The Cunning Little Vixen

Leoš Janáček

The Cunning Little Vixen

Opera

This production is presented on the occasion of the Year of Czech Music 2024

A four-act opera in three acts in the Czech language. Czech and English subtitles
The new SND building, Opera and Ballet hall
22. 9. 2024 17:00 h - 18:40 h
Leoš Janáček was inspired to write the opera by a 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. 
By arrangement with UNIVERSAL EDITION AG, Vienna, www.universaledition.com
 
The production is suitable for audiences aged 15 and over. It contains expressive scenes, smoking and gunshots are fired on stage during the performance.
 
A four-act opera in three acts in the Czech language. Czech and English subtitles.

Running time: 1 hour 40 minutes, no interval

Première September 21, 2024
 
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Production Team

Musical Direction Juraj Valčuha
Conductor Juraj Valčuha
Stage Director Sláva Daubnerová
Stage and Lighting Design Volker Hintermeier
Costumes Design Tereza Kopecká
Choirmasters of the Bratislava Boys Choir Gabriel Rovňák Magdaléna Rovňáková
Dramaturgy Jozef Červenka

Cast

Sharp-Ears (Bystrouška) the Vixen Michaela Kušteková
Gold-Stripe (Zlatohřbítek) the Fox Jana Kurucová
Forester (Revírník) Daniel Čapkovič
Schoolmaster/Mosquito Ondrej Šaling
Parson/Badger Jan Šťáva
Mrs Forester/Owl Denisa Hamarová
Mrs Pásková/ Woodpecker Mária Štúrová
Chocholka Andrea Vizvári
Young Vixen Bystrouška Eva Kovářová
Sharp-Ears (Bystrouška) the Vixen (alter ego) Stanislava Vlk Vlčeková