A successful return of Jenůfa

On Friday 1 December, the National Theatre staged the revived production of Janáček’s Jenůfa.

The 2005 production, directed by Jiří Nekvasil and with the sets designed by Daniel Dvořák, for the first time featured the National Theatre Opera soloist Alžběta Poláčková in the role of Jenůfa. The review published on the internet portal Opera Plus, assessed her debut performance: “Jenůfa is a great step forward in Alžběta Poláčková’s repertoire. The singer sounds great in all the registers, her pronunciation was for the most part clear, she was capable of lucidly phrasing the vocal line, which she constantly varied in terms of expression and dynamics, duly creating a forcible portrait of the character. It may be assumed that her debut as Jenůfa is the basis for the future development of the heroine, and that Poláčková will further improve her performance as regards the melodic passages, and she will nuance even more the vocal expression and acting.” 

Partners to Poláčková on stage were Eliška Weissová as Kostelnička, Peter Berger and Tomáš Juhás as Jenůfa’s half-brothers Laca and Štěva, and Jitka Svobodová, debuting in the role of the Mayor’s wife. The revived production is conducted by Jaroslav Kyzlink, the music director of the National Theatre Opera. 

The next performances will take place on 15 and 29 December, with Eva Urbanová starring in the role of Kostelnička. 

Further information about the production HERE