A timeless, chilling story from the Moravian countryside about jealousy, forgiveness and hope will be performed by members of the Moravian Theater Olomouc in a production that is co-produced with the Brno National Theater as part of the Janáček Brno festival. The all-female staging team, led by director Veronika Kos Loulova, will present Jenůfa in the original version from 1904. This year, it celebrates one hundred and twenty years since its premiere. The new staging brings an updated view of this world-famous opera drama - the merciless fate of Jenůfa the creator will be connected, among other things, to the authentic statements of women for whom, for various reasons, the birth of a child was not a joyful event from the beginning.
The production team decided to present the opera under the name Jenůfa. It is mainly about putting the emphasis on the main heroine (that is why her name should be heard straight away), at the same time, this is the version of the title that is used for the work abroad.
One of the essential and timeless topics of life that Janáček opens up is the question of motherhood. The birth of a child is generally perceived as the beginning of the most beautiful period of life, but when combined with depression or anxiety, it can turn into a terrifying nightmare. At the instigation of the director of the Moravian Theater, David Gerneš, when creating the concept of the production, the theater turned to the organization Úsměv mamy, which focuses on professional help for women with postpartum depression and other psychological problems associated with motherhood.
Marta Ljubkova