Janacek’s masterpiece Jenufa is among the most revived modernist works.
Compared with much grand opera, the story of one woman’s struggle to rise free from social constraints at a terrible cost is remarkably poignant, credible, and accessible.

Scenes are short and intense. The music shimmers with Janacek’s characteristic blend of sweetness and sharp dissonance.
Tragedy is inevitable, but here, unusually, hope triumphs. In the title role, the stepdaughter of the Kostelnicka Buryja, placing her love and trust in the wrong man, with dire consequences.

This Jenufa is sung splendidly, a revelation of the essential humanity that lurks at the heart of the greatest operas.

Plot Outline: The embittered widow, Kostelnicka, drowns her infant grandson to save her beloved stepdaughter Jenufa from the shame and hardship of raising an illegitimate child.