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Janáček’s musical influences with Tomáš Hanus

5 April 2022

Seeking greater realism and connection with everyday life, Leoš Janáček’s operas are both direct and fresh. As part of our Janáček Series, this Season we present Katie Mitchell’s acclaimed production of Jenůfa. We caught up with Conductor and WNO Music Director Tomáš Hanus to find out more about this highly dramatic piece.

‘I’ve loved Janáček since my childhood. His writing is very original. To me, he stands alone in the history of music as I cannot compare him to any predecessor. He was of course influenced by others, but his musical language is distinct and unique. A little over a decade before his Jenůfa was first performed, Tchaikovsky had written The Queen of Spades.

Unlike many traditional operas, the score not only accompanies but complements the drama being performed on stage. As with Tchaikovsky, the orchestra are an integral part of Janáček’s musical language and play the role of the narrator, telling the story.

The most important influence on his writing however was the music of the Moravian region and the melody of words. His scores are full of speech-derived lines that connect with the audience. For example, Jenůfa’s ‘Děkuji Ti, Laco’ (I thank you, Laca) at the end of the second act is exactly how it would sound if it was spoken word. Janáček had a particular skill for translating words into melody and musical motifs. The whole opera is built on lots of these small motifs, little diamonds that hold the whole piece together.

The influence of folk music is also clear to hear. In one scene we see recruits return home, accompanied to what you would naturally assume is a folk song (and a very wild one at that!) but it is Janáček’s original composition.

One of my favourite musical moments within the opera is the Salve Regina prayer which Jenůfa sings in the second act when she wakes up in an empty house and her baby and stepmother are nowhere to be seen. Failing to find them, she worries for her baby's safety and prays to the Virgin Mary to look over him. Musically, it is so simple, but it is of the utmost beauty.

I first conducted Jenůfa at Munich’s Bayerische Staatsoper in 2009 and I have never felt such responsibility. The opera is deeply emotional, tragic yet beautiful - a life changing experience. I was born on the same street as Janáček, I adore his works and I am overjoyed to conduct Jenůfa at Welsh National Opera this Season and The Makropulos Affair during the Autumn.