Czech composer Leoš Janáček’s most famous opera, Jenůfa is a harrowing tale of forbidden love, abandonment, hypocrisy, desperation, and tragic infanticide. As today’s second most frequently performed Czech opera (following Dvorák’s Rusalka), Jenůfa holds a prominent place in international opera repertoire and continues to draw the attention of new audiences. Drawing on both scholarly studies and production experience, Timothy Cheek presents an original English-language translation of the original Czech libretto. As with the first two books in the Janáček Opera Libretti series (Příhody lišky Bystroušky, The Cunning Little Vixen and Kát’a Kabanová), this volume consists of two parts. Part One gives background on the opera, a discussion about the various voice types and roles, Janáček’s style and Czech performance traditions, Czech folk costumes, and a summary of Czech pronunciation and inflection. Part Two provides the original Czech libretto, word-for-word English translations, idiomatic English translations, IPA for pronunciation of the Czech, translations of the stage directions, and notes about certain words in Czech dialect. As a valuable resource not only for performers and directors, but also historians and opera lovers, this book brings new accessibility to a beloved and timeless opera.

This double volume contains two masterpieces of the Czech composer Leos Janacek. Jenufa was the opera which finally brought him international recognition - and, with it, fame at home. Based on Ostrovsky's The Storm, Katya Kabanova contains wonderful music inspired by the composer's love for a much younger woman. The scores are discussed by Arnold Whittall, and the background sources are variously introduced by social and literary historians. John Tyrell comments on an important letter about the genesis of Katya; Sir Charles Mackerras describes his work as an interpreter and advocate of this brilliantly original and dramatic music.Contents: A National Composer Jaroslav Krejci; Drama into Libretto, Karel Brusak; The Challenge from Within: Janacek's Musico-dramatic Mastery, Arnold Whittall; Janacek and Czech Realism, Jan Smaczny; JenAfa: Libretto by Leos Janacek; JenAfa: English translation by Otakar Kraus and Edward Downes; A Russian Heart of Darkness, Alex de Jonge; Janacek's forgotten commentary on 'Katya Kabanova', John Tyrrell; Katya Kabanova: Libretto by Leos Janacek; Katya Kabanova: English translation by Norman Tucker; Janacek's Operas - Preparation and Performance, Charles Mackerras

In 40 extraordinary posters, surprise, witty tricks, and sexual content create a visual pun, and capture the grandeur of the costumes, the music, and the tragedy in beautifully crafted paintings, classical in appearance. ILLUSTRATIONS: 86 colour & 40 b/w

(Limelight). Martin provides a guide to opera that is sweeping in its scope, thorough in its detail, and authoritative in its commentary. He recalls a century of achievement in an art form that today enjoys unprecedented popularity and that has been generously enriched by challenging works in many cases yet to be fully recognized of the modern era.

Offering comprehensive coverage of classical music, this guide surveys more than eleven thousand albums and presents biographies of five hundred composers and eight hundred performers, as well as twenty-three essays on forms, eras, and genres of classical music. Original.

The world's defiinitive single volume of opera reference including: full plot synopses, cast lists, singers, composers, literary and social history, recordings, and much more. Covers over 250 operas performed over the last quarter-century, additional works selected for interest, merit, or historical significance, 64 pages of color plates, 100 black-and-white photographs, fully cross-referenced with indexes and a glossary.

Spanning 400 years of musical drama, Eyewitness Companions: Opera is your guide to the musical world. Explore operas and composers from the late Renaissance on, including such classical masters as Verdi, Puccini, and Bizet. Eyewitness Companions: Opera is the complete visual guidebook to the great operas, their composers and performance history. Eyewitness Companions: Opera includes more than 160 operas by 66 composers around the world. This richly illustrated eBook includes act-by-act plot synopses and storyline highlights, plus detailed profiles cover composers, Librettists, singers, and more.