''Nikola Šubić Zrinjski'' is an opera written and composed by

Ivan Zajc Ivan von Zajc (also , ; ; August 3, 1832 – December 16, 1914), was a Croatian composer, conductor, director, and teacher who dominated Croatia's musical culture for over forty years. Through his artistic and institutional reform efforts, he ...

in 1876. It is a retelling of the Battle of Szigetvár of 1566, in which

Nikola IV Zrinski Nikola IV Zrinski or Miklós IV Zrínyi (, ; 1507/1508 – 7 September 1566), also commonly known as Nikola Šubić Zrinski (), was a Croatian- Hungarian nobleman and general, Ban of Croatia from 1542 until 1556, royal master of the treasury f ...

, Ban of

Croatia Croatia, officially the Republic of Croatia, is a country in Central Europe, Central and Southeast Europe, on the coast of the Adriatic Sea. It borders Slovenia to the northwest, Hungary to the northeast, Serbia to the east, Bosnia and Herze ...

and captain of the assembled Croatian and Hungarian forces, took a heroic last stand against overwhelming Ottoman forces, led personally by

Suleiman the Magnificent Suleiman I (; , ; 6 November 14946 September 1566), commonly known as Suleiman the Magnificent in the Western world and as Suleiman the Lawgiver () in his own realm, was the List of sultans of the Ottoman Empire, Ottoman sultan between 1520 a ...

. Though the fortress fell, the defenders inflicted grievous injuries on the assaulting forces, all but crippling the victors' ability to progress past the Croatian-Hungarian border, and causing the death of the sultan himself. The opera premiered in

Zagreb Zagreb ( ) is the capital (political), capital and List of cities and towns in Croatia#List of cities and towns, largest city of Croatia. It is in the Northern Croatia, north of the country, along the Sava river, at the southern slopes of the ...

on 4 November 1876 at what was then the People's Theater housed in the present-day

Old City Hall Old City Hall may refer to: Asia In Hong Kong * Old City Hall (Hong Kong) Europe In Croatia * Old City Hall (Zagreb) In Denmark * Old City Hall (1479–1728), in Copenhagen * Old City Hall (1728–1795), in Copenhagen * Old City Hall (Aalborg ...

building. It was well received by audiences and critics alike. Its enduring fame is due in large part to its climactic chorus, " U boj, u boj!" (''To battle, to battle!''), written by the composer ten years prior to the rest of the opera. ''Nikola Šubić Zrinjski'' remains a staple of the opera repertoire, having seen a total of 682 performances as of 2010. It has achieved lasting popularity as a Croatian patriotic song, removed from the context of the opera, as well as a Japanese

glee club A glee club is a musical group or choir group, historically of male voices but also of female or mixed voices, which traditionally specializes in the singing of short songs by trios or quartets. In the late 19th century it was very popular in ...

staple. Its recordings include one conducted by

Milan Sachs Milan Sachs (28 November 1884 – 4 August 1968) was a Czech-Croatian opera conductor and composer, who was long associated with the Zagreb Opera in Croatia, where he conducted some important local premieres, including Wagner's ''Parsifal'', an ...

References

Compositions by Ivan Zajc Croatian-language operas 1876 operas Operas Cultural depictions of Croatian people Cultural depictions of military officers Operas based on real people Operas based on actual events Operas set in the 16th century Operas set in Hungary {{opera-stub

See also

References