Leoš Janácek began composing his seventh opera, “The Cunning Little Vixen”, based on the popular feuilletons of Rudolf Tesnohlídek, in January 1922. The first copy of the score, since lost, was completed by Václav Sedlácek in October 1923, while the second copy was prepared by Jaroslav Kulhánek in January 1924.<br>
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The world premiere took place on 6 November 1924 under the direction of Ota Zítek and was conducted by František Neumann. The vocal score was published in Czech before the event and then again in 1925 along with the German translation by Max Brod, which is something of a separate version of the text in its own right.<br>
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This volume of the complete edition reprints the critical edition by Jirí Zahrádka, which was published by Universal Edition in 2010. The present edition newly includes transcriptions of the libretto in three languages (Cz/Eng/Ger) and a detailed Critical Report (Eng). The edition draws on all extant sources and – in consideration of Janácek’s active participation in rehearsals for the premiere production – integrates both the dynamics of František Neumann and the performance markings of Sir Charles Mackerras into the musical text.<br>
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This is the third opera to be published in the complete edition, following “Fate” and “The Makropulos Affair”.<br>