒, with M铆la V谩lkov谩 ends with a tragedy caused by M铆la鈥檚 insane mother. 沤ivn媒 also becomes a character in his own opera, whose third act remains in God鈥檚 hands. Everything is shrouded in mysterious shadows of the past, while the future is lit by lightning, which 沤ivn媒 calls down on himself and his destiny - his Fate

Presented by Kate Molleson

2.00pm
闯补苍谩膷别办
Fate, opera in three acts
Martin 艩rejma, tenor - 沤ivn媒, a composer
Veronika Holbov谩, soprano - M铆la Valkov谩
Petra Alvarez 艩imkov谩, soprano - Mila麓s mother
Tom谩拧 Ko艡铆nek, tenor - Doctor Suda
Jakub Kettner, baritone - Lhotsk媒, a painter
Luk谩拧 Ba艡谩k, baritone - Verva/Kone膷n媒
National Moravian-Silesian Theatre Chorus & Orchestra
Jakub Klecker, conductor

3.20pm
Antheil
Symphony no.4
大象传媒 Philharmonic
John Storgards, conductor

4.05pm
Prokofiev
Symphony no.6
大象传媒 Philharmonic
Jac van Steen, conductor

3 hours

Music Played

  • Leos 闯补苍谩膷别办

    Osud [Fate] - Act 1

    Ensemble: National Moravian-Silesian Theatre Chorus & Orchestra. Conductor: Jakub Klecker.
  • Leos 闯补苍谩膷别办

    Osud [Fate] - Act 2

    Ensemble: National Moravian-Silesian Theatre Chorus & Orchestra. Conductor: Jakub Klecker.
  • Leos 闯补苍谩膷别办

    Osud [Fate] - Act 3

    Ensemble: National Moravian-Silesian Theatre Chorus & Orchestra. Conductor: Jakub Klecker.
  • George Antheil

    Symphony no. 4

    Orchestra: 大象传媒 Philharmonic. Conductor: John Storg氓rds.
  • Anton Webern

    (Bach) Fuga (Ricercata) a 6 voci, orch. [from 'Musikalisches Opfer', BWV.1079]

    Orchestra: 大象传媒 Philharmonic. Conductor: John Storg氓rds.
  • Sergey Prokofiev

    Symphony no. 6 in E flat minor Op.111

    Orchestra: 大象传媒 Philharmonic. Conductor: Jac van Steen.
  • George Antheil

    Over the Plains

    Orchestra: 大象传媒 Philharmonic. Conductor: John Storg氓rds.
    • CHANDOS.

SYNOPSIS

Act 1

At the centre of the attention of the spa guests in

Luha膷ovice is the poetic Dr Suda with his friends Kone膷n媒,

Lhotsk媒 and a young woman, M铆la. A new guest arrives, the

composer 沤ivn媒. Everyone is surprised to discover that

沤ivn媒 and M铆la know each other.

They all leave and only the composer 沤ivn媒 and M铆la

remain. Their relationship in the past had been thwarted

by M铆la's mother, who considered life with a composer as

a beggar's existence. 沤ivn媒 wrote an opera about his

unhappy life. Now, many years later, he discovered that

he had falsely accused M铆la of unfaithfulness in the opera;

her son, Doubek, is in fact his child. Now 沤ivn媒 and M铆la

decide to start a new life together.


Act 2

沤ivn媒, M铆la and young Doubek live together with M铆la's

unhinged mother. 沤ivn媒 sings excerpts from his opera. He

now has to get rid of the part where he had earlier

wrongfully denigrated M铆la. Young Doubek asks his mother

if she knows what love is. M铆la knows only too well - love

and her whole life is Fate.

Life together with the mother is miserable. She is becoming

increasingly deranged; she is being forced to live under the

same roof with a man who she believes is only out for her

money. The mother sees 沤ivn媒 as an evil raven. She wants

to fly away from him, but when she falls from the balcony,

she takes M铆la with her. 沤ivn媒 is bereft at the loss of his

wife. Lightning flashes as a portent of his unhappy fate.


Act 3

The students at a conservatory are singing a part from

a new opera which was written by their teacher, 沤ivn媒. The

work is supposed to have its premiere that evening in the

theatre, but the final act is still missing. The pupils ask him

to tell them something about his strange opera. 沤ivn媒

passionately relates to them the origin of the work

and the surprised students realize that the plot of the opera

is in fact the true story of his life. 沤ivn媒 approaches the part

where M铆la dies...suddenly a storm approaches in which

沤ivn媒 sees his dead wife. The stunned composer falls

to the ground. The end of the opera remains unwritten in the

hand of God, just as with 沤ivn媒's fate.


Broadcast

  • Thu 7 Nov 2019 14:00