Opera Review: Country Discomfort

The Met revives Leoš Janáček's Jenůfa. 
by Paul J. Pelkonen

Karita Mattila (standing) holds Oksana Dyka in a key scene from Act II of Jenůfa.
Photo by Ken Howard © 2016 The Metropolitan Opera.

This latest Met revival of Jenůfa, the third opera by Czech composer Leoš Janáček is one of the most important productions of the current season. It allows a new generation of opera-goers to discover one of the most powerful dramas of the 20th century, thanks to the presence of a near-ideal cast. On Monday night, soprano Oksana Dyka was incandescent in the title role, a peasant girl whose suffering makes her one of the great operatic heroines. She's pregnant by a man that does not love her. She is attacked and mutilated by his love-struck brother. And then the baby is drowned.

Metropolitan Opera Preview: Jenůfa

Leoš Janáček's harrowing drama of Czech village life returns.
by Paul J. Pelkonen

Oksana Dyka in the title role of Jenůfa, opening at the Met on Oct. 28.
Photo by Ken Howard © 2016 The Metropolitan Opera.

The last time the Met staged its production of Jenůfa, Karita Mattila shone in the title role. Now, the Finnish diva graduates to the role of the Kostelnicka, the original operatic stepmother from hell. t
his bucolic tragedy is one of Janáček's masterpieces and the opera tht made the Czech composer a sensation late in life.

DVD Review: Barn Dance of Death

Jenůfa from the Teatro de Liceu

Tenor Jorma Silvasti as Laca in Act I of the Olivier Tambosi production of Jenůfa.
Photo by Robert Millard © 2007 Los Angeles Opera.

This live DVD (filmed in 2005 at the Teatro de Liceu) of Leos Janaček's rustic tragedy Jenůfa brings together two generations of fine dramatic sopranos: Nina Stemme in the title role and Eva Marton in the key role of the Kostelnička. And yes, Met-goers, this DVD preserves the same production that graced the stage of that house in 2007.


Jenůfa premiered in 1904, and was the opera that "broke" Janaček, elevating him to the realm of the most important opera composers to come from what was then Bohemia, and is now the Czech Republic. Based on a play by Gabriella Pressiová, it is a searing tale of love, jealousy and mayhem in a Moravian village: an Eastern European answer to Cavalleria Rusticana

Janaček's opera is about surviving and withstanding tragedy. The power of love overcomes seemingly insurmountable obstacles, achieving, if not happiness, at least a kind of stability. This sturdy production (by Olivier Tambosi) keeps things simple with a triangular acting surface, symbolizing the complex relationships at the heart of the opera. The outer acts take place in a rustic barn structure, evoking the world of the Moravian peasants. The dark central act is staged in the dark, with a large stone inexplicably dropped in the middle of the stage.


The titular Jenůfa is a young girl with a complex family relationship. A series of tragic events ensues. Her face is slashed by a jealous lover. Her stepmother, the Kostelnička, takes it upon herself to drown Jenůfa's illegitimate baby. In the third act, the corpse is discovered. Jenůfa is nearly killed by a mob of villagers, until the Kostelnička steps forward and takes the blame for the tragedy.

Nina Stemme tracks Jenůfa's journey with a soaring performance, that takes her from a shallow, romantically obsessed girl, to victim, to a transcendent figure capable of forgiving the Kostelnička. Ms. Stemme displays a powerful soprano voice, rising to the occasion for the final duet with Laca that ends the opera.

As the Kostelnička, Eva Marton shows that there is life after Brunnhilde. Her voice still has the power that enabled her to sing Brunnhilde and Turandot. However she has acquired a powerful vibrato that flirts with wobble but never goes over the edge. She is also a fine actress, bringing weight and dignity to the character despite her horrific deed.

Finnish tenor Jorma Silvasti is simply terrific as Laca, the frustrated suitor who attacks Jenůfa, only to wind up with her at the end of the opera. Mr. Silvasti has good command of Czech and a fine, dramatic tenor. Baritone Pär Lindskog gives a strong performance as Steva, the callow stud whose rejection of Jenůfa sets the plot in motion. Peter Schneider conducts a rchly textured performance that makes the most of Janaček's unique tonaltites and folk rhythms.

Classical Bargains: Czech It Out!

Costume design for the Vixen, Sharp-Ears
from the Barry Kay Collection.

It's April here at the blog, and it's moving into a third month of bringing you the best classical music coverage that I have time to do. Thanks for being patient--there will be reviews in the next few weeks and eventually I'll finish writing the review of Götterdämmerung--it is excellent but I got a little burned out on Wagner DVDs so I've been taking a little break.

I've picked up some new classical box sets. Ever since the untimely and depressing death of Tower Records I've been doing most of my shopping on Amazon--picking up some really good bargains in their Marketplace from distributors like Caiman.com and Newbury Comics. (Newbury is a lot more reliable to deal with.) Frankly, I've been hoarding, loading up on CDs and recordings in case the whole industry goes bellyflop in a whirlwind of tuxedos and music stands. As a result I have wayyy too much music to listen to. I'm gonna start writing about some of the things I've picked up, and maybe get around to doing full-on reviews as the summer progresses.

The big recent acquisition is a set of operas by 20th century Czech genius Leos Janáček, released on Decca and conducted by the great Sir Charles Mackerras. Most of these opera recordings were only available on massive, chunky "doorstop" box sets with the CDs in a thick double "jewel case" with a paperback booklet inside a slipcase. This was the standard format for classical CD box sets twenty years ago. The old sets would retail from $20-$35 depending on where you did your shopping--and probably take up a foot of valuable Brooklyn shelf space, which is why I never made the investment.

The new Janáček set (which I paid about $45 for!) includes his major operas: Jenufa, Kat'a Kabanova, The Cunning Little Vixen, Vec Makropoulos, and From The House of the Dead along with overtures and other pieces. Unfortunately, the Mackerras series did not include Sarka, Osud and The Excursions of Mr. Broucek. These recordings (many of which star the great Swedish singer Elisabeth Söderstrom), are considered to be of exceptional quality, although the only one that I am really familiar with is Vec Makropoulos.

Some quick notes on Janacek:

• The Met recently revived Jenufa with Karita Mattila in the title role. In 1999, I saw Act II of it performed at Carnegie Hall with the Philadelphia Orchestra conducted by Simon Rattle. Anja Silja starred as the Kostelnicka, an overbearing mother from hell.
  
• Kat'a Kabanova is also the subject of occasional revivals at the Met--it is a powerful domestic tragedy whose most memorable character is Kabanicha, another overbearing mother figure. I saw this opera sometime at the Met in the late 1990s in a stripped-down staging by Jonathan Miller.
  
• The City Opera does a wonderful version ofThe Cunning Little Vixen (in English), the story of the life and death of a fox in the forest, and her peculiar relationship with a trapper. This is a child-friendly opera that is worth reviving.
  
• Vec Makropoulos (known to most opera-goers as The Makropoulos Case, is occasionally revived at the Met, first with Jessye Norman and later with Catherine Malfitano. It is a soprano showcase on par with the major works of Wagner and Strauss. Sadly, the Met's revival of this opera was marred by the death of tenor Richard Versalle on opening night in 1996. Ironically, Versalle sang the line "You only live so long", had a heart attack and fell off a ladder, plummeting twenty feet to the stage in the opera's opening scene.
  
• Finally, according to the Met Maniac wensite, the big house is presenting a new production of From the House of the Dead directed by the brilliant Patrice Chereau. The production is scheduled for 2009-2010.