Jenůfa 2019

Synopsis
Artists

A Rivalry of Brothers…

All eyes in the village are on Jenůfa. Her fiancé sees only a trophy wife. Her rejected suitor sees a chance to avenge the most cutting wrongs in his past. Her righteous stepmother sees her own life’s tragedy about to play out again for her child. The results are two unspeakable crimes which lead to the opera’s true theme — that the wounds of troubled lives can be assuaged through acceptance, forgiveness and hope. Janáček’s music pulses with vibrant rhythms, pungent harmonies and lyrical declamation.

Johannes Debus conducts David Alden’s English National Opera staging which won the prestigious Olivier Award for Best New Production. In its 2016 revival, The Independent gave it a 5-star review, headlining it as “brilliantly effective.” The Sunday Times proclaimed, “This revival takes (Alden’s) coruscating music drama a notch higher… Janáček’s uplifting conclusion is one of the most beautiful ‘happy ends’ in opera.”

Witness love’s triumph.

Music and Libretto By

Leoš Janaček

Sung In

Czech

Act I

Fall. Jenůfa is worried; if her fiancé Števa is drafted into the army, they can’t wed before people realize that she’s pregnant with his child, a fact that she has kept secret from everyone, including her widowed stepmother, Kostelnička (The Sacristan — a title earned from her service to the church and her unyielding beliefs). Laca, Števa’s younger half-brother, also loves Jenůfa and resents Števa’s good looks, his inherited wealth (due to an “eldest-boy-gets-the-most” tradition), and his success in winning Jenůfa’s hand. When the foreman tells Jenůfa that Števa wasn’t drafted, she is overjoyed by the news, while Laca is angry. A drunken Števa arrives with new inductees and some musicians. They celebrate, singing and dancing, until they’re interrupted by Kostelnička, who proclaims that Jenůfa and Števa can’t wed until he has remained sober for an entire year. Števa leaves after reassuring Jenůfa that he will be faithful to her despite his roving eye. Laca, nearly mad with passion for Jenůfa, tells her that Števa is interested only in her beauty. They quarrel and Laca cuts Jenůfa’s face with his knife.

Act II

Late Winter. Kostelnička has informed the townspeople that Jenůfa is away on a long stay in Vienna; actually she has given birth to a boy, and mother and son are now in hiding at Kostelnička’s home. Kostelnička gives Jenůfa a sleeping remedy and then summons Števa. He agrees to support his son financially but refuses to marry Jenůfa because of her scarred face, and he leaves. Kostelnička tells Laca that the baby has just died. Alone again, Kostelnička imagines her disgrace, then comes to an abrupt decision: “I’ll send the boy back to the Lord!” She takes the child and runs out into the cold. Jenůfa awakens and begins praying for her missing baby. Kostelnička returns and tells Jenůfa that while she has been asleep for two days, the baby has died and Števa has refused to marry her. Laca returns and asks Jenůfa to marry him, and she agrees.

Act III

Spring. The family and guests arrive for the wedding. Just as the ceremony begins, a cry goes up — a dead baby has been found, frozen under the ice. Jenůfa recognizes the baby as her son. When the villagers accuse Jenůfa of murder, Laca protects her. Suddenly, Kostelnička admits her guilt. When Kostelnička asks Jenůfa forgiveness, Jenůfa grants it and Kostelnička is led off to stand trial. Jenůfa and Laca are left alone to decide upon their future.

Synopsis

Act I

Act II

Act III

Artists

Laura Wilde

Laura Wilde

Patricia Racette

Patricia Racette

Susanne Mentzer

Susanne Mentzer

Alexander Lewis

Alexander Lewis

Richard Trey Smagur

Richard Trey Smagur

Will Liverman

Will Liverman

Jana McIntyre

Jana McIntyre

Sylvia D'Eramo

Sylvia D'Eramo

Gina Perregrino

Gina Perregrino

Alan Higgs

Alan Higgs

Kathleen Reveille

Kathleen Reveille

Katherine Beck

Katherine Beck

Danielle Beckvermit

Danielle Beckvermit

Benjamin Taylor

Benjamin Taylor

Kaitlyn McMonigle

Kaitlyn McMonigle

Johannes Debus

Johannes Debus

David Alden

David Alden

Charles Edwards

Charles Edwards

Duane Schuler

Duane Schuler

Maxine Braham

Maxine Braham

Susanne Sheston

Susanne Sheston

Jenůfa 2019