2017-2018 Royal Opera Season Premieres From the House of the Dead

Summary: The 2017-2018 Royal Opera season premieres From the House of the Dead, the last opera by Czech composer Leoš Janáček.

Innovative Greek-Russian conductor Teodor Currentzis makes his Royal Opera House debut in Krzysztof Warlikowski's new production of Czech composer Leoš Janáček's From the House of the Dead in spring 2018; Teodor Currentzis and MusicAeterna Orchestra at Moscow Conservatory: Alexey Voronin (alfavoro) via Instagram March 22, 2017

The 2017-2018 Royal Opera season premieres From the House of the Dead (Z mrtvého domu), the last opera by Czech composer Leoš Janáček (July 3, 1854-Aug. 12, 1928), in a first-ever production at The Royal Opera House in central London’s Covent Garden district.

The Royal Opera House’s premiere of From the House of the Dead occurs as a co-production with Belgium’s Théâtre Royal de la Monnaie and France’s Opéra National de Lyon. Opéra de Lyon also co-produces another new production at The Royal Opera House during the 2017-2018 season: the world premiere of English composer and conductor George Benjamin’s third opera, Lessons in Love and Violence.

The Royal Opera House’s premiere is scheduled for the Spring 2017-2018 season. The new production plays for six performances. The first performance takes place Wednesday, March 7. The last performance is slated for Saturday, March 24.

The running time for The Royal Opera House’s production is timed at about 2 hours 40 minutes. The three-act performance has no intermission, termed “interval” in the United Kingdom.

Polish director Krzysztof Warlikowski makes his UK directorial debut in a contemporary setting of the three-act, Czech language drame lyrique (lyrical drama). Warlikowski’s production team consists of his regular collaborators. Warlikowski’s wife and life partner, Malgorzata Szczesniak, is costume and stage designer. Israeli American Felice Ross is the lighting designer. French videomaker Denis Guéguin is the video designer. French choreographer Claude Bardouil is the movement director. Christian Longchamp is the dramaturg for the Royal Opera House’s premiere of Janáček’s final work.

Teodor Currentzis conducts all six performances. Opening night marks the Greek-Russian conductor’s Royal Opera House debut.

Jamaican bass Willard W. White appears in the main role as Alexandr Gorjančikov, a nobleman whose pardon ultimately frees him from the Siberian prison camp. Willard White debuted at The Royal Opera House in 1978 as Don Diégo in L’Africaine (The African Woman) by German opera composer Giacomo Meyerbeer (Sept. 5, 1791-May 2, 1864).

Danish bass-baritone Johan Reuter appears as Šiškov, imprisoned for his fatal crime of passion against his wife Akulka. Johan Reuter also appears in a secondary role as a priest in the prison camp. Johan Reuter made his Royal Opera debut in 2006 in the title role of Wozzeck by Austrian composer Alban Berg (Feb. 9, 1885-Dec. 24, 1935).

Canadian tenor Pascal Charbonneau appears as Aljeja, whom Gorjančikov teaches to read and write.

Slovak tenor Štefan Margita appears as Luka Kuzmič, whom Šiškov finally recognizes under his real name of Filka Morozov as rival for Akulka’s affections.

Czech tenor Ladislav Elgr appears as Skuratov, who kills an old relative about to marry his love interest, Luisa from Germany.

English tenor Peter Hoare appears as Šapkin, arrested for vagrancy. He made his Royal Opera debut in 2001 as Spoletta in Tosca by Italian opera composer Giacomo Puccini (Dec. 22, 1858-Nov. 29, 1924).

From the House of the Dead is based upon Fyodor Dostoyevsky’s (Nov. 11, 1821-Feb. 9, 1881) semi-autobiographical novel about life in a Siberian gulag. Janáček composed the opera’s music and also wrote the libretto.

The world premiere of From the House of the Dead occurred posthumously, 1 year 8 months after the composer’s death. The world premiere took place April 12, 1930, at the National Theatre Brno (Národní divadlo Brno).

Online database Operabase places Leoš Janáček at number 17 in a ranking of 1,281 most popular composers for the five seasons from 2011/2012 to 2015/16. From the House of the Dead places at 311 in Operabase’s list of 2,658 most popular operas.

The 2017-2018 Royal Opera season premiere of From the House of the Dead also marks the debut of Polish director Krzysztof Warlikowski and his production team in the first-ever staging of Leoš Janáček’s final opera at The Royal Opera House in Covent Garden.

Greek-Russian conductor Teodor Currentzis and Polish director Krzysztof Warlikowski make their Royal Opera debut in The Royal Opera premiere of Janáček's last opera in the 2017-2018 season: Alex istudor @alexandertufor1 via Twitter April 8, 2017

Acknowledgment

My special thanks to talented artists and photographers/concerned organizations who make their fine images available on the internet.

Image credits:

Teodor Currentzis and MusicAeterna at Moscow Conservatory: Alexey Voronin (alfavoro) via Instagram March 22, 2017, @ https://www.instagram.com/p/BR9HNRqhFIF/

Greek-Russian conductor Teodor Currentzis and Polish director Krzysztof Warlikowski make their Royal Opera debut in The Royal Opera premiere of Janáček's last opera in the 2017-2018 season: Alex istudor @alexandertudor1 via Twitter April 8, 2017, @ https://twitter.com/alexandertudor1/status/850637903306870785

For further information:

Alex istudor @alexandertudor1. “This is really exciting - leading Polish director Krzysztof Warlikowski makes his UK debut directing @RoyalOperaHouse.” Twitter. April 8, 2017.
Available @ https://twitter.com/alexandertudor1/status/850637903306870785

“Composers: Composers Ranked by the Number of Performances of Their Operas Over the Five Seasons 2011/2012 to 2015/16.” Operabase > Opera Statistics.
Available @ http://operabase.com/top.cgi?lang=en

“The Royal Opera House Announces its 2017/18 Season.” Opera Today. April 8, 2017.
Available @ http://www.operatoday.com/content/2017/04/the_royal_opera.php

Shipman, Chris. “Opera and Music at the Royal Opera House 2017/18.” Royal Opera House > News. April 5, 2017.
Available @ http://www.roh.org.uk/news/opera-and-music-at-the-royal-opera-house-201718

Spencer, Mel. “Royal Opera House 2017/18 Season Announced.” Royal Opera House > News. April 5, 2017.
Available @ http://www.roh.org.uk/news/royal-opera-house-2017-2018-season-announced