All Episodes

April 30, 2023 69 mins

On this episode of Opera Apéro, I talk to my friend Maxwell (he/him) about Leos Janacek's opera Jenůfa. It's the story of a young woman in a small town in love and pregnant by a man who can’t commit. As time progresses, they face the consequences of the decisions made to avoid community shame. We discuss parallels with other operas like Madama Butterfly and Pagliacci, how story meaning can change based on opera director’s artistic choices, and we mispronounce many Czech names. This is also the first episode where we play a drinking game along to the opera so tune in to hear how many times we need to take a shot. Play along if you’re feeling brave.

Let me know what you thought on social media: on Instagram @opera.apero and on Twitter @OperaApero.

If you like this show, please consider supporting me through Buy Me a Coffee.

Chapters

Act 1 - 08:31

Act 2 - 21:42

Act 3 - 40:33

Discussion - 58:15

Mark as Played

Advertise With Us

Popular Podcasts

Stuff You Should Know
24/7 News: The Latest

24/7 News: The Latest

The latest news in 4 minutes updated every hour, every day.

Dateline NBC

Dateline NBC

Current and classic episodes, featuring compelling true-crime mysteries, powerful documentaries and in-depth investigations. Follow now to get the latest episodes of Dateline NBC completely free, or subscribe to Dateline Premium for ad-free listening and exclusive bonus content: DatelinePremium.com

Music, radio and podcasts, all free. Listen online or download the iHeart App.

Connect

© 2025 iHeartMedia, Inc.