Leoš Janáček: The Cunning Little Vixen (Janáček Brno 2026)

ABOUT

The most famous fox on the operatic stage is surely Janáček’s in Brno! Captivating, tender, and filled with children and their toys, who transform the Forester’s house into a forest and themselves into woodland creatures with playful ease.

Every Janáček opera is a unique creation, and The Cunning Little Vixen, where the human and animal worlds intertwine on stage, has no equivalent in the operatic repertoire. Janáček sought a subject that would reflect his view of the world and of the eternal cycle of life, and so his Vixen dies at the hands of the poacher Harašta. Yet another young vixen appears… life goes on. That is as it should be, and Janáček’s music tells us the same: lyrical and melodic, with an orchestra shimmering in the colours of the Bílovice forests and the creatures that live within them. Everything sparkles with humour—at times bristly in a typically Janáček manner, but essentially full of kindness.

The author of the literary source, Rudolf Těsnohlídek, was also the founder of the beautiful tradition of the Republic’s Christmas Tree, and his discovery of the little girl Liduška in the forest before Christmas became one of Janáček’s inspirations for the Vixen story. This is also reflected in director Jiří Heřman’s staging: “The inspiration came from Těsnohlídek’s great idea of building the Dagmar Children’s Home, where we have set our production. We tell the Vixen’s story through the eyes of children.”

Premiere: 17 November 2018, Janáček Theatre

Performed in the original Czech version with Czech, English, and German surtitles.

This production is suitable for children from 6 years of age.

Creatives

Composer: Leoš Janáček
Conductor: Tomáš Netopil
Musical direction: Marko Ivanović
Director: Jiří Heřman
Scene: Dragan Stojčevski
Costumes: Alexandra Grusková
Lights: Daniel Tesař
Pohybová spolupráce: Kateřina Nováčková
Choirmaster: Martin Buchta
Dramaturgy: Patricie Částková
Ensemble: Janáček Opera of the National Theatre Brno
Orchestra: ORF Vienna Radio Symphony Orchestra

Obsazení

Bystrouška – Kateřina Kněžíková
Zlatohřbítek – Václava Krejčí Housková
Forester- Adam Plachetka
Schoolmaster / Mosquito – Petr Levíček
Reverend / Badger – Jan Šťáva
Forester´s wife / Owl – Daniela Straková
Mr. Pásek – Petr Karas
Mrs. Pásková / Woodpecker – Jitka Zerhauová
Pepík – Barbora Šancová
Frantík – Eva Daňhilová
Harašta – Tadeáš Hoza
Grasshopper – Barbora Šancová
Cricket – Eva Daňhilová
Lapák – Alžběta Symerská
Rooster – Andrea Široká
Crested Hen – Veronika Zaplatilová
Jay – Andrea Široká