Janáček’s Jenůfa: Jenůfa’s Prayer (Asmik Grigorian)

Asmik Grigorian sings Jenůfa’s Prayer in Claus Guth’s production of Janáček’s Jenůfa at the Royal Opera. Among opera’s most psychologically astute dramas, Jenůfa presents a believable world in which spiritual growth comes from the hard lessons of real life. The story centers on a young girl and her imperious stepmother, who makes an unthinkable decision to save her daughter’s reputation. The opera features an incredibly evocative use of the orchestra to capture the community and its surroundings, but it is the sung music—which closely reflects the pitches and rhythms of the Czech language—that truly makes the score indelible. Buy tickets at the box office, on the Met Opera app, or at metopera.org. Footage courtesy of ©RBO.