Kamila Stösslová (

née The birth name is the name of the person given upon their birth. The term may be applied to the surname, the given name or to the entire name. Where births are required to be officially registered, the entire name entered onto a births registe ...

Neumannová; 1891–1935) was a Czech woman. The

composer A composer is a person who writes music. The term is especially used to indicate composers of Western classical music, or those who are composers by occupation. Many composers are, or were, also skilled performers of music. Etymology and def ...

Leoš Janáček Leoš Janáček (, 3 July 1854 – 12 August 1928) was a Czech composer, Music theory, music theorist, Folkloristics, folklorist, publicist, and teacher. He was inspired by Moravian folk music, Moravian and other Slavs, Slavic music, includin ...

, upon meeting her in 1917 in the Moravian resort town of

Luhačovice Luhačovice (; ) is a spa town in Zlín District in the Zlín Region of the Czech Republic. It has about 5,000 inhabitants. It is known for the largest spa in Moravia and for architecturally valuable buildings designed by the architect Dušan Jurko ...

, fell deeply in love with her, despite the fact that both of them were married, and that he was almost forty years older than she was. She had a profound influence on the composer in his last decade. Kamila was at the time living in Luhačovice with her husband, David Stössel, and their two sons, Rudolf (born 1913) and Otto (born 1916). David was in the army and assisted Janáček in obtaining vital food supplies in wartime. David Stössel's army service may have meant he could be at Luhačovice only on some days, thus giving Janáček opportunities to converse with Kamila. Janáček arrived in the resort on 3 July 1917 (he preferred Luhačovice over other spas due to its proximity to his house in

Brno Brno ( , ; ) is a Statutory city (Czech Republic), city in the South Moravian Region of the Czech Republic. Located at the confluence of the Svitava (river), Svitava and Svratka (river), Svratka rivers, Brno has about 403,000 inhabitants, making ...

). By 8 July he had jotted down a fragment of her speech in his diary. His correspondence with Kamila had begun with a brief note by 24 July 1917. Despite her ambivalence about his feelings for her, Janáček was inspired by her to create the lead characters of two of his

opera Opera is a form of History of theatre#European theatre, Western theatre in which music is a fundamental component and dramatic roles are taken by Singing, singers. Such a "work" (the literal translation of the Italian word "opera") is typically ...

s: Káťa in '' Katya Kabanová'' and Emilia Marty in ''

The Makropulos Affair ''Věc Makropulos'' is a Czech play written by Karel Čapek. Its title—literally ''The Makropulos Thing''—has been variously rendered in English as ''The Makropulos Affair'', ''The Makropulos Case'', or ''The Makropulos Secret'' (Čapek's o ...

''. He acknowledged her as the inspiration for the former opera, telling her in a letter that "''I saw for the first time how a woman can love her husband… that was the reason why I took up Kát’a Kabanová and composed it''". Likewise, during rehearsals for The Makropulos Affair, Janáček wrote to her that "''Mrs. Kerová, who is taking he role of Emilia Marty has movements like you… that lady seems just like you in her gait and her whole appearance''” Another work inspired by Stösslová was '' The Diary of One Who Disappeared'' about which the composer wrote to her "''That black Gypsy girl in my Diary was especially you… That's why there's so much emotional hea''t. Other works she inspired include the ''

Glagolitic Mass The ''Glagolitic Mass'' (, '; also called ''Missa Glagolitica'' or ''Slavonic Mass'') is a composition for soloists (soprano, contralto, tenor, bass), double chorus, organ and orchestra by Leoš Janáček. Janáček completed the work in 1926. I ...

'', the '' Sinfonietta'' and in particular the '' String Quartet No. 2'' (subtitled ''Intimate Letters''). Not only is this last work dedicated to Stösslová, but the composer added a codicil to his will stipulating that she receive all of the royalties. While many of these works reveal a realization by the composer that his love for her was unrequited, she was nonetheless the subject of intense correspondence. There are over 700 letters that bear witness to his intense obsession with Kamila. During the final year of his life, he wrote to Kamila almost every day. Although she always remained emotionally aloof, she was with him when he died in 1928. In the award-winning TV film ''

In Search of Janáček ''In Search of Janáček'' (Czech: ''Hledání Janáčka'') is a film about the life of composer Leoš Janáček Leoš Janáček (, 3 July 1854 – 12 August 1928) was a Czech composer, Music theory, music theorist, Folkloristics, folkloris ...

'', written and directed by

Petr Kaňka Petr is a Czech form of the masculine given name Peter and a surname. For information on Petr as a first name, see Peter (given name). Given name * Petr Aven (born 1955), Russian billionaire banker, economist and politician * Petr Čech (born 1982 ...

, her character was performed by

Zuzana Vejvodová Zuzana Vejvodová (born 19 September 1980, Prague Prague ( ; ) is the capital and List of cities and towns in the Czech Republic, largest city of the Czech Republic and the historical capital of Bohemia. Prague, located on the Vltava Rive ...

References

Further reading