Leoš Janáček was inspired to write the opera by a cartoon newspaper series about the adventures of the fox Bystrouška. This poetic work is a declaration of the composer's love for nature and a celebration of life. Janáček's music is a fascinating symbiosis of vocal and orchestral sound. It is witty, romantic, nostalgic, and harsh. Milan Kundera called Janáček's opera "a harrowing idyll."

 

The forester catches the fox and locks it in the yard of the grove. Vixen Bystrouška manages to escape back to the forest, where she meets the fox Zlatohřbítko, and they have little fox cubs together. However, Bystrouška is eventually shot in the forest. After a while, the forester meets little Bystrouška, who looks just like her mother. As Kundera put it: "The animal and human worlds are united by the same existential theme: time that is passing, old age, which is the goal of all journeys."

 

Presented on the occasion of the Year of Czech Music 2024 and the 170th anniversary of Leoš Janáček's birth.

Première September 21, 2024