Destiny (Janáček)

• Zivny, composer (tenor )
• Mila, his wife (Soprano)
• Milas mother, her grandson ( mezzo-soprano)
• Doubek, Milas and Zivnys son
• Dr. Suda (Tenor)
• Lhotsky ( bass)
• Konecny ​​(baritone )
• Miss Stuhla, teacher (mezzo- soprano)
• Fanca, Schoolgirl (soprano )
• Hrazda, student (tenor )
• Verva, assistant ( baritone)
• Souckova, student ( soprano)
• Kosinska, student ( mezzo-soprano)
• Spa guests, villagers, students, (chorus )

Osud is an opera in three acts by Leoš Janáček, after a self-written libretto supported by Fedora Bartošová. Janáček began work in 1903 and finished it in 1907. The premiere of the work was only 30 years after his death, on 25 October 1958 in Brno Janáček as part of the festival on the occasion of his 30th death anniversary. The German premiere was in Stuttgart on 26 October 1958.

Formation

After the death of his 20 year old daughter Olga in the summer of 1903, Janáček went to soak in the Moravian resort Luhačovice new strength. There he met Kamila Urválková, know, who, when they learned that Janáček was a composer, a great effort to find contact with him. There she complained to him of her suffering that she once with the composer Ludvik Čelanský had a very intimate love relationship. As a composer but has an irregular income, she urged her mother to marry a forester. As a daughter of the brave citizens " Fin de Siecle " she obeyed, and when you wrote Čelanský his operatic " Kamila " in which she felt misrepresented. She convinced Janáček as to write an opera about her, in which she was portrayed better. Janáček immortalized her in his opera Osud in the figure of Mila. But when they correspondence with Janáček ended after the bath residence very quickly to pressure her husband again, Janáček had them already in the second act disappear. In the figure of the composer Zivny Janáček portrays itself After the hapless world premiere of his Jenufa in Brno in January 1904, he was in a life crisis, which transferred Janáček Zivny. How Janáček revised his original version of Jenufa, so also writes Zivny in his work, which can eventually come in the third act to the performance. The opera is finished, down to the last act, and is so immature how this work, so he wants to eventually bring it as a fragment to the stage. " The last act, which is in God's hands, and will stay there, " so eventually ends Osud. As early as 1907 showed Brno interest to perform the work. As made ​​Janáček hopes to be able to leave the work perform in Prague, he neglected the Brno plans. But the Prague performance did not materialize because it was considered too complex and as unplayable. Clearly, the work disappeared during his lifetime Janáček's in the drawer. In 1934, the music was performed posthumously in Brno Radio.

Action

Act 1

In Luhačovice, Moravia Spa guests welcome the new morning. The Dr. Suda, Lhotsky and Konecny ​​make a newly arrived young elegant lady's yard. But the red roses she gets, she forgets again very soon as she discovered among the spa guests the composer Zivny. The three men withdraw. Cleverly manages Mila that she will meet "accidentally" with Zivny, with whom she had an affair, which met the unwillingness of the mother, as the Bohemian could not provide a good home daughter. However, this liaison was not without consequences. She gave birth to a son secretly, from which he and her mother knows nothing. At the meeting, both sides of the old feelings come up again, and they retreat. The teacher Miss Stuhla tried with other teachers some students rehearse a song, which leads to the great amusement among the students. Dr. Suda comes, and takes the students and other noisy resort guests on a trip with. Milas mother follows them in hopes of finding her daughter. Mila and Zivny have taken a two -filled trip. They reminisce, while Mila reveals finally that they have a son. Finally, it is evening. The day trippers have returned. Mila tries to escape the prying eyes of the guests. Zivny other hand, asks them to publicly confess to him, his love and her child. She does it, and they both go away. Milas mother is still looking for her daughter. From the guests she learns that Mila has gone away with Zivny, " with their misfortune ," as she pushes forth.

Act 2

Four years later - in a small apartment. Mila and Zyvny got married. In addition to her son Doubek and her mother lives with them, who had always been against marriage, and has become mad by this act of the daughter. But creativity has lost touch with the composer. The last act of his opera does not want to succeed him. In this last act is the main female character, which was created to Milas example, be rehabilitated. Because of their forced separation and the rumor, Mila had become involved with another man, Zivny Mila had portrayed in the first act as a whore. He destroyed some of the scenes of this score. Since Doubek rushes into the room and asks her mother: "Mom, do you know what is love? " Mila's mother appears with a box with their valuables. She throws Zivny to the head that he had indeed taken her daughter, but her assets do not get the legacy-hunter. Then she steps out onto the balcony and throws herself from him. Mila, she still wants to hold back, crashing down with it. Zivny and Doubek are shocked and remain long standing motionless.

Act 3

Another eleven years later - Theater the evening will be the world premiere of Zivnys opera. Under the direction of Assistant Zivnys Verva students rehearsed parts of the opera. As the score breaks off after a storm scene, the amazement among students is large. Souckova instigates their fellow students to develop themselves under a thunderstorm great noise. Since Verva reveals the students: " The opera is done - without the final act, which continues to be in God's hands ." Verva will also learn about the acting in the play composers Lensky is in fact itself Zivny He quotes a delightful children scene from this opera: " Mommy - you know what love is " Doubek, who is among the students, breaking at the memory down crying. Since Zivny occurs. The student asks the composer Kosinska information about the main character in the opera to give. Zivny begins a strange lecture. He does not manage to credibly represent the separation of fiction and past and to maintain it. More and more it get a memories and feelings of guilt, until he finally sees Mila again and collapses in front of him. He hums a melody to shreds - "maybe the music from the last act " suspected Verva. He is but rebuked by Zivny. "From the last act? - He's in God's hands and will stay there "

Music

Waltzes, Moravian folk songs, choral scenes through to chamber music sounds Janáček used in this work. The conductor Sylvain Cambreling called the first act as " operetta style a la Janáček ". Indicative of Janáček is the recitative chant, which dominated the Opera with partial arioso places. The music and the rhythmic chanting with the Czech idiom reminiscent of some points strongly to his opera Jenufa that originated Osud and was revised after its completion. However, it often comes at the height of the arioso points to an abrupt termination of the melody sequence and the composition falls instead of the expected " escalating realism " into chamber music. This leaves the work partially appear as a fragment.

Swell

• Opera by Leoš Janáček