Janáček: Jenufa

Mette Ejsing (Grandmother Buryja), Miroslav Dvorský (Laca Klemen), Nikolai Schukoff (Števa Buryja), Deborah Polaski (Kostelnicka Buryja), Amanda Roocroft (Jenufa), Károly Szemerédy (Foreman), Miguel Sola (Mayor), Marta Ubieta (Karolka)

Teatro Real, Ivor Bolton, Stéphane Braunschweig

Something in the composer's writing brings out the best in [Roocroft's] creamy voice and committed acting, and here she's superb as a young woman who forgives her stepmother for committing a... — Classic FM Magazine, November 2011, 3 out of 5 stars More…

Release Date: 1st Aug 2011
Catalogue No: OABD7089D
Label: Opus Arte

Janáček: Jenufa

Recorded live at the Teatro Real, October 2009
Mette Ejsing (Grandmother Buryja), Miroslav Dvorský (Laca Klemen), Nikolai Schukoff (Števa Buryja), Deborah Polaski (Kostelnicka Buryja), Amanda Roocroft (Jenufa), Károly Szemerédy (Foreman), Miguel Sola (Mayor), Marta Mathéu (Mayor’s wife), Marta Ubieta (Karolka), María José Suárez (Shepherdess), Sandra Ferrández (Barena), Elena Poesina (Jano) & Marina Makhmoutova (Aunt)
Chorus and Orchestra of the Teatro Real
Ivor Bolton (conductor) & Stéphane Braunschweig (director)

About
Reviews
Explore

About

The vulnerable young woman at the heart of Janacek's breakthrough opera is a signature role for the English soprano Amanda Roocroft. Here, in Stéphane Braunschweig's clear but deeply affecting production, she is partnered by the Slovak tenor Miroslav Dvorsky, as the man through whom she finds redemption, love and hope. The complex figure of the Kostelnicka becomes both tormentor and tormented in this fearless interpretation by the great dramatic soprano Deborah Polaski.

Extra features:

Cast gallery

Illustrated synopsis

Running time 136 mins

Region Code All regions

Picture format 16:9 Anamorphic

Sound format 2.0LPCM + 5.1(5.0) DTS

Menu languages EN

Subtitles EN/FR/DE/ES

Reviews

November 2011

Something in the composer's writing brings out the best in [Roocroft's] creamy voice and committed acting, and here she's superb as a young woman who forgives her stepmother for committing a terrible crime. Deborah Polaski, as the stepmother, sings with fierce power

November 2011

Braunschweig gives us Jenufa stark and simple, the stage almost bare, the opera's emotions stripped to the bone...Nothing is allowed to deflect concentration from the central human drama. Amanda Roocroft has won laurels as Jenufa in various stage productions and comes across as a deeply sincere performer here, even if the voice is apt to turn shrill at the top...[Polaski's] very understatement is moving in its own way.

October 2011

Roocroft plays a Jenufa who moves believably from innocent girl to disillusioned woman...Only very occasionally do the musical care and dramatic restraint of Polaski's Kostelnicka not go quite far enough, but rather that than over-the-top histrionics...Schukoff exudes unmistakable sexual allure in his caddish role.

August 2012

[Roocroft's] voice seems perfect for the role and she sings it superbly, as does Polaski as the Kostelnicka. Both characters come off as multi-dimensional, but Roocroft seems older than what one would expect...[Bolton]has the measure of the score and the orchestra plays very well for him. He balances the powerful sections where the timpani pound and the brass are given the lead, with the more lyrical passages

May 2014

With her luminous tone and air of fragility, British soprano Amanda Roocroft has made a speciality of Janáček's downtrodden heroines and appears to best advantage here in Stéphane Braunschweig's 2009 production from Madrid. Deborah Polaski blazes conflict and conviction as her stepmother, and Nikolai Schukoff oozes testosterone as the feckless Števa.

Janáček: Jenufa

Contents

Download queue

Janáček: Jenufa

Blu-ray

Other available formats

Contents

Download queue