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When the righteous sin, can they be forgiven? Karita Mattila returns to portray one of opera’s most vivid characters—a domineering stepmother forced to deal with her unwed stepdaughter’s pregnancy—who is driven to perform a monstrous act.
Music and Libretto by Leoš Janáček
Sung in Czech with English supertitles
A success of magnificent proportions!
San Francisco Chronicle
Jenůfa doesn’t come around often, but when it does, it’s an unforgettable experience!
The Mercury News
☆☆☆☆☆
London Financial Times
Whether we knew it or not, the operatic world has been waiting all this time for Karita Mattila to sing the role of Kostelnička...and the results were even more intense and brilliant than we could have hoped.
Malin Byström’s performance in Act 2, both along and opposite Mattila, was a breathtaking blend of tonal beauty and raw power.
[William Burden was] an expressive, beautifully sung Laca.
In the pit, conductor Jiří Bĕlohlávek demonstrated yet again why he is a the go-to man for Czech music, brining rough-hewn urgency and lyrical suavity to a score that needs both qualities in equal measure.
Jenůfa is a triumph for Karita Mattila and San Francisco Opera...it unfolds with the kind of terse specificity that can hold an audience spellbound.
Mattila gave a performance of unforgettable theatrical intensity and vocal brilliance.
[Malin Byström sang with] bright, silvery high notes and a wondrously throaty low register, shaping Jenůfa’s plight with vigor and insight.
One way or another, everything in this production works perfectly—and Mattila’s exquisite performance most perfectly of all.
A righteous stepmother attempts to shield her daughter from scandal and village gossip through an unspeakable act.
Read Complete Synopsis ›
Performances
June 14, 19, 22, 25, 28July 1
* San Francisco Opera Debut
An original production of Hamburgische Staatsoper.
Costumes for this production are constructed by the Los Angeles Opera Costume Shop.
Previous performances of Jenůfa can be found in our Archive.
Janáček's tale, rooted in the Moravian countryside, expands to encompass the world.
Over the past century, Jenůfa has been significantly revised for the operatic stage.
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This production is made possible, in part, by The Bernard Osher Endowment Fund, Koret Foundation, Dianne and Tad Taube and The Thomas Tilton Production Fund. Ms. Byström's appearance is made possible by the Jan Shrem and Maria Manetti Shrem Emerging Stars Fund. Ms. Mattila’s appearance is made possible by a gift to the Great Singers Fund from Joan and David Traitel.