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The Arts Intel Report

A Cultural Compass
For the World Traveler
A Cultural Compass
For the World Traveler

The Makropulos Case, by Leoš Janáček

A scene from the Opéra National de Paris production of The Makropulos Case.

Oct 5–17, 2023
Place de la Bastille, 75012 Paris, France

At 337 years of age, the opera star Emilia Marty is slowing down, and a second hit of the elixir concocted by her alchemist father for the wary Holy Roman Emperor Rudolf II in the 16th century would be just what the doctor ordered. But she’s having a hard time getting her hands on the secret formula. Karita Mattila, now a mere 62, revisits a role she made her own a decade ago in New York and San Francisco. Susanna Mälkki conducts Janáček’s scintillating, hallucinatory score. —Matthew Gurewitsch

Photo: L’Affaire Makropoulos/© Mirco Maggliocca