Dalibor (opera)
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| Operas by Bedřich Smetana |
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Brandenburgers in Bohemia (1863) |
Dalibor (the name of a main character) is a Czech opera in three acts by Bedřich Smetana. The libretto was written in German by Josef Wenzig, and translated into Czech by Ervin Špindler. It was first performed at the New Town Theater in Prague on 16 May 1868. The opera received criticism at the time for being overly influenced by German opera, including that of Richard Wagner.[1]
Smetana had great affection for the opera, but because of the lukewarm reception, died thinking that he had failed with this opera. The revival in 1886, however, two years after the composer's death, was a success.[1] In the 1890's, the opera received productions in Zagreb, Munich, and Hamburg.[2] Gustav Mahler conducted an 1892 production in Vienna.[1]
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[edit] Background
The subject of the opera is Dalibor z Kozojed, a Czech knight who took part in an uprising in support of the oppressed people and was sentenced to death in 1498, during the reign of Vladislav II. The plot bears a resemblance to that of Ludwig van Beethoven's opera Fidelio,[3] in that the central female characters in each opera disguise themselves in male clothing to try to save the hero.
[edit] Roles
| Role | Voice type | Premiere Cast, May 16, 1868 (Conductor: - ) |
|---|---|---|
| Vladislav, Czech King | baritone | |
| Dalibor, a knight | tenor | |
| Budivoj, Commander of the castle guard | baritone | |
| Beneš, the jailor | bass | |
| Vítek, one of Dalibor's mercenaries | tenor | |
| Milada, sister of the burgrave of Ploškovice | soprano | |
| Jitka, a village maiden on Dalibor's estate | soprano | |
| One of the judges | bass | |
| People, judges, mercenaries, chorus, silent | ||
[edit] Selected recordings
In Czech
- 1950, Jaroslav Krombholc (conductor), Prague National Theatre Chorus and Orchestra; Václav Bednář, Beno Blachut, Teodor Šrubař, Karel Kalaš, Antonín Votava, Marie Podvalová, Štefa Petrová, Jan Hadraba, Jaroslav Kubala, Josef Loskot, Ferdinand Kotas, František Trnka
- 1967, Jaroslav Krombholc, (conductor), Prague National Theatre Chorus and Orchestra; Jindrák, Přibyl, Švorc, Horáček, Švehla, Kniplová, Svobodová-Janků, Jedlička
- 1977, Eve Queler, (conductor), Opera Orchestra New York and New York Choral Society; Allan Monk, Nicolai Gedda, Harlan Foss, Paul Plishka, John Carpenter, Teresa Kubiak, Nadia Šormová, Raymond Gniewek
- 1995, Zdeněk Košler (conductor), Prague National Theatre Chorus and Orchestra; Eva Urbanová, Jiřina Marková, Leo Marian Vodička, Ivan Kusnjer, Miroslav Kopp, Vratislav Kříž, Jiří Kalendovský, Bohuslav Maršík[1]
- 1999, Yoram David (conductor), Orchestra e Coro del Teatro Lirico di Cagliari; Eva Urbanova, Valerij Popov, Valeri Alexejev, Dagmar Schellenberger, Jiri Kalendovsky, Damir Basyrov, Valentin Prolat, Carmine Monaco, Alexandr Blagodarnyi, Bruno Pestarino
In German
- 1969, Josef Krips (conductor), Orchester und Chor der Wiener Staatsoper; Eberhard Wächter, Ludovico Spiess, Oskar Czerwenka, Walter Kreppel, Adolf Dallapozza, Tugomir Franc, Leonie Rysanek-Gausmann, Lotte Rysanek
[edit] References
- ^ a b c d Jellinek, George (1997). "Dalibor. Bedřich Smetana". The Opera Quarterly 14 (1): 174–176.
- ^ John Clapham , "Smetana: A Century after". The Musical Times, 125(1694), pp. 201, 203-205 (April 1984).
- ^ George Martin, Review of Czech Opera by John Tyrrell. The Opera Quarterly, 6(4), 80-84 (1989).
[edit] Sources
- The Oxford Dictionary of Opera, by John Warrack and Ewan West (1992), 782 pages, ISBN 0-19-869164-5
[edit] External links
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