THE CUNNING LITTLE VIXEN (Janáček Brno 2024)

ABOUT

Although Janáček’s The Cunning Little Vixen belongs to Brno, the northern Moravia also has its merit in the creation of the famous opera. Janáček also liked to visit Hukvaldy, where he was born, in his later years during the summer and it was the local forests and their forester who provided him with information about the life of foxes, which he then brought to the stage in an original operatic form. And that is why our colleagues from the Moravian-Silesian Theatre in Ostrava will be joining us to celebrate the centenary of the The Cunning Little Vixen with a brand new production. Israeli director and outstanding choreographer Itzik Galili has collaborated with many outstanding ballet ensembles around the world and together with conductor Mark Šedivý, they will surely bring a fresh perspective to one of Janáček’s most popular operas.

The Cunning Little Vixen is one of Janáček’s most lyrical and melodious operas. It sparkles with humour, kindly and a little whimsically prickly at the same time, and captivates with a peculiar concept of the intertwining world of humans and animals, earthiness, a kind philosophy of life, even mysticism. At the beginning of the story about the cunning vixen, there was the decision of the Brno editorial office of Lidové noviny to regularly bring its readers cartoons with funny text. Stanislav Lolek (1873–1936), a great lover of nature and originally a gamekeeper by profession, was among the painters approached, and the texts were written by Rudolf Těsnohlídek. The Janáček household were regular readers of Lidové noviny and the composer was intrigued by the cartoons. During the holidays of 1921 he began to sketch a script for a new opera about Sharp-Ears and to work on the libretto. From the original twenty-three chapters of the series, he selected ten, emphasized the animal world and reduced the number of human characters appearing, merging some of them into one. Těsnohlídek’s story ends with the wedding of Sharp-Ears and Gold-Stripe. However, Janáček decided to make a serious change from the original text and let the main character die, because as a true playwright, he felt the need for catharsis. The result is a unique work about nature and the cycle of life.

Patricie Částková

Cast & creatives

Author: Leoš Janáček

Conductor: Marek Šedivý

Director: Itzik Galili

Ensemble: National Moravian-Silesian Theatre