Janácek: From the House of the Dead
Stage director Frank Castorf “might have been born to direct From the House of the Dead” (Opera Today). His gritty, visually striking adaptation brings bold modern and postmodern touches to Janáček’s masterwork without ever overshadowing the intense forward momentum of the music, conducted to dramatic perfection by Simone Young and sung by an all-star cast in Munich. Janáček adapted Dostoevsky for this powerfully compelling opera set in a Siberian prison camp, full of starkly contrasting moods and motifs, unusual in its episodic structure. The last opera Janáček ever composed, its third act was on his desk when he died in 1928; attempts by his students to “complete” his orchestration have largely fallen away over the decades in favor of the original version. Despite the grimness of the setting and the brutality of several characters, the composer’s compassion shines through in tender moments, movingly illustrating his motto for the work: “in every creature, a spark of God.”
Cast
Videos
Janáček: From the House of the Dead | Frank Castorf & Simone Young | Munich 2019 (DVD/Blu-ray)
Similar movies
Ariel
October 21, 1988Women in Cages
October 19, 1971A Family On Edge
December 22, 2015The Valachi Papers
January 6, 1972Blues Brothers 2000
February 5, 1998Another 48 Hrs.
June 8, 1990The Life of David Gale
February 21, 2003Bringing Down the House
March 7, 2003Escape from Alcatraz
June 22, 1979Instinct
June 4, 1999Elephants
December 7, 2018White Oleander
October 11, 2002Underdogs
July 24, 2008Inferno
September 25, 1999Midnight Express
August 31, 1978Pusher II
December 25, 2004Wilde
September 1, 1997Kiss of the Spider Woman
July 26, 1985The Corridor
July 30, 2013American Me
March 13, 1992