Leoš Janáček

Died: Ostrava, Czechoslovakia, 12 Aug. 1928

Operas

• Šárka (1887; 11.11.1925 Brno [version 4]) [rev. 1888, 1918, 1924]. Opera in 3 Acts by Julius Zeyer.
• Počatek románu (10.2.1894 Brünn [Brno]). Opera in 1 Act by Jaroslav Tichý (pseudonym of František Rypáček), after a short story by Gabriela Preissová.
  • The Beginning of a Romance
• Jenůfa - Její pastorkyňa (21.1.1904, Brünn). [rev. 1906, 1911, 1916]. Opera in 3 Acts by LJ, after the drama of Moravian peasant life, Její pastorkyňa, 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 Bartošová, after an idea by LJ.
  • Destiny (Fate)
• Výlety páně Broučkovy (23.4.1920 Praha). Opera in 2 Parts by Viktor Dyk (Part 1) and František S. Procházka (Part 2), after the novel by Svatopluk Čech. [2]
  • Die Ausflüge des Herrn Brouček
  • The Excursions of Mr. Brouček
• Káťa Kabanová (23.11.1921 Brno). Opera in 3 Acts by LJ, after the play Groza (The Storm) by Alexander Ostrovsky (translation by Vincenc Červinka).
• Příhody lišky Bystroušky (6.11.1923 Brno). Opera in 3 Acts by LJ, after the story by Rudolf Těsnohlídek.
  • Das schlaue Füchslein
  • The Cunning Little Vixen [3]
• Věc Makropulos (18.12.1926 Brno). Opera in 3 Acts by LJ, after the drama by Karel Čapek.
  • 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

• Příyhody posledního Abencerage (The Adventures of the Last of the Abencerages) (1886). After Chateaubriand.
• Andělská 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. Stroupežnický.
• Anna Karenina (1907). After Lev Tolstoy.
• Živá mrtvola (The Living Corpse) (1916). After Lev Tolstoy.
• Divoška (The Tomboy) (1920). After V. Krylov.
• Dítě (The Child) (1923). After the drama by F. X. Šalda.

Other Dramatic Music

• Smrt (Death) (13.11.1876, Brünn). Melodrama [lost].
• Valašské tance (Valachian Dances) (1889). Ballet [incomplete].
• Rákós Rákóczy (24.7.1891, Prague). Ballet.
• Amarus (2.12.1900, Kroměříž). Cantata by Jaroslav Vrchlický.
• Na Soláni Čarták (Čarták on the Soláň) (23.3.1912, Prostějov). Cantata by Max Kurt.
• Věčné 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". Janáček argued vigorously (but unsuccessfully) with the publisher in favor of ihre Stieftochter, which does specifically mean step-daughter and accurately describes Jenůfa's relationship to the Kostelnička.
2. Originally conceived as an opera on the subject only of Part 1, Výlet pana Broučka do mešíce (Mr. Brouček's Trip to the Moon); Part 2, Výlet pana Broučka do XV století (Mr. Brouček'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 Bartošová, Dr. Zikmund Janke, Karel Mašek, Josef Holý, František Gellner, Dyk, Procházka, and Jiří Mahen.
3. Sometimes translated as The Adventures of Vixen Sharp-Ears. The fox's name Bystrouška 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 Bystronožka ("light-footed"); the name Bystrouška 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: Janáček's Tragic Operas Faber & Faber, London; 1977
• Hollander, Hans: Leoš Janáček: His life and work John Calder, London; 1963
• Horsburgh, Ian: Leoš Janáček: The field that prospered. David & Charles, London; 1981.
• Vogel, Jaroslav: Leoš Janáček: His Life and Works. Paul Hamlyn, London; 1962. [English translation by Geraldine Thomsen-Muchová]