This week, the Royal Opera House is set to unveil a new production of “The Makropoulos Case,” a rarely performed Janáček work. The opera plays with the idea of immortality and has historically been a vehicle for a great diva. This week, the London company does just that, but also brings Katie Mitchell, a director who has been known for her feminist takes, to lead the work.

Mitchell, who is a theatre and opera director with a career spanning 30 years and over 100 productions in the UK and internationally, has directed at the Aix-en-Provence Festival, Stadsschouwburg Theatre in Amsterdam, Welsh National Opera, and Berlin State Opera, among others. Her productions have been known to reinterpret “canonical” operas from a feminist perspective, and critics have raved about them, noting that they have “touches of brilliance and some wonderfully naughty humour.” They have also called her productions “thoughtful” and “shocking,” and she has also sometimes used lesbian sex and toilets in full view.

Among some of her most acclaimed works are “Theodora,” “Lucia di Lammermoor,” “Written on Skin,” Jenůfa,” and “Le Vin herbé.”

This new production of “The Makropoulos Case” will mark Mitchell’s departure from the opera world.

Recordings 

For audiences interested in seeing more of Katie Mitchell’s productions, there are recordings of “Lucia di Lammermoor” and “Theodora” from the Royal Opera House.

Here are clips from those two productions: