Do you wish for immortality? Even if your endless life would be one without love?

The squabbling over the contested will of Baron Jaroslav Prus has gone on for almost a century, but the mysterious opera diva Emilia Marty seems to know far more than she should about the history of the case. Men inexplicably fall at her feet and, strangely eager to possess an arcane document hidden with Prus’s will, she coldly uses them to discover its whereabouts.

Janáček’s penultimate opera is at once a mystery thriller and a meditation on desire and eternal life. It keeps its audience guessing until its thrilling conclusion's transcendent revelations on life and love, and features some of the composer’s most radiant, life-affirming music.

Richard Farnes conducts the premiere of this new production by acclaimed director Tom Cairns, with an exceptional cast of soloists.