Passionate works by Schubert and Beethoven, as well as Brahms’s delightful Gypsy songs set the stage for Janáček’s unique work. His The Diary of One Who Disappeared tells the tale of a young farmer who falls in love with a Roma woman, abandoning home and family to be with her. The dramatic vocal writing and unusual scoring—tenor, mezzo-soprano, and off-stage female voices—result in a gripping work that sits between song cycle and chamber opera.