Music and libretto by Leoš Janáček
After the play Groza (The Storm) by Alexander Nikolayevich Ostrovsky
First performance November 23, 1921
Time and Place: The town of Kalinov on the banks of the Volga in the 1860s
Sung in Czech with English Supertitles
THE CAST
(In order of appearance)
| Vanya Kudriash, Dikoi´s clerk,
tenor |
Doug Jones (USA)* | |
| Glasha. a servant, mezzo-soprano |
Kelly Gebhardt (USA)+ | |
| Dikoi, a rich merchant,
bass |
James Scott Sikon (USA) | |
| Boris Grigorjevich, his nephew,
tenor |
Raymond Very (USA)* | |
| Feklusha, a servant, mezzo-soprano |
Ilse Apéstegui (Costa Rica)+ | |
| Marfa Kabanova (Kabanicha),
rich merchant´s widow, soprano** |
Dame Josephine Barstow (England) | |
| Tichon Kabanov, her son,
tenor |
Jay Hunter Morris (USA) | |
| Varvara, foster-child of Kabanovs,
mezzo |
Priti Gandhi (India)+ | |
| Katya Kabanova, Tichon's wife,
soprano |
Patricia Racette (USA) | |
| Kuligin, friend of Vanya,
baritone |
Nicolai Janitzky ( )* | |
| Woman, contralto |
tba | |
| Passer-by, tenor |
tba | |
| Conductor |
John Fiore (USA) | |
| Director |
Ian Campbell (Australia) | |
| Drunk, Townspeople, offstage chorus | ||
|
* San Diego Opera Début Production: San Diego Opera. Sets: Jane La Motte.
Costumes: Covent Garden |
||
PRONUNCIATION GUIDE
Czech words are almost always accented on the first syllable. (Words
of foreign origin may be an exception.)
Diacritical marks indicate changes in sound, not stress. For more see
the article on the Czech language
| Katya = KAH-tyah | Kabanicha = KAH-bahn-ee-khah* |
| Kabanová = KAH-bah-noh-vah | Tichon = TEE-khon* |
| Glasha = GLAH-shah | Varvara = VAHR-vahr-ah |
| Vanya = VAN-nyah | Kuligin = KOO-lee-gin (hard g) |
| Kudriash= KOOD-ryash | Leos= LAY-ohsh |
| Pavel Dikoi = PAH-vel DEE-koy | Janacek = YA-nah-chechk |
| Boris = BOH-rees |
Racette = RAH-set |
| Grigorjevich= GREE-goh-yeh-vich | Fiore = fee-OH-ree |
* The Czech "ch" is pronounced as in the German "ich" or the Scottish "loch".