Kamila Stösslová (

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

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 Defi ...

Leoš Janáček Leoš Janáček (, baptised Leo Eugen Janáček; 3 July 1854 – 12 August 1928) was a Czech composer, musical theorist, folklorist, publicist, and teacher. He was inspired by Moravian and other Slavic musics, including Eastern European fol ...

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

Luhačovice Luhačovice (; german: Luhatschowitz) 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. The town centre with the spa infrastructure is well preser ...

, 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 was 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 ( , ; german: Brünn ) is a city in the South Moravian Region of the Czech Republic. Located at the confluence of the Svitava and Svratka rivers, Brno has about 380,000 inhabitants, making it the second-largest city in the Czech Republic ...

). 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 three of his

opera Opera is a form of theatre in which music is a fundamental component and dramatic roles are taken by singers. Such a "work" (the literal translation of the Italian word "opera") is typically a collaboration between a composer and a librett ...

s; Káťa in '' Katya Kabanová'', the vixen in ''

The Cunning Little Vixen ''The Cunning Little Vixen'' (original title ''Příhody lišky Bystroušky'' or ''Tales of Vixen Sharp-Ears'' in English), is a three-act Czech-language opera by Leoš Janáček completed in 1923 to a libretto the composer himself adapted from a n ...

'' 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 ...

''. Other works that were inspired by her include ''

The Diary of One Who Disappeared ''Zápisník zmizelého'', or ''(The) Diary of One Who Disappeared'', is a half-hour Czech-language quasi-operatic song cycle for tenor, alto, three other women's voices and piano completed in 1919 by Leoš Janáček. Of its 22 sections, 18 are ...

'', the ''

Glagolitic Mass The ''Glagolitic Mass'' (, '' cu, script=latn, Mša glagolskaja''; also called ''Missa Glagolitica'' or ''Slavonic Mass'') is a composition for soloists (soprano, contralto, tenor, bass), double chorus, organ and orchestra by Leoš Janáček. The ...

'', his '' Sinfonietta'' and the '' String Quartet No. 2'' (subtitled ''Intimate Letters''). 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'', written and directed by Petr Kaňka, her character was performed by

Zuzana Vejvodová Zuzana Vejvodová (born 19 September 1980, Prague, Czechoslovakia) is a Czech actress.Zdeněk A. Tichý, Helena Šimáčková, Boris Hlaváček, ''Obrozené divadlo : Divadlo Na Fidlovačce 1921-2001'', ASA 2001, In 2000 she graduated from Prag ...

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