Jenůfa
Jenufa
Constance loves the Opera, and as usual rode in my pocket to the Royal Theatre for the first opera of the Pacific Opera Victoria’s season – Leoš Janáček’s Jenůfa.
The story is sad and complicated, with people trapped by mistakes, expectations and traditions…the music is emotional and beautiful. The talented cast and orchestra swept us along through joy, heartbreak, desperation, deception, and at the very end, understanding and forgiveness.
We loved the production, directed by Atom Egoyan. The colours were warm and clear, the movement on stage natural and believable – and there was a vivid splotch of red which kept reappearing throughout the whole performance – a woman knitting in the beginning, the baby’s bonnet in the middle, and Jenůfa’s wedding dress at the end. The performers wore modern clothing, with glimpses of traditional dress – the young ones on stage had cell-phones that were annoying, as they were no doubt meant to be! It is so nice to see a production with a light touch, and a coherence and confidence that shone continually.
We are so glad to have the chance to go to live performances of opera in our own home town! Thank you Pacific Opera Victoria! Please check the POV website here for details about the performance, scenes from the opera and interviews with the director.
To view Constance’s other opera experiences go to this link.
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I love Constance’s costume. This is an opera that I am not familiar with. Thanks for sharing it!
Constance was emulating the slightly traditional women in the opera…the music is lovely, like most of the Czech music I am familiar with.
Constance has a thoughtful expression on her face. She appears to be pondering the experience she shared with you at the Opera. Hitty’s are wonderful friends to share our lives with, don’t you think?
I do think so too. Constance has come with me to pretty much every opera I have been to since she was carved, and also is a good companion on many ups and downs of life.
lovely as always. We listen to the operas here…they are not on TV but the public broadcasting radio station airs them on Sunday. I shall be listening! And imagining the pops of red…
This one was live production in our theatre real people, not on tv or a “live in HD” movie theatre one. If you are listening to the radio, it is most likely going to be a different opera unless it is a fabulous coincidence. On The CBC’s Saturday Afternoon at the Opera today, it was La Boheme…
Thanks for bringing news of the latest opera offering to us. You’ve awakened me to such gems that I never gave much thought to.
You are very welcome. We are glad we can support our local musicians and thespians. We find it endlessly fascinating to see how different the productions can be, and we really enjoyed this one!