Leoš Janáček (1854–1928): Jenůfa
Better a scarred face than a scarred soul.
Author: Leoš Janáček
Musical Preparation: Marko Ivanović
Conductor: Marko Ivanović, Pavel Šnajdr
Director: Martin Glaser
Set Design: Pavel Borák
Costume Design: Markéta Oslzlá-Sládečková
Lighting Design: Martin Špetlík
Choreography: Mário Radačovský
Dramaturgy: Olga Šubrtová
Chorus Master: Josef Pančík
Assistant Conductor: Nikol Kraft
Assistant Stage Director: Silvie Adamová
Performed in the original Czech with Czech and English surtitles
Jenůfa is one of Janáček’s most famous works and is an integral part of the opera repertoire in Brno. It was inspired by Gabriela Preissová’s realist drama, which the composer himself reworked into an opera libretto. Despite having to cut much of the original text, he managed to increase the impact of this tragic story from the Moravian countryside. The extravagant and fickle Števa; the hot-tempered but essentially kind-hearted Laca; and principally the Kostelnička, whose attempts to maintain her standing and respect in the village community lead her to murder the child of her foster daughter, Jenůfa. Janáček managed to portray the individual characters in a concise and masterly fashion, which both chills us and elicits our compassion and understanding. The final form of the work was the result of a long and arduous inner journey, marked by the death of the composer’s daughter, Olga. Following its successful debut in Brno in 1904, Jenůfa had to wait twelve long years before Janáček’s efforts were rewarded with well-deserved success on other stages at home and abroad.
