The Cunning Little Vixen
The characters
Learn more about the characters in Janáček's The Cunning Little Vixen
Vixen Sharp Ears
Soprano
- Resourceful
- Brave
- Clever
![](https://s3-eu-west-1.amazonaws.com/glyndebourne-prod-assets/wp-content/uploads/2019/03/28144027/Glyndebourne_Vixen060616_photoRichardHubertSmith-0042-Vixen-1.jpg)
- Based on a popular comic strip character
- One of a series of female heroines inspired by Janáček’s own love life
- To create this character, Janáček studied animal behaviour and observed a family of foxes
The Fox
Mezzo-soprano
- Romantic
- Chivalrous
- Charming
![](https://s3-eu-west-1.amazonaws.com/glyndebourne-prod-assets/wp-content/uploads/2019/03/28144026/Glyndebourne_Vixen060616_photoRichardHubertSmith-0042-fox-1.jpg)
- Named Gold-Spur
- A ‘trouser role’, in the typical operatic custom of a woman playing the role of a young man
The Forester
Baritone
- World weary
- Short sighted
- Impulsive
![](https://s3-eu-west-1.amazonaws.com/glyndebourne-prod-assets/wp-content/uploads/2019/03/28144025/Glyndebourne_Vixen060616_photoRichardHubertSmith-0042-forester-1.jpg)
- Represents the limited human perspective on nature and life, contrasting with the deeper instincts of animals
- Finally learns a lesson from the animals
- Stanislav Lolek, the artist who created the comic strip on which the opera is based, apprenticed as a forester
Photos by: Richard Hubert Smith