Though nominally a revival of the 2021 production by Damiano Michieletto, this Katya Kabanova at Glyndebourne improves on the original in one major respect. In 2021, following the Covid lockdowns, it was a signal achievement for Glyndebourne to mount the production at all, but it had to be done with a reduced orchestra. This time round, we are able to hear it as Janacek intended. And how glorious this score, sometimes warmly lyrical, sometimes painfully disturbing – often both together –sounds in Robin Ticciati’s capable hands.
In 2021 one wondered whether the necessities of social distancing were responsible for a palpable lack of chemistry between Katerina Knezikova’s Katya and David Butt Philip’s Boris, her lover. But even with the admirable Nicky Spence now promoted from Katya’s husband Tichon to her lover, there’s something missing. Perhaps Michieletto is aiming to emphasise the elusiveness of their love and it’s a production that challenges on other levels too, by telling the heartrending story of a young woman trapped in a soul-destroying, loveless marriage in a symbolic rather than realistic way. Caged birds, winged angels, lights and shadows loom large.
