|
The Death Of Vlasta
''The Death of Vlasta'' (Czech: Vlasty skon) is a 1903 opera by Otakar Ostrčil. The story concerns Vlasta, leader of warriors in The Maidens' War "The Maidens' War" ( cs, Dívčí válka) is a tale in Bohemian tradition about an uprising of women against men. According to legend, it took place sometime in the 8th century. It first appeared in the twelfth-century ''Chronica Boëmorum'' ... legend and is connected to the subject matter of Smetana's '' Libuše'' and Fibich's '' Šárka'' (and later Janáček's ''Šárka''). Karel Pippich, author of the drama ''Vlasty skon: Dramatická báseň o třech jednáních, určená pro drama'' (1885), first offered the story to Antonín Dvořák, but he declined, so it was later accepted by Fibich's pupil Ostrčil. The opera was only performed six times. Recordings * Aria from Act 2 - "Aria of Vojmír to Vlasta", LP (1984); sung by bass Ivan Kusnjer References Czech-language operas operas 1903 operas {{opera-stub ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Otakar Ostrčil
Otakar Ostrčil (25 February 1879 in Prague – 20 August 1935 in Prague) was a Czech composer and conductor. He is noted for symphonic works ''Impromptu'', ''Suite in C Minor'', and ''Symfonietta'', and in his opera compositions '' Poupě'' and '' Honzovo království''. Compositional career Ostrčil was born, and spent his entire life, in Prague, the center of the Czech musical community of his generation. He studied philosophy at Charles University, attending the classes of Otakar Hostinský, and simultaneously studied composition and music theory privately under Zdeněk Fibich. From his early student days he was a close friend of Zdeněk Nejedlý, whose outspoken voice in musicology formed Ostrčil's greatest critical support. He worked as a conductor at the Vinohrady Theater (1914-1919) and later at the National Theatre (Prague) (1920-1935), which was one of the most influential positions in Czech musical life. He also worked as a pedagogue at the Prague Conservatory, tea ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
The Maidens' War
"The Maidens' War" ( cs, Dívčí válka) is a tale in Bohemian tradition about an uprising of women against men. According to legend, it took place sometime in the 8th century. It first appeared in the twelfth-century ''Chronica Boëmorum'' of Cosmas of Prague, and later in the fourteenth-century '' Dalimil's Chronicle''. Tale Following the death of Libuše, Vlasta led a band of women against the (male) forces of Libuše's widower Přemysl and founded the castle Děvín. The men, however, despite the warnings of Duke Přemysl, laughed at their preparations. Vlasta then sent the most beautiful girls to enchant the men with their charms, and led an attack against the men who came to Děvín, which the women won. Šárka, Vlasta's lieutenant, entrapped a band of armed men led by Ctirad by tying herself to a tree, claiming that the rebel maidens had tied her there and put a horn and a jug of mead out of reach to mock her. Ctirad believed her story and untied her from the t ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Libuše (opera)
''Libuše'' () is a "festival opera" in three acts, with music by Bedřich Smetana. The libretto was originally written in German by Josef Wenzig, and was then translated into Czech by . In Czech historical myth, Libuše, the title character, prophesied the founding of Prague. The opera was composed in 1871–72 for the coronation of Franz Josef as King of Bohemia. This did not happen and Smetana saved ''Libuše'' for the opening of the National Theatre in Prague, which took place nine years later on 11 June 1881. After the destruction of the National Theatre in a fire, the same opera opened the reconstructed theatre in 1883. The first US performance was reported to have occurred March 1986, in a concert version at Carnegie Hall with Eve Queler and the Opera Orchestra of New York. In the UK, it was first staged by University College Opera in 2019. Commentators have noted the pageant-like nature of the opera and the influence of Richard Wagner in the music. Roles Synopsis ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Šárka (Fibich)
''Šárka'', opus 51, is an opera in three acts by Zdeněk Fibich to a Czech libretto by Anežka Schulzová, his student and lover. Fibich composed the full score over the period of 8 September 1896 to 10 March 1897. At the time, Czech audiences regarded Fibich with suspicion as being overly influenced by the music of Richard Wagner, and Fibich had selected the legend of Šárka for this operatic subject to try to counter such sentiments. Even so, the opera still contains use of Wagner's idea of ''leitmotif''.Smaczny, Jan, "The Operas and Melodramas of Zdenĕk Fibich (1850–1900)" (1982–1983). ''Proceedings of the Royal Musical Association'', 109: pp. 119–133. The subject matter, the Bohemian legend of Šárka, which appears in 14th-century Czech literature, is related to that of Smetana's tone poem ''Má vlast'' and the opera of the same name by Janáček. Schulzová used as her primary literary source an 1880 version of the story by J. Vrchlický. Performance histo ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Šárka (Janáček)
''Šárka'' is an opera in three acts by Leoš Janáček to a Czech libretto by Julius Zeyer, based on Bohemian legends of Šárka in '' Dalimil's Chronicle''. Written in 1887, the opera lay unproduced for many years and was first performed at the ''Divadlo na Hradbách'' (today's Mahen Theatre) in Brno on 11 November 1925 in honour of Janáček’s 71st birthday. Performance history The premiere of the Ur-version (1887) of ''Šárka'' took place on 26 November 2010 at the Reduta Studio Theatre Brno as part of the Janáček Biennale, conducted from the piano by Ondrej Olos, with Lucie Kašparová in the title role. This first version (of which 30% of the music is retained in the score generally performed today) was sent to Dvořák for comment, but rested in the Janáček archive until 2010; the final version, with fewer motives and longer set-pieces, presages his mature works.Tyrell J., "Report from Brno", ''Opera'', March 2011, pp. 304–6. The composer had never completed t ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Karel Pippich
Karel Pippich (21 April 1849 in Zlonice – 29 March 1921 in Chrudim) was a Czech lawyer, Czech Sokol movement, Sokol organizer and writer. Works * ''Vlasty skon: Dramatická báseň o třech jednáních, určená pro drama'' (1885) - this drama, "The Death of Vlasta", is connected to the myths of Vlasta (mythology), Vlasta, Libuše's handmaid and Šárka, the mythical warrior-maiden of Bohemia, a character in The Maidens' War. The drama was first offered as the basis of an opera to Dvořák, who initially showed interest but later turned it down, and Pippich offered it to a pupil of Fibich, Otakar Ostrčil who created the opera ''The Death of Vlasta'' in 1903.Otakar Dvořák, ''Antonín Dvořák, my father'' Paul J. Polansky - 1993"Dr. Pippich from Chrudim offered my father the text Vlasty Skon (Vlasta's End). Father liked this very much and decided to ask Dr. Pippich for some corrections for a composition. At the same time Otakar Ostrcil was already working on " References< ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Antonín Dvořák
Antonín Leopold Dvořák ( ; ; 8 September 1841 – 1 May 1904) was a Czechs, Czech composer. Dvořák frequently employed rhythms and other aspects of the folk music of Moravian traditional music, Moravia and his native Bohemia, following the Romantic-era Czech nationalism, nationalist example of his predecessor Bedřich Smetana. Dvořák's style has been described as "the fullest recreation of a national idiom with that of the symphonic tradition, absorbing folk influences and finding effective ways of using them". Dvořák displayed his musical gifts at an early age, being an apt violin student from age six. The first public performances of his works were in Prague in 1872 and, with special success, in 1873, when he was 31 years old. Seeking recognition beyond the Prague area, he submitted a score of his Symphony No. 1 (Dvořák), First Symphony to a prize competition in Germany, but did not win, and the unreturned manuscript was lost until it was rediscovered many decades ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Ivan Kusnjer
Ivan Kusnjer (born 10 November 1951) is a Czech baritone opera singer.''ND a jeho předchůdci'' Vladimír Procházka - 1988 "KUSNJER Ivan * 10. 11. 1951 Rokycany. Zpévák. Po maturité na Stfední prúmyslové skole strojnické v Plzni studoval na HAMU ve th'dé T. Srubafe, kde absolvo- val 1975. Téhoz roku byl ocenén na soutézi mladych operních pévcú v Sofii a ..." His discography includes recordings of many of the main baritone roles of Czech opera and song. Early life, education and family Kusnjer was born in Rokycany in 1951. He graduated from the Music Faculty of the Academy of Performing Arts in Prague, studying with Teodor Šrubař. He performed as an opera singer on stages in Ostrava and Brno. In 1982 he started to work at the National Theatre in Prague. He also attended voice master classes at Accademia Sigiana in Siena and Accademia Santa Cecilia in Rome. He has performed on opera and concert stages around the world, including La Scala in Milan, Carnegie Ha ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Operas
Opera is a form of theatre in which music is a fundamental component and dramatic roles are taken by singers. Such a "work" (the literal translation of the Italian word "opera") is typically a collaboration between a composer and a librettist and incorporates a number of the performing arts, such as acting, scenery, costume, and sometimes dance or ballet. The performance is typically given in an opera house, accompanied by an orchestra or smaller musical ensemble, which since the early 19th century has been led by a conductor. Although musical theatre is closely related to opera, the two are considered to be distinct from one another. Opera is a key part of the Western classical music tradition. Originally understood as an entirely sung piece, in contrast to a play with songs, opera has come to include numerous genres, including some that include spoken dialogue such as ''Singspiel'' and ''Opéra comique''. In traditional number opera, singers employ two styles of singing: ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
.jpg "Click for more on -> Libuše (opera)")
