It is a tribute to various things, primarily to Janacek’s genius, that the new production of Jenufa by ENO is a triumph, an overwhelming experience, despite having some fundamental weaknesses. It is of the essence of the work that it takes place in a tightly knit, highly structured and small community, and that there is a feeling of claustrophobia about it almost from the start, reaching a peak or pit in Act II, one of the most hideously intense in opera. What does the director David Alden do? Puts the action forward by about a century, so that it is set in 1980-ish Slovakia where there was no particular strength of feeling about children born out of wedlock; and generates no atmosphere at all, by virtually avoiding scenery, and having Acts II and III, set in the Kostelnicka’s house, using the whole enormous stage of the Coliseum so that the characters have to run across it to make contact when they need to, or to get out of it as the drama requires. Instead of the stifling home of a pillar of society, it’s a triangular barn. The villagers only appear when absolutely necessary, then beat a hasty retreat, giving a quite different feel to the piece from what is manifestly intended.
Despite which, and a major casting mistake, I have never been so disturbed and so moved by this opera. I think the main thing is that in this production the centre of attention and concern is for once the title character, whereas normally — or anyway since Anja Silja took up the role — it has been her stepmother, whose tormented indecision about drowning Jenufa’s child, leading to her going out into the snow and doing it, is by far the most stunning dramatic episode in the opera.
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