Organization

Singer

Tenor

Michael Weinius

Laca Klemen

Soprano

Susan Bullock

Sacristan Buryja

Cornelia Beskow

Jenufa

Baritone

Aleksander Nohr

Starek

Bass

Jacob Abel

Mayor

Mezzo-soprano

Tone Kummervold

Mayor's wife

Frøy Hovland Holtbakk

Karolka

Christina Jønsi

Pastuchnyňa

Stage director

Keith Warner

Conductor

Robert Jindra

Lighting designer

John Bishop

Costume designer

Julia Müer

Set designer

Jason Southgate

Paul Curievici

Steva Buryja

Den Norske Opera & Ballet

Inga Lohne-Otterstad

Jano

Contralto

Rosalind Plowright

Old Buryjovka

Karen Sofie Hafskjold

Megan Gryga

Barena

Dramaturge

Hedda Høgåsen-Hallesby

Chorus master

Martin Wettges

Orchestra

Den Norsk Opera Orchestra

Others

Den Norsk Opera Choir

Czech

Jenůfa -  (Jenufa)

Oslo

Norway

Den Norske Opera

Hovedscenen

Jenůfa Janáček

Public

English

Norwegian

Approved

The ‘village beast’, shame and honour
We find ourselves in a rural community where Jenufa lives with her stepmother Kostelnicka, grandmother Buryja and cousins Steva and Laca. Not only does the old family mill tower above them, but also the critical gazes of the villagers, religious dogma and strong codes of honour.
Jenufa shows that people try to do the right thing, but end up getting it all wrong anyway. The opera paints an intense psychological portrait of interpersonal relationships. It includes one of the twentieth century’s most exquisite opera scenes in which love is put to the test. Is it possible to forgive the unforgivable?

To a dying daughter
Jenufa is based on the play Her stepdaughter (Jeji pastorkyna) by Gabriela Preissová. The opera was completed while the composer’s daughter Olga was seriously ill and Janacek just managed to perform it for her before she died. It was later dedicated to Olga and a father’s love for a young girl’s fate can perhaps be heard even more distinctly in the second and third acts.

Sounds of real life
Like in a film, there are no arias or numbers in Jenufa. Janacek wrote music that reflected real life in the early 1900s. He listened for the tones of melodies along the streets of his hometown of Brno. Where others heard only everyday chatting, Janacek could hear the undertones of tears, longing or love in the words spoken between people. We clearly hear this in Jenufa. The music takes us into the world of captivating Czech feasts and folklore.

Performance credits (Cast & Crew )

Cast

Crew

Ensemble