If ever there was a diva role, the role of Emilia Marty has to be one of the best. The literally immortal diva has lived for centuries, going through new names and men every couple of decades. Janacek's music is modernist and sharp but always gorgeous.
The ending is sublime. As Emilia decides to die rather than live on forever, she sings of transformation in soaring beautiful lines. The character covers everything from haughty diva to vulnerable victim. The opera plumbs the question of whether living forever really is a wish you want fulfilled...
Here is the sublime Cheryl Barker as Emilia Marty in the Opera National du Rhin, Strasbourg production from 2011.
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