''Šárka'' is an

opera 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 libr ...

in three acts by

Leoš Janáček Leoš Janáček (, baptised Leo Eugen Janáček; 3 July 1854 – 12 August 1928) was a Czech composer, musical theorist, folklorist, publicist, and teacher. He was inspired by Moravian and other Slavic musics, including Eastern European f ...

to a Czech libretto by

Julius Zeyer Julius Zeyer (26 April 1841 – 29 January 1901) was a Czech prose writer, poet, and playwright. Personal life Zeyer was born on 26 April 1841 in Prague. His mother, Elisabeth Eleonora (née Weisseles), came from a German Jewish-turned-Catholic ...

, based on Bohemian legends of Šárka in '' Dalimil's Chronicle''. Written in

1887 Events January–March * January 11 – Louis Pasteur's anti-rabies treatment is defended in the Académie Nationale de Médecine, by Dr. Joseph Grancher. * January 20 ** The United States Senate allows the Navy to lease Pearl ...

, the opera lay unproduced for many years and was first performed at the ''Divadlo na Hradbách'' (today's

Mahen Theatre Mahen Theatre ( cs, Mahenovo divadlo) is a Czech theatre situated in the city of Brno. Mahen Theatre, built as German ''Deutsches Stadttheater'' in 1882, was one of the first public buildings in the world lit entirely by electric light. Ort (200 ...

) 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 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 libr ...

'', March 2011, pp. 304–6. The composer had never completed the work, but, after the success of his later operas, ''Šárka'' was revised and the orchestration completed by his pupil

Osvald Chlubna Osvald Chlubna (July 22, 1893 in Brno – October 30, 1971 in Brno) was a prominent Czech composer. Intending originally to study engineering, Chlubna switched his major and from 1914 to 1924, he studied composition with Leoš Janáček. Until 19 ...

who had been given the task in preparation for the opera's eventual publication. In

2000 File:2000 Events Collage.png, From left, clockwise: Protests against Bush v. Gore after the 2000 United States presidential election; Heads of state meet for the Millennium Summit; The International Space Station in its infant form as seen from S ...

, Jiří Zahrádka edited a new edition of the score. A recording was made later that year based on this edition, with Sir

Charles Mackerras Mackerras in 2005 Sir Alan Charles MacLaurin Mackerras (; 1925 2010) was an Australian conductor. He was an authority on the operas of Janáček and Mozart, and the comic operas of Gilbert and Sullivan. He was long associated with the Engli ...

conducting the

Czech Philharmonic Orchestra The Česká filharmonie (Czech Philharmonic) is a symphony orchestra based in Prague. The orchestra's principal concert venue is the Rudolfinum. History The name "Czech Philharmonic Orchestra" appeared for the first time in 1894, as the title ...

and with

Eva Urbanová Eva Urbanová (born 20 April 1961) is a Czech operatic soprano who has had an active international career since 1987. She has been a principal artist at the National Theatre in Prague since 1990 and has appeared as a guest artist at many of the ...

in the title role; it was issued the following year (

Supraphon Supraphon Music Publishing is a Czech record label, oriented mainly towards publishing classical music and popular music, with an emphasis on Czech and Slovak composers. History The Supraphon name was first registered as a trademark in 1932. ...

SU 3485-2-631). The premiere stage setting was designed by the architect and painter

Vlastislav Hofman Vlastislav Hofman (6 February 1884 – 28 August 1964) was an artist and architect who lived and worked first in the Austro-Hungarian Empire and later in Czechoslovakia. Though he was a painter, set designer, graphic artist, furniture designe ...

. Racek (1975), p.26

Roles

Synopsis

:Time: :Place: Before the opera begins, during Libuše's reign, women experienced a golden age and the female population had become the privileged members of society, but after her death this was not the case, causing a revolt that produced a female army, of whom Šárka was the fiercest warrior. As the opera opens, the morale of the male troops is flagging, yet is restored by the young Ctirad, who guards Libuše's tomb. The women enter the sepulchre, but are scared by the appearance of Ctirad, and swear vengeance. Šárka plans to trap the young male warrior, and the maidens tie her to a tree, apparently open and helpless. Ctirad finds her, takes pity and unties her, falling in love with Šárka, but she also falls in love with him. As they sleep in each other's arms, Šárka remembers her resolve and uses her horn to call for the maidens to come and kill Ctirad and his warriors. During the funeral for Ctirad, Šárka, grief-stricken, throws herself onto his pyre and dies in the flames, the chorus sings a lament for the lovers.

Other musical depictions of Šárka

Czech

Bedřich Smetana Bedřich Smetana ( , ; 2 March 1824 – 12 May 1884) was a Czech composer who pioneered the development of a musical style that became closely identified with his people's aspirations to a cultural and political "revival." He has been regarded i ...

composed the tone poem Šárka as the third part of his cycle "

Má Vlast ''Má vlast'' (), also known as ''My Fatherland'', is a set of six symphonic poems composed between 1874 and 1879 by the Czech composer Bedřich Smetana. The six pieces, conceived as individual works, are often presented and recorded as a single ...

", which does not contain the final suicide narrated in the

References

Notes Sources * Holden, Amanda (Ed.), ''The New Penguin Opera Guide'', New York: Penguin Putnam, 2001. *

External links

Gavin Plumley's Leoš Janáček site, information on Šárka
{{DEFAULTSORT:Sarka Czech-language operas Operas by Leoš Janáček 1887 operas 1925 operas Operas