LSO Live's New Release, "Janáček: Jenůfa"

Sir Simon Rattle leads the LSO in Janáček’s "Jenůfa," which explores a woman’s limited options in a suffocating small town

The London Symphony Orchestra (LSO) has released its latest opera, Jenůfa, with its Conductor Emeritus Sir Simon Rattle, the newest addition to its LSO Live label.

This new album follows the LSO's acclaimed 2020 recording of Janáček’s The Cunning Little Vixen and continues the ensemble’s commitment to exploring the Czech composer’s richly expressive operatic works.

Recorded live at London's Barbican Hall in January 2024, the new release is available for purchase here.

Listen to an excerpt from Jenůfa 'Act 3, Scene 1 below

Set in a remote Moravian village, Jenůfa explores the devastating consequences of shame and secrecy. When the young Jenůfa becomes pregnant out of wedlock, her future and her family's reputation hang in the balance. Janáček spent years wrestling with the story, producing a score that unites speech-inflected vocal lines with surging orchestral intensity.

Watch Sir Simon Rattle discuss Janáček’s operas