her finest recorded performances. As the Kostelnička, Dame Josephine Barstow...brings out not only the obsessive side of this powerful character but also an element of vulnerability. The two big monologues at the end of Act II provide a chilling climax: the Kostelnička first hysterically deciding to murder the baby; Jenůfa tender at first, giving way to distraught concern over her missing baby before resignedly praying to the Virgin.'

 

 

Registered charity number: 258224

The Guardian

The sumptuous Chandos recording places the words a little farther back than the Decca recording...the benefit of that is that the colour and originality of Janáček's orchestral textures come over more vividly. In sound at once opulent and well-defined, each strand is clarified and the exotic percussion effects brought out.
For the title role...Janice Watson has a beautiful voice, she sounds..aptly young, fresh and girlish, in one of

CHAN 3106

3 December 2008

The Peter Moores Foundation supports projects which come to the attention of its Patron, or Trustees, through their interests and special knowledge. General applications for grants are not encouraged and are unlikely to succeed.

Jenůfa, her step-daughter (Brno version)
Opera in three acts
Libretto by the composer
after Gabriela Preissová's play Její pastorkyňa
English version by Edward Downes and Otakar Kraus

The Cast

Elizabeth Vaughan, mezzo-soprano -
Grandmother Buryjovka
Dame Josephine Barstow, soprano -
The Kostelnička
Janice Watson, soprano - Jenůfa
Peter Wedd, tenor (PMF Scholar) - Števa Buryja
Nigel Robson, tenor - Laca Klemeň
Neal Davies, baritone - Foreman
Alan Fairs, bass - Mayor
Marian McCullough, mezzo-soprano - Mayor's Wife
Charlotte Ellett, soprano (PMF Scholar) - Karolka
Claire Hampton, soprano - Jano
Rosie Hay, soprano - Barena
Imelda Drumm, mezzo-soprano - Maid
Sarah Pope, mezzo-soprano - Village woman
Chorus of Welsh National Opera
Orchestra of Welsh National Opera
Sir Charles Mackerras - conductor

Recorded in Brangwyn Hall, 20-26 July 2003
Producer - Brian Couzens
Sound engineer - Ralph Couzens
Assistant engineer - Michael Common

Registered charity number: 258224

Jenůfa

© Peter Moores Foundation 2004

 

 

 

 

 

Classic FM magazine
'Sir Charles Mackerras gives a brilliant reading of the score here, full of subtlety and dramatic thrust, and the Welsh National Opera orchestra members play as if their lives depended on it. There are a few rough-edged moments vocally, but also some truly great performances: Watson and Barstow get to the heart of the drama with excoriating power.'