Leos Janácek

Died: Ostrava, Czechoslovakia, 12 Aug. 1928

Operas

• Sárka (1887; 11.11.1925 Brno [version 4]) [rev. 1888, 1918, 1924]. Opera in 3 Acts by Julius Zeyer.
• Pocatek románu (10.2.1894 Brünn [Brno]). Opera in 1 Act by Jaroslav Tichý (pseudonym of Frantisek Rypácek), after a short story by Gabriela Preissová.
  • The Beginning of a Romance
• Jenufa - Její pastorkyna (21.1.1904, Brünn). [rev. 1906, 1911, 1916]. Opera in 3 Acts by LJ, after the drama of Moravian peasant life, Její pastorkyna, by Gabriela Preissová.
  • Jenufa - Ihre Ziehtochter
  • Jenufa - Her Step-daughter [1]
• Osud (1904; 18.9.1934 Brno Radio broadcast). Opera in 3 Acts by Fedora Bartosová, after an idea by LJ.
  • Destiny (Fate)
• Výlety páne Brouckovy (23.4.1920 Praha). Opera in 2 Parts by Viktor Dyk (Part 1) and Frantisek S. Procházka (Part 2), after the novel by Svatopluk Cech. [2]
  • Die Ausflüge des Herrn Broucek
  • The Excursions of Mr. Broucek
• Káta Kabanová (23.11.1921 Brno). Opera in 3 Acts by LJ, after the play Groza (The Storm) by Alexander Ostrovsky (translation by Vincenc Cervinka).
• Príhody lisky Bystrousky (6.11.1923 Brno). Opera in 3 Acts by LJ, after the story by Rudolf Tesnohlídek.
  • Das schlaue Füchslein
  • The Cunning Little Vixen [3]
• Vec Makropulos (18.12.1926 Brno). Opera in 3 Acts by LJ, after the drama by Karel Capek.
  • Die Sache Makropulos
  • The Makropulos Case
• Z mrtvého domu (12.4.1930 Brno). Opera in 3 Acts by LJ, after the novel by Fyodor Dostoyevsky.
  • Aus einem Totenhaus
  • From the House of the Dead

Unfinished Operas, Sketches

• Príyhody posledního Abencerage (The Adventures of the Last of the Abencerages) (1886). After Chateaubriand.
• Andelská sonata (The Angel Sonata) (1903). After J. Merhaut.
• Honza hrdina (John the Hero) (1905). After Karel Dostál-Lutinov.
• Gazdina roba (The Farmer's Wench) (1907). After Gabriela Preisssová.
• Paní Mincmistrová (The Mintmaster's Wife) (1907). After L. Stroupeznický.
• Anna Karenina (1907). After Lev Tolstoy.
• Zivá mrtvola (The Living Corpse) (1916). After Lev Tolstoy.
• Divoska (The Tomboy) (1920). After V. Krylov.
• Díte (The Child) (1923). After the drama by F. X. Salda.

Other Dramatic Music

• Smrt (Death) (13.11.1876, Brünn). Melodrama [lost].
• Valasské tance (Valachian Dances) (1889). Ballet [incomplete].
• Rákós Rákóczy (24.7.1891, Prague). Ballet.
• Amarus (2.12.1900, KromÌríz). Cantata by Jaroslav Vrchlický.
• Na Soláni Carták (Carták on the Solán) (23.3.1912, Prostejov). Cantata by Max Kurt.
• Vecné evangelium (The Eternal Gospel) (5.2.1917, Prague). Cantata by Jaroslav Vrchlický.
• Schluck und Jau (1928; 13.9.1979, Praha). Incidental music to the play by Gerhardt Hauptmann [incomplete].

Notes

1. Often translated as Her Foster-Daughter. The word pastorkyna is ambiguous, meaning simply "not a real daughter". The German title of the published score, Jenufa - ihre Ziehtochter, means "foster-daughter". Janácek argued vigorously (but unsuccessfully) with the publisher in favor of ihre Stieftochter, which does specifically mean step-daughter and accurately describes Jenufa's relationship to the Kostelnicka.
2. Originally conceived as an opera on the subject only of Part 1, Výlet pana Broucka do mesíce (Mr. Broucek's Trip to the Moon); Part 2, Výlet pana Broucka do XV století (Mr. Broucek's Trip to the Fifteenth Century) was incorporated prior to completion. Concerning the librettists, although Dyk and Procházka are credited on the vocal score, the libretto of Part 1 was a confused tangle of contributions from the composer, Fedora Bartosová, Dr. Zikmund Janke, Karel Masek, Josef Holý, Frantisek Gellner, Dyk, Procházka, and Jirí Mahen.
3. Sometimes translated as The Adventures of Vixen Sharp-Ears. The fox's name Bystrouska literally means "sharp ears". It has been argued however that its treatment as a three-syllable rather than four-syllable word suggests rather a form of "sharp i.e. clever one", which is the sense of the German title. In any case it appears that the name of the original of the character (who appeared in a newspaper cartoon series) was intended to be Bystronozka ("light-footed"); the name Bystrouska was the result of a typographical error!

Related Sites

• www.leosjanacek.co.uk - information about the composer, synopses, discographies, links to related sites

References:

Ewans, Michael: Janácek's Tragic Operas Faber & Faber, London; 1977

Hollander, Hans: Leos Janácek: His life and work John Calder, London; 1963

Horsburgh, Ian: Leos Janácek: The field that prospered. David & Charles, London; 1981.

Vogel, Jaroslav: Leos Janácek: His Life and Works. Paul Hamlyn, London; 1962. [English translation by Geraldine Thomsen-Muchová]