With Jenůfa, Leoš Janáček broke through as a music theatre composer once and for all. His third opera is set in the countryside, in a tight-knit community with stifling social control. Jenůfa becomes pregnant from Števa. He promises to marry her but breaks his word. At the highest possible price, Jenůfa’s stepmother, the respected sexton in the village, tries to save the girl’s honour. For his composition, Janáček was guided by the natural rhythm of the Czech language and thus came to an innovative operatic style through which Moravian folk music also meanders.

In what has become one of Opera Ballet Vlaanderen’s most successful creations, director Robert Carsen drills down to the core of this poignant psychodrama full of unrequited feelings, envy and good intentions. After a twentyyear journey through the greatest international opera stages – from Spain to Luxembourg, Germany, France and even Japan – our Jenůfa comes home.

Patrick Kinmonth featured in

Jenůfa

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