Janacek's Operas: A Documentary Account

440 Pages·1992·33.04 MB·English

by  John Tyrrell

Janacek's Operas

Janacek's Operas
A DOCUMENTARY ACCOUNT
John Tyrrell
PRINCETON UNIVERSITY PRESS
PRINCETON, NEW JERSEY
©John Tyrrell, 1992
All rights reserved. No part of this publication may be reproduced or transmitted in any
form or by any means, electronic or mechanical, including photocopy, recording, or any
other information storage and retrieval system, without permission in writing from the
publisher.
First published in the United States of America in 1992 by
Princeton University Press
41 William Street, Princeton, NewJersey 08540
First published in Great Britain in 1992 by
Faber and Faber Limited
3 Queen Square, London wcin 3 au
Printed in Great Britain
Library of Congress Cataloging-in-Publication Data
Janacek, Leos, 1854-1928
Janacek's operas: a documentary account / (edited by) John Tyrrell
p. cm.
Letters and other writings, chiefly by Janacek.
Translated from Czech or German.
Includes bibliographical references and index.
ISBN 0-691-09148-x
i. Janacek, Leos, 1854-1928. Operas. 2. Opera. I. Tyrrell.
John. II. Title.
ML410.J18A4 1992
782.1^92—dc20
92-16091
CIP
MN
TO DR THEODORA STRAKOVA
AND IN MEMORY OF
DR OTAKAR FIALA

Contents
List of Illustrations ix
Preface xi
Notes for the Reader xv
Map xviii
Chronology of Janacek's Life and Works xix
i Sarka i
z The Beginning of a Romance 21
3 Jenufa 41
4 Fate 108
5 The Excursions of Mr Broucek 161
6 Kdfa Kabanova 248
7 The Cunning Little Vixen 282
8 The Makropulos Affair 304
9 From the House of the Dead 326
Epilogue 343
Chronologies of the Operas 344
Glossary of Names and Terms 359
List of Sources 367
Bibliography 378
General Index 389
Index of Janacek's Works 399

List of Illustrations
Map of Bohemia and Moravia in 1918 page xviii
1 Jaroslav Vesfn's picture 'The Beginning of a Romance' (1885)
2 Gabriela Preissova in 18 89
3 Fedora Bartosova
4 Two water-colour views of Luhacovice by Zdenka Vorlova-Vlckova
5 (a) Mrs Kamila Urvalkova in 1903, (b) Ludvfk Vftezslav Celansky in
1894
6 Illustrations by Viktor Oliva for the first editions of Svatopluk Cech's
Broucek novels (1888—9)
7 Kamila Stosslova in 19Z7
8 Set designs by Josef Capek for the Prague premiere (1928) of The
Makropulos Affair
9 Leos Janacek and Kamila Stosslova in Luhacovice, summer 1927
10 Dr Frantisek Vesely and his wife Marie Calma-Vesela in 1922
The illustrations appear by kind permission of the following: Music Division
of the Moravian Provincial Museum, Brno (1, 3-5,7, 8,10,11); Prague
National Museum, Theatre Division (9 and front jacket).