BBC Music Magazine
‘Mackerras delivers a magnificent ensemble performance: the chorus sings with one voice and the mass of minor roles is flawlessly presented. Helen Field and Philip Langridge are superb as the central couple, singing as if the work was in their blood... this performance deserves the highest praise as an utterly convincing, powerfully coherent presentation of a work too often dismissed as problematic.'
Libretto by Leoš Janáček and Fedora Bartošová
English translation by Rodney Blumer
The Cast
Helen Field, soprano - Míla Valková
Philip Langridge, tenor - Živný
Kathryn Harries, soprano - Míla's mother
Chorus of Welsh National Opera
Orchestra of Welsh National Opera
Sir Charles Mackerras - conductor
Recorded in Brangwyn Hall, Swansea - 13-18 July 1989
Producer - James Mallinson
Production assistant - Jane Woodfield
Sound engineer - Mark Vigars
Remastering engineer - Peter Newble
The Guardian
'The music is Janáček at his most lyrical and accessible, especially in the lively spa scenes. Mackerras, undoubtedly our greatest living Janáček interpreter, far outshines his rivals both in dramatic energy and orchestral beauty... Philip Langridge, the British tenor, is one of the most distinguished Janáček opera interpreters.'
