Strong women in Opera: Kate/Káča

Antonín Dvořák’s fairy-tale opera Čert a Káča (The Devil and Kate) is a comedy in which the protagonist turns things upside down. Not only does she dance with the devil on earth – she also survives his abduction to hell and proves to me more than his match! However, by no means is Kate only a superficial comic character; she is a sincere and self-determined woman who knows how to skilfully stand her ground.

Bullying blokes
 

At the beginning of the opera, Dvorak sets Kate up for comedy. Treated as an outsider by the villagers, she is bullied because of her quick tongue. But even before she even gets to say a word, the shepherd Jirka, who is struggling to keep his work-life balance in order, remarks that Kate is as torrentially talkative, comparing her to the open floodgates of a miller’s pond. In his role as an unenlightened male, he immediately follows up with a body-shaming comment: ‘I couldn’t get round those hips in a day!’

Annoyed by the behaviour of the others, Kate exclaims that she ‘would love to dance, even with the devil!’ Out of nowhere appears Marbuel, who clearly seems to be the only man interested in Kate; she is flattered. Despite all the red flags – encouragement to alcohol consumption, vague details about his dwelling, cheap flirtation – Kate decides to go with Marbuel. So far, so 19th century.

Upside-down in the Underworld
 

When she realises that her dance partner has not taken her to a pretty castle but to hell, Kate turns the tables and proves that she is more than just a dull comedy cliché: She immediately knows that her garrulousness and stubbornness are a virtue down here. Instead of playing her initially established role and dutifully surrendering to her fate, she fearlessly jumps on Marbuel’s back (literally and metaphorically) and lets him carry her until he cannot stand her any longer. Only a diversionary manoeuvre by Jirka brings Kate back to the upper world.

In contrast to her Shakespearean namesake Katherina, who, at the end of the comedy, surrenders to marriage, this shrew cannot be tamed. Instead, Dvořák’s Kate remains in control until the end when, after being richly rewarded, she announces: ‘Now that I have a house and money, the suitors will flock to me as if I were the most beautiful girl in the whole village. And now I may choose!’ This makes Kate a refreshingly emancipated female character, which is rarely seen in 19th century comic opera. ‘There is no better way to turn the hierarchy of a patriarchal world upside down,’ summarises director Jakob Peters-Messer, who brought the rarely performed opera to the German stage in Dessau in 2019.

Hannes Föst
Translated from the German original