"The Cunning Little Vixen" by Leos Janácek at the Gran Teatre del Liceu

The cunning little vixen

Mature opera by Czech composer Leo? Janá?ek, The cunning little vixen is written based on a libretto by the same composer, inspired by popular comic strips published in the local newspaper Lidové noviny of Brno, the place where the score premiered in 1924. A three-act score, Janá?ek describes the life of the forest, the vital instincts of animals, and the relationship between humans and nature with a timbral fantasy and a vocal treatment that are absolutely dazzling.

The great Swedish baritone, Peter Mattei, will offer a profoundly moving and wise interpretation as the Forester, protagonist in many ways of the work, and a melancholic figure who ultimately finds resigned satisfaction in the acceptance of the eternal renewal of nature. Elena Tsallagova, portraying the young Vixen, mischievous and naive, and Paula Murrihy, the charismatic, impulsive, and tender Vixen, with their wonderful voices, will merge in this precious and romantic tableau, with a tragic and instructive ending.

The cunning little vixen premiered on November 6, 1924, at the National Theatre of Brno. At the Gran Teatre del Liceu, where it has been staged five times, it premiered in 2001.