Peter Sellars on Janáček’s “The Cunning Little Vixen” (19 min.)

“This music takes us all to a place we have never been before,” says Peter Sellars in the introduction to his production of Leoš Janáček’s opera The Cunning Little Vixen. Following his stagings of the Bach Passions and other unforgettable projects, this production from October 2017 sees the American director continue his successful partnership with Sir Simon Rattle and the Berliner Philharmoniker. In this interview, Sellars, who was the Philharmoniker’s Artist in Residence in the 2015/2016 season, talks about the biographical background to Janáček’s work, the tumultuous times that were the 1920s, and the irresistible characterisation of the animal and human world that the Czech composer successfully created in his most popular opera.