JANACEK: JENUFA, WIENER STAATSOPER 9.6.2002
3 acts with ca. 45 minutes each and a pause after each act. The original is in Czech, but here it was sung in German. It is never easy to hear what the singers sing, especially not in the high notes, and Jánácek´s music is so closely linked to the Czech language, that sung in another language it becomes another ball game. The subtitling system is in place, but it is not always easy to get all the action, something it gets like either read the text or follow the action onstage. The reason I wanted to see Jenufa was Agnes Baltsa as Kostelnicka. Last time I saw it, or first time, was March 2, 2002, and the second time one sees an opera, one understands more, and can enjoy it more.
This time I didn´t use the subtitle in act 1 + 2, but in the 3rd
act I had to give in in order to get all the drama. This time I enjoyed
the music more, since I had listened to it before, or maybe it was better this time. This was after all the 9th performance of this production. Having a head-ache is not the best thing for enjoying an opera performance.I hadn´t had time to eat properly before going to the opera, so the first pause was used to get some nourishment ín me, for a steep prize, naturally. The acting and singing was superb. And I understood now why Agnes Baltsa canceled her Italiana in Algeri on June 12 & 15 in Zürich, the distance between Kostelnicka and her pain, to the rather frivolous Isabella in Italiana in Algeri is just too much in such a short time.
This time, Jánácek's JENUFA
reminded me of the best of Wagner like
Tannhaüser.
Die alte Buryja = Anny Schlemm
Laca Kiemen = Jorma Silvasti
Stewa Buryja = Torsten Kerl
Die Küsterin Buryja = Agnes Baltsa
Jenufa = Angela Denoke
Altgesell = Wolfgang Bankl
Dorfrichter = Walter Pink
Seine Frau = Helene Ranada
Karolka = Renate Pitscheider
Schäferin = Stella Grigorian
Barena = Cornelia Salje
Jana = Milagros Poblador
Tante = Waltraud Winsauer
Seiji Ozawa, conductor
Inszenierung - David Pountney
Bühnenbild - Robert Israel
Kostüme - Marie-Jeanne Lecca
Licht - Mimi Jordan Sherin
Choreinstudierung - Ernst Dunshirn
Choreographie - Renato Zanella
This page was last updated: June 20, 2022
