Karina Canellakis - Janáček's From the House of the Dead

Janáček's ultimate opera

Janáček's soundscape is characterised by a constant alternation of lyrical melodies and obstinate rhythmic passages. In his Cunning Little Vixen this produces surprisingly colourful contrasts, while in The Makropulos Affair these elements regularly clash. In his very last opera, From the House of the Dead from the year he died in 1928, the title alone is an omen: the lyricism is still there, but it has never sounded so bitter and torn. The obstinate rhythms are played, literally, by the metal chains of the prisoners who appear in this work.

Beauty in a Penal Camp

Janáček's musical testament, which he himself was unable to complete, is based on Fyodor Dostoyevsky's Notes from the House of the Dead. The Russian author had himself been a political prisoner in a penal camp and draws on personal experiences. But in this gloomy and very realistic story, the bright spots are all the brighter, such as the party evening where the composer's love of Moravian folk music resounds. Or the arioso passages that resound when the prisoners care for a wounded eagle, a bird that stands for freedom and hope.