Lydia’s Blog

As I drew breath after a long session of Chorus notes to say “Thanks, have a good evening!”, a female member of the chorus tugged at my arm and looked sternly into my eyes…

“Lydia. You have to do something about the rabbit.”

Knowing me, I probably tried to smile reassuringly…but it no doubt by that point came across like a sheepish grimace. “I understand,” I said. “I’ll see what I can do”.

The most discussed aspect of the Staatsoper Stuttgart’s latest production of Jenufa wasn’t the mysterious change of stage director four weeks before the premiere, nor the infant beaten to death onstage toward the end of the second act. No.

It was the skinned rabbit carcass carried around by the Kostelnicka character throughout the last third of the opera, as the four months decaying corpse of the afore mentioned baby.

Now, admittedly, I did nearly vomit the first time that thing was used in a rehearsal. The sound it makes when hitting the floor is, well, fairly sickening.

Many arguments have been made in protest of this least fortunate member of the Jenufa cast. There is the Salmonella angle. Also the animal rights angle. The latter was refuted by the argument “Only two, at the most three people can enjoy a rabbit on a plate. Thousands can enjoy the rabbit on stage.”

Okay, I guess that’s a point. In some form or manner.

The main argument, with which I can sort of agree, is that the thing is just fucking nasty. The carcass is worn around in a pouch underneath one singer’s dress (making sure it gets nice and stinky) until it falls out in the third act, prompting an angry chorus scene.

Thing about the rabbit, however, is that it really does disgust the people on stage. When the Kostelnicka runs around, displayng it…the soloists and chorus actually recoil in authentic horror. Some people literally do retch. The scene is, either as a result or despite the fact, totally gripping.

And you know, thank god for that…because to be honest, even from the front row of the audience…no one can even tell that it’s a real rabbit carcass.

Holy fuck this business is strange.