Kat’a Kabanová: Quarantined

Need to Know

Leos Janácek is one of the foremost Czech composers of the 20th Century. Born in 1854, his life spans over the late 19th century romantic period into the 20th century. Early works, including his first opera Šárka were composed in the late romantic styles of Wagner and fellow Czech composer Smetana, but Janácek quickly developed his own style finding a distinct Czech sound by utilizing characteristics of Moravian folk music.

Janácek became interested in collecting folk songs and would study the relationship between language and music. He would write down the sentences and expressions he heard, setting them in musical notation. He was also fascinated with the sounds of nature and animals.

Success came later in life for Janácek with his first great opera Jenufa at the age of 49 in 1903. The last years of his life brought some of his greatest operatic works, Kat’a Kabanova (1921), The Cunning Little Vixen (1924), The Makropolous Case (1925), and The House of the Dead (1928). Melodic lines are closely related to speech, while the orchestra uses leitmotivs in a freer manner.

The Glyndebourne Festival has a wonderful 8 minute dive into Janácek’s Kat’a, check it out here.

The Villain amongst us:

Opera has no shortages of villains, Iago from Otello, Scarpia from Tosca, the Duke from Rigoletto are great examples. These villains relish in their quest for power, greed, and lust, and as their audience, we find enjoyment in watching them work. Some of opera’s villains are protagonists, Don Giovanni and the Count from Le nozze di Figaro are great examples. With them we are a little more conflicted, we both are for and against them.

With Janácek’s psychological thriller Kat’a Kabanová, our villain gets under our skin a little more. The villain feels a little too familiar, taking the form of a little old mother-in-law, who’s contempt for anyone who thinks differently then she. Her “evil” actions are never over the top, but rather ones that slowly chips away at the people that get in her way. Take a deeper dive into this villain from NPR.

New inspiration

The last year’s of Janácek’s life are also some of the most prolific for the composer. Many historians attribute this renewed energy to Janácek’s meeting of Kamila Stösslová in 1917. Kamila was a young married woman 38 years younger than the composer, and though Janácek was also married, he was obsessed with this young woman. He was so enraptured with her that he even wrote over 700 love letters and found the inspiration to make his final revisions to Kat’a Kabanová. Read/listen to more about this love story from NPR.

Synopsis

Overview

Kat’a Kabanová takes place in a small isolated village on the banks of the Volga river in Russia. The opera’s title character is trapped in this repressive society, unhappily married and living with a dominating and controlling mother-in-law. While Kat’a husband Tichon is away, she gives into temptation and begins a passionate affair with Boris. Upon Tichon’s return, Kat’a’s filled with guilt and confesses. As her mind slowly unravels she runs away and eventually throws herself into the icy waters of the Volga.