Jenufa, Janácek’s first theatrical masterpiece, is the tragedy of two women – Jenufa, the vain and impulsive young rural beauty, and Kostelnic¡ka, her severe, religious and forceful stepmother – entwined in the consequences of their emotions. The work is based on a story by Gabriela Preissová, whose short stories and dramas of Moravian village life were among the first Czechoslovakian works of ‘kitchen sink’ realism and the story on which Jenufa is based, Her Foster-daughter, caused something of a scandal when it was first published in 1890. It is a grim tale of Jenufa, a village girl whose illegitimate child is murdered by her stepmother to protect Jenufa’s honour and wedding prospects.

Janácek was a late developer and was already in his early forties when he began work on the opera. Eight years elapsed between the writing of the first and second acts. There are still hints of traditional romantic opera in the early scenes, though Janácek’s unique musical world is apparent from the opening bars. By the time the curtain opens on the second act, however, there is no doubt that we are in the presence of a theatrical master craftsman. The opening notes – an abrupt fortissimo chord and a shuddering string tremolo – plunge us into the claustrophobia of the Kostelnic¡ka’s cottage. The emotional intensity of this act brings to mind the mature operas of Puccini and it is fascinating to think of the young Tuscan and the Moravian working simultaneously on dramas which focus on young women abandoned by the fathers of their new-born children. What separates Jenufa and Madame Butterfly, though, is Janácek’s total lack of sentimentality. This, along with the severe conclusion, proved too much for his contemporaries, and he was forced to accept cuts and reorchestrations to soften the impact of the original.