Victorian Opera | Katya Kabanova
October 14, 2025, Palais Theatre, St Kilda, VIC
Leoš Janáček’s masterpiece Katya Kabanova tells the unhappy story of Katya, a woman trapped in a miserable marriage with an interminable nightmare of a mother-in-law. The poor woman finds love with a handsome townsman before deciding to end her life, rather than live with the secret, shame or face the consequences. The story centres around a great storm, ‘The Storm’, which is the name of the story upon which the opera is based by Alexander Ostrovsky.
Victorian Opera’s production directed by Heather Fairbairn brought the story to life on the stage and screen. The filmic nature of the script was portrayed as a black and white film noir, filmed and broadcast live as it happened on stage, creating a live, cinematic masterpiece as well as an operatic one.
The set was deceptively simple, what looked like scaffolding covered in drop sheets at the outset turned out to be remarkably versatile and convincing in all the scenes, such as the garden where Katya frollicked with Boris, her handsome lover played by Andrew Goodwin; the old ruins where crowds gathered to wait out the storm; and even transformed into the pier on the river from which Katya throws herself at the end. Artfully created, real theatre craft, by Set and Costume Designer Savanna Wegman.
The lighting and video designs, along with the live broadcast, were well executed and what I loved was the attention to the secondary action. It is obvious that Victorian Opera singers are also world class actors, the closeups and the intimate love scene were stunning. All of this was choreographed by Niklas Pajanti, Robert Brown and Benjamin Sheen, who blended so well into the set I forgot they were there.
Conductor Alexander Briger AO led a fine orchestra of players from the Australian National Academy of Music. There was a maturity and preciseness to the playing, and Janáček does move quickly through the action. I found the score tuneful and melodies beautiful; there is a lovely folk-like love song to listen out for between Varvara, sung coquettishly by Emily Edmonds, and Kudrjas, sung handsomely by Douglas Kelly in the garden.
In the titular role of Katya was Desiree Frahn, who was convincing and beautiful as the central character. We were horrified at the way her husband and mother-in-law treated her, felt her come alive with Boris, and felt her pain and conflict afterwards. There were gasps in the tragic and terrible final scene when the theatre went dark, signifying her drowning in the river Volga. A true opera diva ending.
An equal match was Antoinette Holloran as Kabanicha, the evil and terrifying mother-in-law, who created a marvellous monster on stage. Her absolute control over her son, Tichon sung by Michael Petruccelli, was evident in his every response.
The spanking scene between Kabanicha and Dikoj sung by Adrian Tamburini was very amusing, and helped to lighten the mood somewhat. Adrian has a wonderful voice and stage presence, he came across as a pious hypocrite, an elder statesman with kinks.
Janáček may have rejected the grand opera style, but Opera Victoria has proved yet again that with the best singers, smartest designers, directors, musicians and technologists, you can create opera on a grand scale.
Photo credit: Jeff Busby
