New production of Janáček’s Jenůfa to premiere in Chicago

A new production of Leoš Janáček’s opera Jenůfa, known in Czech as Její pastorkyňa, is due to premiere in Chicago’s Lyric Opera on Sunday. The new staging will be conducted by Jakub Hrůša, the chief conductor of the Bamberg Symphony, and feature Czech tenor Pavel Černoch in one of the lead roles.

The opera, which premiered in Brno in 1904, was the work that first drew serious attention to Janáček as a composer. It was first staged in the United States 99 years ago at the Metropolitan Opera in New York.

The event will be accompanied by an exhibition presenting composer Leoš Janáček in the foyer of the theatre. It will open next week in the presence of Czech Consul General Jakub Utěšený.