Scottish Opera's new production of Leoš Janáček's The Makropulos Affair opens with a black and white film sequence mixing the workings of clocks, a number of dates, and close-up of eyes which put me in mind of the Salvador Dali dream sequence in Alfred Hitchcock's 1945 film Spellbound. It's an arresting beginning which immediately has the audience asking questions about what is to come.
The curtain lifts to reveal a lawyer's office which may appear an understated setting to regular Scottish Opera audiences, but nothing on stage is there by accident, and when the stacks of paper - the result of cases being tied up in years of conflict - fly to the roof, then the magic truly begins.
But this is not a production where you can just sit back and relax. Concentration is required to follow just who is related to who, and the appearance of the Prus/Gregor family tree as a backdrop is a welcome feature. The case of Gregor vs Prus is at the centre of events where, after decades of legal wrangling, a ruling is imminent causing consternation in the office of Doctor Kolenatý. As they await the verdict, famous opera singer Emilia Marty arrives in style and shows a suspicious interest in the case, and in young Albert Gregor to whom she appears both attracted and repelled. 'Bertie' is simply smitten.
What follows is a melodramatic mystery which examines the nature of life, and death, with the enigmatic Emilia Marty (if, indeed, that is her name) at the heart of everything, and Orla Boylan in that lead role is quite frankly astonishing. She dominates the stage, and everyone else on it, as the secrets she has carefully kept are revealed, and those clues which have been laid before us begin to come together in a way of which Agatha Christie would approve. Costume, particularly the use of colour, are among those breadcrumbs.
The supporting cast all have their moments to shine. Ryan Capozzo's 'Albert Gregor' is all passion and confusion as he is toyed with by Marty. Catriona Hewitson's 'Kristina' gives much-needed heart and soul, and, as a comic-turn (if one who has an important role to play) Alasdair Elliot's aging nobleman 'Count Hauk-Šendorf' is memorable.
But it is Orla Boylan's 'Emilia Marty' who is the standout. Her performance ramps up through the acts, from being dressed all in black in Act I, to a scarlet woman in Act II - one who indulges in sex, drink, and what appears to be drugs, and who has everyone under her significant spell. In Act III she is all in white as she seduces Roland Wood's 'Baron Prus' to get what she wants.
It's incredibly cinematic. Marty is a star, one who could stepped straight from Hollywood's Golden Age - think Marlene Dietrich meets Jean Harlow, but also Gloria Swanson as Norma Desmond in Sunset Boulevard. I feel there is definitely something of the latter in Orla Boylan's final scenes.
I have to make mention of the programme. These are always an excellent read, and while you are entertained by what's happening on stage, you are informed and educated between these pages. As well as fascinating Director's Notes from Olivia Fuchs, there is a biography on Leoš Janáček by Adrian Mourby, a history of The Makropulos Affair through the years by Gavin Plumley, and an excellent essay 'The Temporary Incurables: On Immortality' by Heather Parry. If you go to this opera, make sure you pick up a copy.
This production of The Makropulos Affair is one to cherish, and it's a fine example of Scottish Opera's excellence in every department. Design, costume, lighting - all are exquisite, even before you get to the performances, the music, and Olivia Fuchs' direction. But what makes it such a memorable night is what you are left with; questions on the the notion of immortality and just what that might mean. With an increasing number of people investigating the possibility of longer life (see recent Netflix documentary 'Don’t Die: The Man Who Wants to Live Forever') this is not only an entertaining production, but a timely one.
Images from The Makropulos Affair (credit - Mihaela Bodlovic)
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