This bittersweet comedy of the adventures of a fox through forest and farm, dodging hunters, slaughtering chickens and chatting with the animals, debuted in 1924. It must be one of the only operas to be based on a newspaper comic strip. Janacek explores the speech rhythm of the Moravian dialect against modernist music that is not brash and is often very beautiful. Staged by a clever director and a great singing cast, this can be a delight. But don't be fooled, the ending is not happy... As Janacek ably shows, the circle of life most go on.
Here is the Opera National de Paris production from 2008 directed by Andre Engel and starring Elena Tsallagova... The vixen is caught by the farmer and is here inciting the chickens to revolt and overthrow him, just before she slaughters them.
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