Panndora Productions

Intimate Letters

A one-act play written & directed by Cecilia Fannon in collaboration with Long Beach Opera.

Written by Cecilia Fannon
Directed by Cecilia Fannon
Cast Michael York, Sonja Berggren, Edita Brychta, Hellena Taylor
Production Team Technical Director - Pete Taylor, Narrator and Stage Manager - Karen Wray
Venue Art Theatre, Long Beach

Karen Wray - Narrator & Stage Manager

Cecilia Fannon - Playwright & Director
Edita Brychta - Zdenka
Sonja Berggren - Mara
Pete Taylor - Technical Director
Michael York - Leos Janacek
Hellena Taylor - Kamila

Award-winning playwright, Cecilia Fannon, draws from Janacek's life and letters to create a tale of love, passion and artistic obsession between Jancek, his long-time mistress Kamila Stosslova, and his wife Zdenka, a decade long love triangle observed by Janacek's maid Mara.

"At the time of Leos Janacek's death, he had written more than 700 letters to his 'soul,' Kamila Stosslova, a married woman half his age whom he considered a source of inspiration. (Few of Stosslova's letters survived). For years the letters were kept under lock and key due to their intimate nature. In reconstructing the curious relationship of Janacek and Stosslova for dramatic presentation, I chose to focus on the nature of inspiration, which had more to do with conflict than with peace and well-being. How like the drama! The love triangle between Janacek, his wife, and his muse was more the source of the Czech composer's prodigious musical outpourings than lust for a younger woman... less about being a good husband that being a great talent."
-Cecilia Fannon (Jan. 2009)

Production Photos