Dalibor (opera)
| Bedřich Smetana |
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Operas
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Dalibor 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 Theatre 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]
The subject of the opera is Dalibor of Kozojed (fl. c. 1490), a Czech knight who took part in an uprising in Ploskovice in support of the oppressed people and was sentenced to death in 1498, during the reign of Vladislas II. The plot bears a resemblance to that of Ludwig van Beethoven's opera Fidelio,[2] in that the central female characters in each opera disguise themselves in male clothing to try to save the hero.
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[edit] Performance history
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 1890s, the opera received productions in Zagreb, Munich, and Hamburg.[3] Gustav Mahler conducted an 1892 production in Vienna.[1]
[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 | Eleanora Ehrenbergů |
| One of the judges | bass | |
| People, judges, mercenaries, chorus, silent | ||
[edit] 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 Urbanová, Valerij Popov, Valeri Alexejev, Dagmar Schellenberger, Jiri Kalendovsky, Damir Basyrov, Valentin Prolat, Carmine Monaco, Alexandr Blagodarnyi, Bruno Pestarino
- In German
- 1969, Josef Krips (conductor), Orchestra and chorus Vienna State Opera; Eberhard Wächter, Ludovico Spiess, Oskar Czerwenka, Walter Kreppel, Adolf Dallapozza, Tugomir Franc, Leonie Rysanek-Gausmann, Lotte Rysanek
[edit] References
- Notes
- ^ a b c d Jellinek, George (1997). "Dalibor. Bedřich Smetana". The Opera Quarterly 14 (1): 174–176. http://oq.oxfordjournals.org/cgi/reprint/14/1/174. Retrieved 17 October 2007.
- ^ George Martin, Review of Czech Opera by John Tyrrell. The Opera Quarterly, 6(4), 80–84 (1989).
- ^ John Clapham, "Smetana: A Century after". The Musical Times, 125(1694), pp. 201, 203–205 (April 1984).
- Sources
- Warrack, John and West, Ewan, The Oxford Dictionary of Opera New York: OUP: 1992 ISBN 0-19-869164-5
