(c) Daniel Escalé Gran Teatre del Liceu: Jenůfa
Barcelona, Gran Teatre del Liceu — Sala Principal
About the Event
Immerse yourself in the rich cultural tapestry of the Gran Teatre del Liceu as it proudly presents Jenůfa, a masterpiece of Czech opera composed by Leoš Janáček.
Jenůfa, by Leoš Janáček, floods the Liceu with overwhelming emotional power in Àlex Ollé’s new and exceptional production, with the ever‐revealing conducting of Jonathan Nott and a luxury cast led by Asmik Grigorian and Nina Stemme.
Inspired by the harshness of rural life and the stern morality of a closed community, Jenůfa becomes a modern passion in which the sacred and the sacrilegious intertwine in an unsettling dance of devastating consequences.
At the heart of the drama beat two female figures in constant tension: Jenůfa, wounded by love and shame, and the Kostelnička, her stepmother, both moral beacon and author of a crime that changes everything. Jenůfa embodies profaned innocence that, despite the pain, remains sacred The Kostelnička, on the other hand, represents the paroxysm of a law without compassion: the strict voice of community and religion.
His act —the murder of Jenůfa’s illegitimate child— is the sacrilegious gesture par excellence: not only because it is a crime, but because it is carried out in the name of a distorted love, an imposed honour, a perverted sense of the sacred. She kills to save, lies to protect, drowns one life to “redeem” another. Thus, the opera becomes a brutally contemporary parable: how far can moral fanaticism go? Can a forced sacrifice justify the destruction of innocence?
Janáček, with music that is direct, lyrical and spiritual to the limit, writes this drama with an intensity that pierces all defences. The vocal writing gives a tragic truth to the characters, while the orchestra delves into their deepest thoughts and anguish.
And yet, Jenůfa is also a work about forgiveness. When the protagonist forgives the Kostelnička, the opera reveals itself as a great spiritual tragedy in which compassion overcomes dogma and grace blossoms where only despair seemed possible.
Opera in three acts
Libretto by Leoš Janáček based on Jeji pastorkyna by Gabriela Preissová
World premiere: 21 January 1904 at the National Theatre in Brno
Barcelona premiere: 14 January 1965 at the Gran Teatre del Liceu
Last performance at the Liceu: 5 June 2005
Total performances at the Liceu: 17
Program
- Leos Janacek – Jenůfa
Cast / Production
Grandmother Buryjovka
Marta Infante
Laca Klemen
Pavel Černoch
Števa Buryja
James Ley
Kostelnička Buryjovka
Nina Stemme
Jenůfa
Asmik Grigorian
The Mill Foreman
Guillem Batllori 8, 14 And 20 May
Nojus Zalys 11, 16 And 22 May
The Mayor
Christopher Robertson
The Mayor’s Wife
Laura Vila
Karolka
Rosa Maria Abella
A Shepherdess
Olga Szabo
Mariel Aguilar
Barena
Alexandra Zabala
Mariel Fontes
Jano
Ruth González
Aunt
Elisabeth Gillming
Cristina Tena
Voice 1
Raquel Lucena
Helena Zaborowska
Voice 2
Dimitar Darlev
Alessandro Vandin
Address
Gran Teatre del Liceu, La Rambla, 51‐59, Barcelona, Spain — Google Maps
