Singing soars, but staging is too over-the-top in Lyric Opera’s ‘Jenufa’

Richard Trey Smagur stars as Števa and Lise Davidsen stars as the title character in “Jenůfa” at the Lyric Opera of Chicago. (Courtesy Lyric Opera of Chicago)

A father’s dishonor, a vengeful knife attack and even a baby’s murder. “Jenůfa” could easily have been little more than a tawdry throwaway, but in the hands of Leoš Janáček, it becomes a deeply moving story of love, atonement and forgiveness.

Indeed, this 1904 opera by the still under-appreciated Czech composer is one of the masterpieces of the 20th century. To its credit, Lyric Opera of Chicago presented this work in 1959 and 2000, and, the company has revived it a third time in a production that opened Sunday afternoon.