DVD + Blu-Ray:
Káťa Kabanová from Salzburg Festival

Corinne Winters is “Kát'a Kabanova”: a great, luminous longing from head to toe. With Barrie Kosky and Jakub Hrůša, she makes the opera a triumph.

Janáček’s opera Káťa Kabanová is set in a small Russian town and is based on the play “The Storm” by Aleksandr Ostrovsky. The story revolves around the central character, Káťa – sung by “the phenomenal Corinne Winters” (Neue Musikzeitung) – who is trapped in a loveless marriage to an abusive man named Boris. Despite her unhappiness, she is bound by the strict societal norms of her time and is unable to escape the situation. However, when she meets and falls in love with a young man named Váňa Kudrjáš, she finally experiences happiness and passion. But their relationship is short-lived, as Boris finds out and forces Káťa to confess her infidelity in front of the entire town. Overwhelmed by the shame and guilt, she drowns herself in the nearby river. The opera explores themes of social conformity, oppression, and the consequences of forbidden love. Janáček’s use of musical leitmotifs and repetitive themes reflect the characters’ emotions and psychological states, adding depth and nuance to the story. Stage director Barrie Kosky managed to create an intimate but impressive setting in the magnificent Felsenreitschule. “Jittery and balletic, ecstatic and anxious, Winters has a child’s volatile presence, and her livewire voice conveys Kát'a’s wonder and vulnerability.” (The New York Times) “Corinne Winters is “Kát'a Kabanova”: a great, luminous longing from head to toe. With director Barrie Kosky and conductor Jakub Hrůša, she makes the opera in Salzburg a triumph.” (Der Tagesspiegel)

Original title Káťa Kabanová from Salzburg Festival
Genre Opera
Recording location Felsenreitschule, Salzburg Festival, August 2022
Duration 103 mins
Production Company A production of ORF and Unitel in co-production with 3sat in cooperation with Wiener Philharmoniker and Salzburg Festival
Composer Leos Janáček
Orchestra / Band Wiener Philharmoniker
Conductor Jakub Hrůša
Choir Konzertvereinigung Wiener Staatsopernchor
Chorus Master Huw Rhys James
Stage Director Barrie Kosky
Soloist Corinne Winters, Evelyn Herlitzius, David Butt Philip, Benjamin Hulett