In Brno, a vital and resonant Jenůfa

By Frank Kuznik, 05 October 2020

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“Mattila doesnʼt so much perform the role as inhabit it”

Reviewed at Janáček Theatre (Janáčkovo divadlo), Brno on 3 October 2020

Janáček, Jenůfa

National Theatre Brno

Marko Ivanović, Conductor

Martin Glaser, Director

Pavel Borák, Set Designer

Markéta Oslzlá-Sládečková, Costume Designer

Pavla Vykopalová, Jenůfa

Karita Mattila, Kostelnička

Richard Samek, Števa Buryja

Peter Berger, Laca Klemeň

Jitka Zerhauová, Grandmother Buryjovka

Jiří Sulženko, Stárek, Mill foreman

National Theatre Brno Janáček Opera Chorus

National Theatre Brno Janáček Opera Orchestra

A sensational Kátya Kabanová in Brno shows Janáček at his very best

Dominic Lowe, 3rd March

A revival of Robert Carsen's production at the Janáček Festival Preview benefits from an excellent cast and exemplary playing from the house ensemble.

*****

Vom Entstehen einer Oper: Leoš Janáčeks Osud am Janáček-Theater Brno

Rainer Zerbst, 27th November

Robert Carsen schafft eine subtile aber meisterhaft vielschichtige neue Inszenierung.

*****

Jenůfa breaks hearts in Brno

David Karlin, 18th October

In Brno, Janáček's home, at the theatre and festival that bear his name, Jenůfa receives a performance with all the musical and dramatic intensity you might wish for.

****1

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Cameron Kelsall, 22nd April

A new opera by Gregory Spears subverts the Sleeping Beauty trope, with middling results.

**111

Asmik Grigorian strengthens the Met’s revival of Eugene Onegin

Susan Stempleski, 20th April

The Lithuanian soprano’s riveting performance as the central character in Tchaikovsky’s operatic masterpiece lights up Deborah Warner’s mostly bland production.

****1

At half mast: Simon Boccanegra revived in Vienna

Orsolya Gyárfás, 19th April

Marco Armiliato's conducting thrills and Federica Lombardi's radiant Amelia stands out in the Wiener Staatsoper's latest revival of Simon Boccanegra.

***11

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Frank Kuznik

Frank Kuznik is the former Editor-in-Chief and Culture Editor of The Prague Post, Central Europe’s premier English-language weekly newspaper. He currently divides his time between Prague and his hometown in the US, Cleveland, where he covers northeast Ohio's dynamic classical music scene. In Prague he is an habitué of the Rudolfinum, National Theater, State Opera and other storied classical music venues, and an unabashed fan of Czech music.