Jenufa

Classic modern amazement!

Ah, I love this opera. I never have seen Jenufa and the Met surprised me with this wild and tragic interpretation of a young girl in love with a cad, pregnant with his child, forced into marriage with his resentful brother. Karita Mattila delivers not only a great voice to her role but also exudes a youthful bounce and introverted melancholy to pivotal scenes. The sets are stark and sometimes sterile; instead of a house and village, we see fields and rocky outcrops. Many moral critics point fingers at modern culture for bring bad behavior into our society - unwed teen pregnancy, family abuse, infanticide. And many of these moralists are standing on the false foundation of religious fortitude. Jenufa throws stones at those same moralists, only it was written some100 years ago yet still resonates with timeliness today. Like finding an important antique in the attic that just needs some dusting off, this was a gem of a find for me. Conducted by Jirí Belohlávek with just enough temperament and restraint to let the passion, and the singing, shine through. My surprising favorite from this year's season.