The Beginning of a Novel (Janáček Brno 2026)

ABOUT

The complete presentation of Leoš Janáček’s operas during the 10th edition of the festival is a unique opportunity to enjoy not only his mature masterpieces but also works that are rarely performed on stage today. Alongside Janáček’s debut opera Šárka, this includes his second opera The Beginning of a Romance, a work deeply influenced by the period of his intense engagement with folk music.

The libretto is based on the short story of the same name by Gabriela Preissová, which was inspired by a genre painting by Jaroslav Věšín. After Eliška Krásnohorská declined to collaborate, the text was written by Janáček’s former grammar school classmate František Rypáček, who published under the pseudonym Jaromír Tichý.
The simple story of the love between the village girl Poluška and the young nobleman Adolf, a love that is not accepted by Adolf’s parents, is filled with music derived from Janáček’s transcriptions of folk songs. Janáček himself described the opera as a vaudeville, a genre characterized by a simple plot accompanied by popular, i.e., folk melodies – here including folk dances.
The premiere took place on 10 February 1894 in Brno under the composer’s own direction and brought Janáček his first theatrical success. At that time, he was already working on Jenůfa, in which he discovered his distinctive musical language and set out on a completely different path from the one outlined in The Beginning of a Romance.

Nevertheless, it is fascinating to hear what preceded his first great opera. The libretto, although perhaps naïve in language, contains a timeless story of the clash between two social classes – the closing line, “Let those who belong together be united,” still sends chills down the spine today.
For this reason, the production has been entrusted to young artists. The direction is by Marek Řihák, a recent graduate of JAMU, whose concept brings the story into the present day:

“Just as Jaroslav Věšín in his painting and Gabriela Preissová in her story captured the meeting of two social classes who, according to the customs of their time, could not form closer friendships, Janáček carried this idea into his opera The Beginning of a Romance. Poluška and Adolf represent two worlds that in the hearts of the young wish to come together, but for the older generation, this is merely a foolish idea.
Although it may seem that times have changed and people today no longer concern themselves with differences of origin, the new staging of The Beginning of a Romance shows the opposite. What used to be the aristocracy is now the social class that fully embraces technology – to the point where the line between living human beings and humanoid robots begins to blur. We live in an age of artificial intelligence and advanced technologies that we use so intensively every day that love between a girl and an attractive robot may no longer be mere fiction – nor something to be feared. The question remains: will Poluška succumb to beautiful but artificial words, or will her heart choose the folk melody instead?”

The production is presented in cooperation with the Brno University of Technology and the Faculty of Electrical Engineering and Communication of the Brno University of Technology.

Text: Patricie Částková

Creatives

Composer: Leoš Janáček
Conductor: Ondrej Olos
Director: Marek Řihák
Dramaturge: Josef Škarka
Set Design: Tomáš Rusín
Costumes: Zora Davidová
Lighting Design: Pavla Beranová
Orchestra: Czech Virtuosi
Choir: Vox Iuvenalis
Choir Conductor: Jan Ocetek
Hausopera (in co-production with the National Theatre Brno)

Cast

Poluška – TBC
Jurásková – Daniela Straková
Countess Irma – Alžběta Symerská
Tonek, a peasant’s son – Michael Robotka
Baron Adolf – Raman Hasymau
Mudroch, the forester – Daniel Kfelíř
Jurásek – Jiří Sulženko
Count Halužanský – Josef Škarka