Jenufa

Even after the  auction, and then going out and buying a TV for the Glasgow flat in the afternoon, the excitement of the day was still  not over, because in the evening we had tickets for Scottish Opera's new (co-) production of Jenufa.

Now Jenufa is an opera that has a very special place in my heart. I saw it very early on in my opera going career and was the first opera I saw on British soil. Long story but I was first introduced to opera when I was on a student exchange in Moscow, so my first two opera experiences were Evgeny Onegin at the Stanislavsky followed several days later by Traviata at the Bolshoi. What can I say? I  lucked out.

 

Once back in the UK I assumed my opportunities to see opera would be severely limited to non-existent but again I was lucky because in those days Welsh National Opera used to visit Leeds for a week once a year and there were cheap student tickets. Which is how I came to see Jenufa much sooner after my introduction to opera in general than is normally the case.

 

Now I cannot lie. I couldn't make much of Jenufa to begin with and in the first interval I gave serious consideration to giving up and going home. However I reflected that I had bought my ticket and even at cheap student rates chucking away half the evening's entertainment was a fairly profligate thing to do, so I stayed, and that was, as it happened, a great decision. Because by the time the curtain came down I could quite happily have stayed and watched the whole thing from beginning to end all over  again. Twice, if they would have done it for me.

 

You know how according to the Greeks a good play should be cathartic and leave you feeling wrung out but somehow rejuvenated? That's what Jenufa does. It's a tragedy in which the audience can understand and sympathise with  the predicament of every single character, and where the bitter sweet ending is felt to be absolutely inevitable, almost from the first opening of the curtain.

 

So obviously I've taken every opportunity I've ever had since to see Jenufa again; not that many sadly as it's not done as often as I'd like. It's not a huge crowd pleaser like Boheme or Carmen and of course Janacek isn't as well known in Western Europe as he might be, but it's a strong opera and  it's not  as though the music is particularly challenging. Of course I'm always a bit worried in the run up to seeing a performance that it might not come up to standard and this time was no exception.

 

But I needn't have worried. The Scottish Opera version was fantastic. It was excellent, it was wonderful, it was whatever other adjectives of excited commendation you can come up with. The production, the orchestra, the set, the costumes, everything was just right. And the singing was so amazingly good. I've never heard this opera sung so well. Ever.

 

I have to say, that day was a good day. One of the best.