Jenufa (complete opera recorded in 2009)

"Braunschweig gives us Jenufa stark and simple, the stage almost bare, the opera's emotions stripped to the bone...Nothing is allowed to deflect concentration from the central human drama. Amanda Roocroft has won laurels as Jenufa in various stage productions and comes across as a deeply sincere performer here, even if the voice is apt to turn shrill at the top...[Polaski's] very understatement is moving in its own way."
(Gramophone)

"Something in the composer's writing brings out the best in [Roocroft's] creamy voice and committed acting, and here she's superb as a young woman who forgives her stepmother for committing a terrible crime. Deborah Polaski, as the stepmother, sings with fierce power"
(ClassicsFM)

The vulnerable young woman at the heart of Janacek's breakthrough opera is a signature role for the English soprano Amanda Roocroft. Here, in Stéphane Braunschweig's clear but deeply affecting production, she is partnered by the Slovak tenor Miroslav Dvorsky, as the man through whom she finds redemption, love and hope. The complex figure of the Kostelnicka becomes both tormentor and tormented in this fearless interpretation by the great dramatic soprano Deborah Polaski.

Extra features:

Cast gallery

Illustrated synopsis

Running time 136 mins

Region Code All regions

Picture format 16:9 Anamorphic