Destiny

ABOUT

The palms of your hands are overflowing with tears…

This production of Janáček’s Destiny, which ceremonially opened the Janáček Brno 2020 festival, marked the return of one of opera’s finest directors, Robert Carsen. This creator of productions valued for their drama, poetry and artistic refinement has returned to Janáček´s opera work to expand it with a sixth production created specifically for the Janáček Opera at National Theatre Brno. Right from the first notes, the orchestral waltz from the overture of Destiny takes us amongst the members of noble spa-going society; simple natural prose was replaced here by the language favoured by decadent poets, as Janáček was inspired to produce this opera by a twenty-eight-year-old woman named Kamila Urválková, whom the composer met in August 1903 at his favourite spa, Luhačovice. Kamila told Janáček about her romance with the composer Čelanský, who expressed his disappointment with their relationship in the opera Kamila. Janáček was so enchanted by Kamila that he decided to create a “brand new, modern opera” in which her name would be cleared.  He didn’t call Destiny an opera, however, but rather three episodes from a novel. This ‘book’ takes theatregoers to a completely different environment than those featured in his previous operas – after Jenůfa, Janáček´s fourth opera Destiny represents a musical and dramaturgical venture into another area entirely.

Premiere: September 28th, 2020

Performed in the original Czech version with Czech, English, and German surtitles.

Production Team & Opera Cast

Author: Leoš Janáček
Director: Robert Carsen
Musical direction: Marko Ivanović
Conductor: Tomáš Hanus
Scene: Radu Boruzescu
Costumes: Annemarie Woods
Lights: Robert Carsen
Choreography: Lorena Randi
Choirmaster: Pavel Koňárek
Dramaturgy: Ian Burton, Patricie Částková
Ensemble: Janáček Opera of the National Theatre Brno

Cast:

Živný, composer – Enrico Casari & Mark Le Brocq
Míla Válková – Alžběta Poláčková
Míla’s Mother – Eliška Gattringerová
Dr. Suda – Vít Nosek
Lhotský, painter – Jan Šťáva
Konečný – Igor Loškár
Miss Stuhlá, teacher – Daniela Straková
Doubek, child – Hugo Poláček
Poet – Michael Robotka
First Lady, Miss Pacovská – Andrea Široká
Second Lady, Mrs. Majorová – Tereza Kyzlinková
Student – Michael Robotka
Old Slovak Woman – Jitka Zerhauová
Mrs. Radová – Jana Hrochová
Young Widow – Hana Kopřivová
Engineer – Pavel Valenta
Verva, drama student – Lukáš Bařák
Součková, drama student – Marta Reichelová
Kosinská, drama student – Alžběta Symerská
Doubek – TBC
Cellarman – Martin Novotný
Hrázda – Ondřej Koplík