Janáček: From the House of the Dead
Composer: Leoš Janáček (1854-1928) Format: Full Score – Complete Edition Instrumentation: Opera Work: From the House of the Dead (Z mrtvého domu), JW 1/11 Binding: Hardcover ISMN: 9790260109841 Size: 10.8 x 13.4 inches Pages: 435 Urtext / Critical Edition Description "From the House of the Dead" (1928) is Janáček's last operatic work. The libretto was written by the composer himself after F. M. Dostoevsky's "Notes from the House of the Dead". The critical edition published by Universal Edition in 2017 is based on an authorized copy of the opera, which was made between 10 March and 20 June 1928 by Janáček's copyist under the composer's supervision. This copy contains Janáček's corrections to Acts 1 and 2; he was no longer able to revise Act 3 as he died in August 1928. After Janáček's death, his students, the conductors Bretislav Bakala and Osvald Chlubna, were asked to complete the orchestration. The director Ota Zítek also made dramaturgical changes to the end of the opera. The premiere of the work in this version took place in Brno on April 12, 1930. in this edition, the editor John Tyrrell frees the opera from subsequent additions and changes and presents it in its authentic version as Janáček left it. A valuable contribution are the practical performance notes (in English) by the great Janáček expert, Sir Charles Mackerras, which offer practical solutions to specific problems in the score.