The Makropulos Case

The Makropulos Affair (also The Makropoulos Case, The Makropulos Secret, or in Czech: Věc Makropulos, lit. 'The Makropulos Thing') is a Czech opera in 3 acts, with music and libretto by Leoš Janáček. Janáček based his opera on the play Věc Makropulos by Karel Čapek. Composed between 1923 and 1925, The Makropulos Affair was his penultimate opera and, like much of his later work, was inspired by his infatuation with Kamila Stösslová, a married woman much younger than himself. The opera received its world premiere at the National Theatre in Brno on 18 December 1926, conducted by František Neumann.