Leoš Janáček

Leoš Janáček (1854–1928) was a Czech composer and one of the most distinctive voices in early twentieth-century opera. Born in Hukvaldy in Moravia, he was deeply influenced by Moravian folk music and, especially, by the sound of everyday speech. He listened closely to the rhythm and melody of spoken Czech and used these patterns in shaping his vocal writing.

Recognition came relatively late. Jenůfa, first performed in Brno in 1904, had to wait until its Prague production in 1916 before Janáček began to receive wider attention. Some of his greatest operas followed in the last years of his life, among them Káťa Kabanová, The Cunning Little Vixen, The Makropulos Affair, and From the House of the Dead.

Janáček’s operas can sound very different from the nineteenth-century works that came before them. His music is often direct and concentrated, sometimes rough or abrupt, but closely tied to the emotions of the characters. Words mattered greatly to him, and the natural sound of the Czech language became an important part of his dramatic style.