Czech Republic Festival Janáček Brno 2024 [4] – Janáček, The Cunning Little Vixen: Soloists, Brno Children’s Chorus, Chorus and Orchestra of Janáček Opera / Marko Ivanović (conductor). Janáček Theatre, Brno, 24.11.2024. (GT)
Production:
Director – Jiří Heřman
Set design – Dragan Stojčevski
Costume design – Alexandra Grusková
Lighting design – Daniel Tesař
Chorus master – Martin Buchta
Cast:
Sharp-Ears (Bystrouška) – Kateřina Knĕžíkova
Gold-Stripe (Zlatohřbitek) – Václava Krejćí Housková
Forester – Adam Plachetka
Schoolmaster / Mosquito – Petr Levíček
Parson / Badger – Jan Šťáva
Forester’s wife / Owl – Daniela Straková-Šedrlová
Mr Pásek – Petr Karas
Mrs Pásková / Woodpecker – Jitka Zerhauová
Pepik / Grasshopper – Barbora Garzinová
Frantik / Cricket – Eva Svozilová
Harašta – Tadeáš Hoza
Lapák – Jitka Klečanská
Rooster / Jay – Andrea Široká
Crested Hen – Martina Mádlová
Little Bystrouška – Adéla Plachetková
In its centenary year, the festival staged two productions of this comedy, the first was a staging from the Ostrava Moravian-Silesian Theatre, and this Brno production was first seen here in 2018. I must confess that I have always found this opera difficult to understand; is it a children’s comedy, or is it a more profound reflection on society? I must admit that at the end of this evening that I was even more perplexed despite the fine performance.
Leos Janáček’s interest in writing the opera seems to have come innocently by a suggestion from his housemaid when he found her laughing at a feuilleton in the Lidové noviny paper. He asked what was making her laugh, to which she replied, ‘It’s Bystrouška, sir’ and she handed him the paper with a picture of the little vixen, and she continued, ‘Sir, you know just how animals talk to one another, you’re always noting down the voices of birds – well, this would make quite an opera!’ Following this, Janáček kept his eye out for future instalments about the little vixen and her adventures.
Another source for Janáček was the countryside surrounding Brno, he spent much time walking through the extensive woods listening to the birds and animals, taking down notes of their speech melodies. In a letter to Kamila Stösslová, he wrote, ‘I have started writing Vixen Bystrouška. A jolly thing with a sad ending. And I am taking up a place at that sad end myself. And so I belong there!’
The libretto for Janáček’s opera was influenced by Rudolf Tĕsnohlídek who had started writing feuilletons for Lidové noviny. His experience in writing ‘From the Courtroom’ for the paper allowed him to discover the world of Brno folk and their unique dialect. Tĕsnohlídek was able to skilfully describe the characters of the local folk with great sensitivity that he came across in the courtroom. This was advanced in his other writing projects, and he loved to spend his free hours in the woods and forests near the city. On one occasion he discovered a half-frozen baby hidden in the undergrowth. Thankfully, he discovered the mother who had given birth illegitimately and concerned about the plight of unwanted children, Tĕsnohlídek started a campaign for the sale of Christmas trees to raise funds for a children’s home in Brno. This became a widespread campaign across the country, and the first home was opened in December 1929 – sadly after Tĕsnohlídek had passed away.
However, his most celebrated literary creation was The Cunning Little Vixen published in instalments between April and June 1920, and in book form a year later. The animals have their own characters – from mosquitos to frogs, birds, hares, foxes and badgers. Tĕsnohlídek uses dialect to describe his characters and divides the human world distinctly from the animal kingdom, there are two elements of language – Haná and South Moravian. At one point, the Líšeň dialect is mixed with the reverend’s interjections in Latin and Greek.
Janáček studied the behaviour of wildlife intensely, a friend, who was a gamekeeper, sought out a fox’s den so he could observe the life of the young cubs. As the composer wrote: ‘Quiet seclusion, sleepy forests. I am writing the libretto for Bystrouška and am not far from the end. Almost at the last act.’ Janáček took ten chapters from the novella by Tĕsnohlídek, less than half, into the three acts, and changed their order. Important was the changing seasons, and he excised political aspects while emphasising the poetry of the opera – unscrambling the chronicle demonstrated the finality of the human world and nature’s eternal cycle. Appropriately, the premiere of The Cunning Little Vixen took place in Brno on 6 November 1924, and is, together with Jenůfa, Janacek’s most popular opera today.
In the opening scene of Act I, images of a children’s home in Brno from 1928 were projected onto the backdrop, with the children playing games in the foreground; among them old men lurked, at work looking after the children and these were the founders of the school. The staging by Dragan Stojčevski employed great substituting levels which opened out to become either a roof, or later to reveal the sky and the woods outside. The colour scheme was of bright yellows and orange shades, both for the sets and most of the costumes.
Of the singers, the Sharp-Ears of Kateřina Knĕžíkova was the outstanding vocalist together with a characterisation that should be a model to any other singer. Her luxuriantly flowing soprano was quite extraordinary and dominated every scene. I recall her singing at the Edinburgh International Festival a few months ago in a performance of the Te Deum by Dvořák which was very impressive (review here). She has a great presence, at times witty, and other times loveable. Her partner in Václava Krejčí Housková’s Gold-Stripe was superb with her mellifluous mezzo-soprano and bringing out all the mischief of her role, mixed with affection. Their performances were outstanding. Of the other roles, I was impressed by the flowing lyric tenor of the Schoolmaster Petr Levíček, and by the Parson of Jan Šťáva with his darkly handsome bass and fine characterisation. With his grand bass-baritone voice the Forester of Adam Plachetka was tremendous too. The children were amazing in their play acting and delightfully entertaining games across the complete width of the stage. A fine trick was the emergence of the chickens bursting through the base of the upper staging and amusingly singing at the surprisingly entertaining events around them.
Of the secondary characters, there were excellent performances by Petr Karas’s Mr Pásek, the Harašta of Tadeáš Hoza, but one must mention the splendid contribution of the Brno Children’s Chorus whose startling acting, together with their singing was a highlight of the whole evening. They were admirably assisted by the Chorus of Brno’s Janáček Opera company. The orchestra were excellent with fine solos from the flute, bassoon and the trumpets, plus the glorious harp. All of these supplemented the action on the stage; the uninhibited folk dancing at the close of Act I was particularly splendid.
The choreography was excellently directed by Patricie Částková making full use of the huge cast and adding to the dramatic excitement for the audience. Alexandra Grusková’s costumes were masterful in distinguishing the character of the main cast members and their role in the drama of each scene. The lighting by Daniel Tesař worked well dovetailing into the action and bringing atmosphere to what we saw. In all this was a masterly staging by Jiří Heřman whose work impressed me on my last visit to Brno with his production of Jacobin. This production is another magnificent success for the Brno company and not only closes the Festival Janáček Brno 2024 magnificently but also honours the centenary of the opera’s 1924 premiere.
Gregor Tassie