Composer

The allure of forbidden fruit is more powerful than societal conventions. Love can hurt, can make us laugh and cry—but it can also kill. The myriad emotions of love and hate are powerfully portrayed in this libretto and score by Leoš Janáček, who was himself torn by a very unconventional relationship with Kamila Stösslová.

After the success of Jenůfa, Janáček was drawn by the story of another tragic heroine: Káťa Kabanová, based on Alexander Ostrovsky's 1859 drama, The Storm. In an unhappy marriage, the emotionally needy Káťa succumbs to the young Boris, but under the weight of remorse, she confesses this betrayal to her husband. Her mother-in-law, the domineering Kabanicha, proposes a severe punishment—burial alive. A desperate Káťa ends her unfulfilled life in the Volga River.

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Káťa Kabanová

Silesian Theater 

The Curtis Opera Theatre’s 2023–24 season concludes with Janáček’s masterpiece, The Cunning Little Vixen, one of the most powerful operatic works of the 20th century. Led by a plucky heroine, this poetic parable celebrates the cyclical nature of life and death as it spins a comical yet bittersweet tale of Vixen Sharp Ears. Captured by a Forester, the mischievous young fox cub grows up to become a strong, independent vixen, escaping into the wild, where she encounters a forest full of possibilities. Janáček’s adaptation of the beloved Czech novella features a lushly orchestrated, folk-infused score bursting with boundless energy and an imaginative array of dazzling colors.

The Cunning Little Vixen

Kimmel Cultural Campus

Join us at the annual Curtis Gala for a festive celebration of Curtis’s legacy of voice. Proceeds from the gala play a vital role in underwriting the unparalleled education of Curtis students. Your participation today can help define the legacy of Curtis for generations to come.

2024 Curtis Gala

Curtis Institute of Music Lenfest Hall

Human and animal worlds collide in Janáček’s enchanting, cinematic modern fable about a clever vixen who tries to outwit her captors. The production uses playful projections to transform singers into forest creatures, with hand-crafted animations that evoke the fable’s comic-strip origins.

Detroit Opera House

Experience the pinnacle of classical music as the Swedish Radio Symphony Orchestra, under the baton of esteemed Music Director Daniel Harding, presents "HARDING MEETS ANDSNES" on May 23 & 24 at Berwaldhallen. This extraordinary concert series showcases the unparalleled talents of world-renowned pianist Leif Ove Andsnes, performing Sergei Rachmaninoff’s third piano concerto, a piece celebrated for its immense challenge and breathtaking beauty. Alongside Andsnes' performance, the orchestra will also bring to life two monumental orchestral works from the early 20th century: Janáček’s Taras Bulba and Debussy’s La mer, promising an evening of explosive elegance and thrilling musical exploration.

This event not only highlights the artistic synergy between Harding and Andsnes but also celebrates the rich tradition and innovative spirit of the Swedish Radio Symphony Orchestra. Known for its high artistic standard and collaborations with the world's finest musicians, the orchestra continues to enchant audiences both locally and globally. The concert will be broadcasted on Berwaldhallen Play and on the Swedish Radio P2 on Friday, May 24 at 7:03 pm, allowing music lovers worldwide to partake in this musical feast.

Don't miss this opportunity to witness a remarkable collaboration between two giants of the classical music world, set against the backdrop of Berwaldhallen's exceptional acoustics. With tickets in high demand, ensure you secure your place at this not-to-be-missed event in the classical music calendar.

Harding Meets Andsnes

SR Berwaldhallen

Eclectic Series: John Adams, Fazil Say, Berio, Scriabin, Janacek, Chopin / Meral Guneyman

Bargemusic

Czech composer Leoš Janáček wrote his wind sextet Mládí (Youth) when he was 70, capturing the youthful mood characteristic of his works from this period.

Janáček, Ravel & Piazzolla

Sydney Opera House

Janáček’s “Kreutzer Sonata” Quartet, inspired by Tolstoy’s tale of jealousy and marital discord set against the backdrop of Beethoven’s Kreutzer Sonata, pairs with Composer-in-Residence Thomas Adès. Adès performs his evocative The Tempest suite alongside these deeply passionate works.

Passions and Storms

Conrad Prebys Performing Arts Center

Carlos Kalmar celebrates the 200th anniversary of the birth of fellow Austrian Anton Bruckner with the lush Symphony No. 4. The Grant Park Orchestra opens the program with Sibelius' hauntingly beautiful Swan of Tuonela and includes the suite from Janáček's piquant opera The Cunning Little Vixen.

Bruckner Symphony No. 4

Harris Theater for Music and Dance

The Dover Quartet makes their first Festival appearance of the season playing Janáček’s moving testament to Love, Intimate Letters, and Debussy’s only string quartet, which ushered Impressionism into the genre with its exotic scales and rhythmic spontaneity. 

Dover Quartet

New Mexico Museum of Art

In this season-finale concert, violinist John Storgårds and pianist Kirill Gerstein play Janáček’s Violin Sonata, which is noted for both its urgency and lyricism, and, for the first time ever, Gerstein joins forces with the Dover Quartet for a performance of one of the standouts of the chamber music repertoire: Dvořák’s rousing Piano Quintet, Op. 81. The modal harmonies and improvisational feel of Janáček’s sonata coupled with the dumka and Bohemian dances in Dvořák’s quintet offers an invigorating taste of the folk music these two composers brought from their shared homeland and onto the international concert stage. 

Dvořák & Janáček: Czech Icons

Yuja Wang returns with Tchaikovsky’s brilliant Piano Concerto No. 1, melding fiery passion with delicate lyricism only as she can. The performance also features Janáček’s Sinfonietta, a grand tribute to the modern city, and a World Première by Cree composer Andrew Balfour, created in collaboration with the Centre for Addiction and Mental Health (CAMH).

Yuja Wang Plays Tchaikovsky

David Pecaut Square

Cédric Tiberghien and Alina Ibragimova first met in 2005 as members of the BBC Radio 3 New Generation Artists. Creating a unique partnership shortly after, the duo has gone on to perform throughout Europe and in North America, appearing at major venues including the Concertgebouw Amsterdam, Carnegie Hall, and the San Francisco Performance Series. 

Leoš Janáček

Composer

Events

Apr 28, 2024

Káťa Kabanová · Silesian Theatre

2 - 5 May, 2024

The Cunning Little Vixen · Curtis Institute of Music

May 4, 2024

2024 Curtis Gala · Curtis Institute of Music

11 - 19 May, 2024

The Cunning Little Vixen · Detroit Opera

23 - 24 May, 2024

Harding Meets Andsnes · Swedish Radio Symphony Orchestra

About

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