Composers: Janáček
Compositions: From the House of the Dead
Performers: Soloists, Bayerisches Staatsoper, Simone Young cond
Catalogue Number: Bell Air BAC173 (DVD), BAC573 (Blu-ray)

Frank Castorf horrified dyed-in-the-wool Bayreuth Wagnerites with his complicated oil equals power take on the Ring back in 2013, but the German director has serious credentials and Janáček’s From The House of The Dead plays more obviously to his socio-political strengths.

The opera, Janáček’s last, was adapted by the composer from Dostoevsky’s novel and it was not premiered until 1930, two years after his death. It’s one of the repertoire’s most neglected masterpieces, but set in Czech, and with an...