Scottish Opera

The creative team behind 2012’s sell-out La traviata returns to bring Jen?fa to life, promising a beautifully observed production that makes full use of their extensive narrative gifts. All the more compelling for drawing its audience into a claustrophobic community that is so universally recognisable, Jen?fa has been keeping audiences on the edge of their seats for over 100 years.

Jen?fa, a young woman living in a remote rural village, is pregnant, though as yet unmarried. Her stern stepmother, worried for the family’s reputation and her own status as the Kostelni?ka, the leader of their village, hides Jen?fa away to bear her child. Months later, the river thaws and a gruesome secret is uncovered. Suspicion falls immediately on Jen?fa but the truth will out, and the higher you climb, the further you have to fall…

Famed for its distinctive musical voice, Jen?fa is one of the most powerful of all Janá?ek’s operas. Inspired by traditional folk melodies and with colourful orchestration and rhythmic bite, the score sweeps the story along with tension, drama and overwhelming emotion.