The heroine dies. Not of a deadly disease, not of a broken heart, not in ecstasy nor by her own hand. There is no final aria, no perpetual drawing-out of the last breath, no resounding lament, no congregation of mourners. Only briefly does the music echo bygone happiness. This might sum up Janácek’s enchanting opera, recorded live in the usual top quality at Frankfurt Opera in April/May 2016. The Cunning Little Vixen was written between 1921 and 1923, with libretto adapted from a 1920 serialized novella by Rudolf Tesnohlidek. The opera incorporates Moravian folk tunes as it recounts the life of a clever fox and accompanying wildlife, as well as a few humans. Although it is described as a comic opera, it contains some serious themes, and some reviewers have called it children’s entertainment, while others insist it is a tragedy.
