In co-production with Opéra de Montréal, Pacific Opera Victoria in the capital of British Columbia, Canada, presented a new production of Janáček’s Jenůfa. It was directed by the internationally acclaimed film director of psychological dramas Atom Egoyan, famed, among others, for Academy Award-nominated The Sweet Hereafter, Exotica (awarded a Golden Palm of Cannes) or the erotic thriller Chloe.
Egoyan set the story into a contemporary village inhabited by immigrants from Eastern Europe, where the old merges with the new, traditional values with modern ones, folk costumes with jeans and holy images with cell phones. The leading roles are sung by Lara Ciekiewicz (Jenůfa), Emilia Boteva (Kostelnička), Colin Judson (Laca) and John Lindsey (Števa), the conductor is Pacific Opera Victoria’s music director Timothy Vernon. The opera is performed in Czech with English subtitles. The much-praised premiere of October 12 will be followed by four more performances in the 2017 season.
12 October 2017, The Royal Theatre, Victoria, Canada
Leoš Janáček: Jenůfa (premiere)
Pacific Opera Victoria, directed by: Atom Egoyan, music director: Timothy Vernon
following performances: Oct 14, 18, 20 and 22 2017