Recommended for Grades 6-12
In this resource, you will:
- Learn the opera’s background and synopsis
- Meet the opera’s composer
ůڲ
by Leoš Janáček
ůڲ
by Leoš &ܳٱ;č
A quick overview of &ܳٱ;č’s 1904 opera dedicated to the memory of his daughter.
Background
The year after Gabriela Preissová’s play Her Stepdaughter premiered in Prague in 1890, &ܳٱ;č wrote a libretto based on one of her short stories as his opera The Beginning of a Romance.
In 1893, he began a libretto based on Her Stepdaughter, which would later become ůڲ, the work that would launch his operatic career. The entire opera was completed by 1903, and &ܳٱ;č was able to perform it for his ailing daughter Olga before her death. The work is dedicated to her memory.
The director of Prague’s National Theatre, Karel Kovařovic, refused to present ůڲ, so the premiere was held in Brno the next year, conducted by &ܳٱ;č’s student, Cyril Metoděj Hrazdira. Moderately successful, it toured until 1913, when Kovařovic was finally persuaded to stage the work with his revisions. &ܳٱ;č agreed, and the opera opened in Prague on May 26, 1916, establishing ůڲ’s place in the operatic repertoire and &ܳٱ;č’s operatic career outside Brno.
Synopsis
Act I
ůڲ waits anxiously to hear if her beloved Števa is to be drafted, for she is carrying his child and her secret will soon become common knowledge. She is relieved to learn that he has not been called to serve, and they can proceed with their marriage plans. Števa’s stepbrother Laca secretly loves ůڲ. An inebriated Števa staggers in with some boisterous recruits, musicians, and villagers who break into a rowdy dance. Their raucous behavior incurs the disapproval of ůڲ’s stepmother, the Kostelnička.
Remembering her own drunken husband, the Kostelnička tells Števa he can marry ůڲ only after a year of abstaining from drink, and Grandmother Buryjovka sends the revelers away. Alone with Števa, ůڲ reproaches him for his disrespectful behavior and implores him not to provoke her stepmother, lest she forbid their marriage. Still in a cavalier mood, Števa brags about his popularity with the village girls, but tells ůڲ she is the most beautiful of all and praises her lovely apple-red cheeks.
Števa leaves. Laca tries to incite ůڲ’s anger against Števa. Failing, he impulsively slashes her cheek with a knife. At ůڲ’s cries, Grandmother Buryjovka and the foreman come running. The worker Barena, who has been looking on, tells the others it was an accident, but the foreman, who knows of Laca’s feelings for ůڲ, accuses Laca of hurting her deliberately.
Act II
While everyone thinks ůڲ has been sent away to Vienna, the Kostelnička has hidden her away at home, where she has given birth to a boy. Though ůڲ loves the child, the Kostelnička cannot bear the shame. Having secretly sent for Števa, the Kostelnička gives ůڲ some sleeping medicine. When Števa arrives, the Kostelnička tells him about the baby and kneels before him, begging him to wed ůڲ and claim his son. Števa refuses; he is now engaged to Karolka, the Mayor’s daughter.
Now ůڲ’s distraught stepmother turns to Laca, who is eager to marry the girl. He is so taken aback to hear about the baby that the Kostelnička impulsively lies that the child is dead. There is only one way for her now. Taking the child, she heads for the frozen river to drown him. ůڲ wakes disoriented just as the Kostelnička returns. The Kostelnička takes advantage of her state by telling her she has been in a coma for two days and the baby has died. She also tells her of Števa’s coming marriage.
Laca returns, humbly offering himself to the girl, but she reminds him that she has neither wealth nor honor. Laca insists that he loves ůڲ despite everything. ůڲ agrees to become his wife.
Act III
Two months later, the marriage between ůڲ and Laca is about to take place. Among the guests are the Mayor and his wife—who loudly notices ůڲ’s sober wedding dress—and Števa with his coquettish fiancée, Karolka. Barena and some other girls arrive with flowers, and Grandmother Buryjovka blesses the couple. It is the Kostelnička’s turn to give her blessing.
As the couple kneels before her, a commotion outside interrupts the ceremony. A boy, Jano, runs in looking for the Mayor, saying the body of an infant has been found in the thawing millstream. ůڲ recognizes him as her own child. Everyone now turns on ůڲ, but the Kostelnička gives a tormented confession, asking the crowd to hold ůڲ guiltless. As the Kostelnička is led away to face her punishment, ůڲ forgives her stepmother. She then turns to Laca and offers him his freedom, but he again declares his love for her. Realizing that she loves him too, ůڲ resolves to start a new life with Laca.
—Synopsis courtesy of Houston Grand Opera
Listen to the Story
Olga Janáčková (1882-1903), daughter of the Leoš &ܳٱ;č, to whose memory ůڲ is dedicated [].
Presented by Washington National Opera, host Saul Lilienstein takes you through the musical world of &ܳٱ;č’s 1904 opera dedicated to the memory of his daughter, ůڲ.
Watch an Excerpt
An introduction to ůڲ by Royal Opera House Covent Garden.
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