Kamila Stösslová

Who was Kamila Stösslová?

Kamila Stösslová holds an unusual place in music history. The composer Leoš Janáček, upon meeting her in 1917 in the resort town of Luhačovice, fell deeply in love with her, despite both their marriages and the fact he was almost forty years older than Kamila. She was a profound influence on the composer in his last decade.

Kamila was living in the Moravian spa town of Luhačovice with her husband David Stössel and their two sons Rudolf and Otto. David was in the army and assisted Janáček in obtaining vital food supplies in wartime. Probably David Stössel's army service meant he could only be at Luhačovice only on some days, thus giving Janáček opportunities to walk and converse with Kamila during that first week. Janáček arrived in the resort on 3 July 1917. 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 to his feelings for her, Janáček was inspired by her to create the lead characters of three of his operas; Katya in Katya Kabanová, the vixen in The Cunning Little Vixen and Emilia Marty in The Makropulos Affair. Other works that were inspired by his passion include The Diary of One Who Disappeared, the Glagolitic Mass, his Sinfonietta and the String Quartet No. 2.