Jenůfa Janáček
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An intense family drama like no other
With great regret, we announce that WNO’s Autumn 2020 tour is cancelled due to the ongoing Covid-19 pandemic.
It has become clear in recent weeks that it will be impossible for us to prepare for, rehearse and stage any large-scale production over the summer that would enable us to open in Cardiff on 12 September. We also know by talking to our venue partners that it is increasingly unlikely they will be open to allow any large-scale productions to take place during the autumn.
This announcement affects our planned productions of The Barber of Seville and Jenufa, with all performances cancelled in: Cardiff, Plymouth, Bristol, Birmingham, Llandudno and Southampton. We are now making plans for bringing both productions into WNO seasons over the next couple of years, so we hope audiences will have an opportunity to see them before too long.
If you have booked tickets for any of these productions, you will hear directly from the venue when they are able to do so. All these venues are dealing with a backlog of cancelled tours and it may be some time before you hear from them. Please do not contact the venues directly while they work through this.
We had already taken the decision to postpone the world premiere of Will Todd’s new opera, Migrations, by 12 months – this will now be part of our planned Autumn 2021 Season.
Jenůfa has a secret. In a small community where everyone knows your business, she is about to bring shame on herself and her family by having a child out of wedlock. She hopes to marry the father, the drunken and womanising Števa before the secret is revealed but her interfering stepmother, Kostelnička, has other plans. Thinking she is protecting Jenůfa from shame she gives her a sleeping draft, and takes the baby. Believing the baby has died, Laca offers to save Jenůfa’s reputation by marrying her but on their wedding day the dark truth of what really happened is revealed.
A heart-wrenching tale of hope, love and despair, Jenůfa has captivated audiences for a century. WNO Music Director Tomáš Hanus conducts Katie Mitchell’s acclaimed production that was described as ‘the most powerful yet’ last time it toured.
#WNOjenufa
Supported by WNO Partners and the WNO Janáček Circle
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Approx two hours 25 minutes with one interval
Sung in Czech with surtitles in English and Welsh