Czech tragedy: Utah Opera presents the rarely produced 'Jenufa'

In the United States,the operas of Leos Janicek have been relegated to the realm of the major opera houses. But in Europe, the situation is markedly different.

There, Janicek's operas have always been a staple of the repertoire in both major houses and smaller companies. But in this country, the chances of hearing one of the Czech composer's stage works outside of New York, Chicago or San Francisco are relatively slim. Unless, of course, there happens to be a performance on a Metropolitan Opera Saturday-morning radio broadcast.

Utah Opera is bucking the trend among regional opera companies and taking a bold step in staging Janicek's "Jenufa." Beginning Saturday, local opera lovers have the opportunity of seeing one of the composer's most potent and compelling works.

The opera tells a gripping and complex tale of love, betrayal and murder. Jenufa is in love with Steva, with whom she has a child. Steva doesn't love her, but his stepbrother Laca does. Complicating matters is Jenufa's stepmother, Kostelnicka, who wants her to marry Steva, and even goes to the horrible extreme of drowning Jenufa's baby to aid her scheme.

Finally, at the end, Jenufa realizes that Laca's love for her is genuine and that the tragedy and suffering the two have endured have brought them closer together. (The production of "Jenufa" will be sung in Czech with English supertitles.)

"It's a fascinating opera," said soprano Cynthia Clayton. She's returning to Salt Lake City after a two-year absence. The last time she was here she appeared as Mimi in Puccini's "La Boheme." This time, she's tackling the title role in Jancek's opera, a role very different in character and mood than Puccini's heroine. "What makes 'Jenufa' so great is that these are not just opera characters. They are like real people."

"Jenufa" has much in common with verismo opera that was the rage in Italy at the time Jancek composed the work (1904). Like the verismo operas of composers such as Puccini and Mascagni, "Jenufa" deals with the everyday lives of ordinary people who are caught up in a spidery web of misfortune, the consequences of which none of them could foresee.

Where it differs from Italian verismo, however, is in Jancek's masterful psychological portrayal of each character. His music probes the innermost secrets of the protagonists. "It's a fantastic piece," said conductor Robert Tweten. "Here, like in any of his operas, it's hard to separate the music and the drama. It comes out of the verismo tradition, but it's his own style."