From the House of the Dead

Opera in 3 acts (1927)

Short instrumentation: 4 3 3 3 - 4 3 3 1 - timp, perc(4), hp, cel, bass tpt, str

Duration: 85'

Übersetzer: Antonio Gronen-Kubizki, Alena Wagnerová, Klaus Zehelein, David Pountney, Max Brod

Herausgeber: Sir Charles Mackerras, John Tyrrell

Textvorlage: Fjodor Michailowitsch Dostojewski

Libretto von: Leoš Janáček

Choir: TB

Roles:

Petrowitsch

baritone Alej

tenor Luka

tenor Der Platzkommandant

baritone Skuratoff

tenor Tschekunoff

baritone Schischkoff

bass-baritone a number of smaller parts and silent roles

Instrumentation details:

1st flute

2nd flute (+picc)

3rd flute (+picc)

4th flute (+picc)

1st oboe

2nd oboe

3rd oboe (+cor anglais)

1st clarinet in Bb

2nd clarinet in Bb (+cl(Eb))

3rd clarinet in Bb (+cl(Eb)

bass cl(Bb))

1st bassoon

2nd bassoon

3rd bassoon (+cbsn)

1st horn in F

2nd horn in F

3rd horn in F

4th horn in F

1st trumpet in F

2nd trumpet in F

3rd trumpet in F

bass trumpet (+tenor tuba)

1st trombone

2nd trombone

3rd trombone

tuba

timpani

percussion(4)

harp

celesta

violin I

violin II

viola

violoncello

contrabass

Janácek - Aus einem Totenhaus

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Work introduction

Leoš Janácek based his final opera on his own libretto after Dostojevsky’s Memoirs from the House of the Dead. He wrote, drafted and revised the opera in full score during 1927 - 1928. He then had it copied out by two of his long-established copyists (Václav Sedlácek and Jaroslav Kulhánek), who shared the work between them. Janácek supervised the copying and the correction of their score, making many changes and additions which resulted in new pages having to be inserted. Then he began a final check through the score, adding extra doublings, dynamics and other details in his own hand. He completed Acts 1 and 2 in this way, but died before he had checked Act 3. In other words, except for a final check of Act 3 and any last-minute alterations Janácek might have made at rehearsals, From the House of the Dead is no less finished than any other Janácek opera.