Leoš Janáček
From the House of the Dead
Short instrumentation: 4 3 3 3 - 4 3 3 1 - timp, perc(4), hp, cel, t.tuba, str
Interpretationshinweise von: Sir Charles Mackerras
Herausgeber: John Tyrrell
Übersetzer: David Pountney, Max Brod
Dichter der Textvorlage: Fjodor Michailowitsch Dostojewski
Choir: Male chorus: prisoners, devils [in the plays], sick prisoners ... tenors / basses Carpenters, officials, guests ... silent
Roles:
Aljeja
a young tatar ... mezzo-soprano Luka ... tenor Tall Prisoner ... tenor Short Prisoner ... baritone Prison Governer ... bass Alexander Petrowic Gorjantschikow ... baritone Guard [1] ... tenor Prisoner with the eagle ... tenor Prisoner [1] ... bass The Old One ... tenor Skuratov ... tenor Voice from the Kyrghiz Steppe (offstage) ... tenor Prisoner (a) ... bass Priest ... bass Cook (Prisoner) ... bass Prisoner (b) ... bass Drunken Prisoner ... tenor Prisoner [2] ... tenor Prisoner [3] ... tenor in the plays: Kedril ... tenor Don Juan (Brahmane) / Devil ... bass Elvira ... silent Knight ... silent Cobbler's Wife ... silent Priest's Wife ... silent Small Devil ... silent Actor (Prisoner) ... silent Miller's Wife (played by Sirotin) ... silent Miller (played byNeswjestjew) ... silent Neighbour
a miller ... silent Clerk ... silent Young Prisoner ... tenor Whore ... Alt Merry Prisoner ... tenor Obstreperous Prisoner ... baritone Cekunov ... tenor Šapkin ... tenor Šiškov ... baritone Cerevin ... tenor Doctor ... silent Prisoner (Blacksmith) ... bass Guard [2] ... bass
Instrumentation details:
1st flute (+picc)
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
tenor tuba in Bb (+bass trumpet)
1st trombone
2nd trombone
3rd trombone
tuba
timpani
percussion(4): xylophone, glockenspiel, bells in the distance, bells in the fortress, triangle, cymbals, tam-tam, snare drum, military drum, bass drum, blows with an axe, jangling of chains, blows on an anvil, metallic ring of tools, ratchet, sawing, jingle bell, working noises (f.e. blows with a hammer)
celesta
harp
violin I
violin II
viola
violoncello
double bass
Janácek - Aus einem Totenhaus
Printed/Digital
Translation, reprints and more
Leoš Janáček
Aus einem TotenhausType: Dirigierpartitur
Language: Deutsch | Englisch | Tschechisch
Binding: Hardcover
Leoš Janáček
Janácek: Aus einem TotenhausType: Studienpartitur
Language: Deutsch | Englisch | Tschechisch
Leoš Janáček
Janácek: Aus einem TotenhausType: Klavierauszug
Language: Deutsch | Englisch | Tschechisch
Work introduction
Janácek did not live to see his final opera Z mrtvého domu [From the House of the Dead] performed. The work was so different from his previous operas in its often chamber-like orchestration and its lack of an apotheosis ending that his pupils took it upon themselves to ‘revise’ it for its première in Brno in 1930, reorchestrating it and, most notoriously, rewriting the ending. Ever since the shortcomings of the original published edition became apparent there have been attempts to return to what Janácek left at his death. The new critical edition by John Tyrrell supplants the Mackerras-Tyrrell ‘provisional edition’ (1990) with a thorough-going revision based on the score made by Janácek’s copyists under his direct supervision and corrected by him. In his previous operas Janácek had the opportunity of making minor corrections to the score during rehearsals. Because of his death extensive tidying up of many inconsistencies has been necessary here. All such editorial interventions are shown as such and are described in the Critical Report.
Janácek wrote his own libretto translating from the original Russian into Czech as he went along and left in many untranslated words and phrases. Previous editions replaced these with a revised text in standard Czech. With the possibility today of surtitles (which can provide the sense of what is sung on stage) the new edition prints Janácek’s original text, whose departures from standard Czech constitute an important part of the sound image of the opera. All non-standard words or phrases (whether Russian, Ukrainian, Moravian dialect, etc.) are explained in the Critical Report, usually with reference to Dostoevsky’s original Russian, in an extensive appendix printed at the back of the score.