Jenůfa

Jenůfa is pregnant. Her lover, the child’s father Števa, immediately turns his back on her, and the promise of marriage he had just made to her is quickly forgotten. Jenůfa is heartbroken and, in her distress, finally confides in her stepmother, the local sexton’s wife. After Jenůfa has given birth to her child in secret, the sexton’s wife fears for her foster daughter’s reputation. She comes to the conclusion that Jenůfa has no future unless she gives up the child, and, whilst the young mother sleeps, she alone takes a decision as fateful as it is terrible…

Set against a backdrop of narrow-minded morality and overwhelming powerlessness, Janáček’s most famous opera explores the fates of two women in the face of a small-minded society and its moral standards. Director Tatjana Gürbaca uses deeply moving imagery to reveal the full spectrum of the complexities of human behaviour. She tells a story of guilt and remorse, but also of love and the miracle of forgiveness.