''The Good Soldier Schweik'' 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 2 acts by

Robert Kurka Robert Frank Kurka (December 22, 1921 – December 12, 1957) was an American composer, who also taught and conducted his own works. Biography Kurka was born in Cicero, Illinois. He was mostly self-taught as a musician. He studied for short perio ...

with an English language libretto by

Lewis Allan Abel Meeropol (February 10, 1903 – October 29, 1986)Baker, Nancy Kovaleff, "Abel Meeropol (a.k.a. Lewis Allan): Political Commentator and Social Conscience," '' American Music'' 20/1 (2002), pp. 25–79, ; see especially note 3. was an Ameri ...

based on

Jaroslav Hašek Jaroslav Hašek (; 1883–1923) was a Czech writer, humorist, satirist, journalist, bohemian and anarchist. He is best known for his novel '' The Fate of the Good Soldier Švejk during the World War'', an unfinished collection of farcical inc ...

's 1921 novel ''

The Good Soldier Švejk ''The Good Soldier Švejk'' () is an unfinished satirical dark comedy novel by Czech writer Jaroslav Hašek, published in 1921–1923, about a good-humored, simple-minded, middle-aged man who pretends to be enthusiastic to serve Austria-Hungar ...

''. Premiered by the

New York City Opera The New York City Opera (NYCO) is an American opera company located in Manhattan in New York City. The company has been active from 1943 through 2013 (when it filed for bankruptcy), and again since 2016 when it was revived. The opera company, du ...

just four months after the composer's death in 1958, the work uses some musical material from Kurka's earlier instrumental piece ''The Good Soldier Schweik Suite'', which was premiered by

The Little Orchestra Society :''Not to be confused by The Little Orchestra of London'' The Little Orchestra Society is an American orchestra based at 630 9th Avenue, Suite 807 in New York City. It was founded in 1947 by Thomas Scherman, who served as its conductor until his ...

in 1952. At the time of his death, Kurka had completed the opera in piano score form but had not fully completed the opera's orchestrations. His friend, the composer

Hershy Kay Hershy Kay (November 17, 1919 – December 2, 1981) was an American composer, arranger, and orchestrator. He is most noteworthy for the orchestrations of several Broadway shows, and for the ballets he arranged for George Balanchine's New York City ...

, completed the orchestrations for the last scenes of the opera based on ideas for instrumentation that Kurka had written into the piano score with red pen. The work is scored for a small ensemble of just 16 instruments, which consist solely of woodwinds, brass, and percussion. The music has its roots in Czech folk and dance music with traditional forms like the polka and

furiant A furiant is a rapid and fiery Bohemian dance in alternating 2/4 and 3/4 time, with frequently shifting accents; or, in "art music", in 3/4 time "with strong accents forming pairs of beats". The stylised form of the dance was often used by Czech ...

being developed through a high art classical music lens that eschews lyricism for an edgy tautness. __TOC__

Performance history

The work was given its world premiere at the City Center Theater on April 23, 1958 by the

; just months after the composer's death from leukemia in 1957. Allan began working on the libretto for the opera in 1955, and the composer wrote much of the music while fighting cancer in 1956 and 1957. The original production was directed by Carmen Capalbo, whose staging included the use of comedic projected film and utilization of movement idioms from American musical comedy. The production featured costumes by

Ruth Morley Ruth Morley (November 19, 1925 – February 12, 1991) was an Austrian-born American costume designer, active from the late 1950s through 1991. She was nominated for Best Costumes-Black and White for her work on ''The Miracle Worker'' during t ...

, sets by Andreas Nomikos, and choreography by

Robert Joffrey Robert Joffrey (December 24, 1930 – March 25, 1988) was an American dancer, teacher, producer, choreographer, and co-founder of the Joffrey Ballet, known for his highly imaginative modern ballets. He was born Anver Bey Abdullah Jaffa Khan in Se ...

. The opera's title hero was portrayed by Norman Kelley, who later reprised the role when the work was performed again at The Town Hall in 1961 with the

Symphony of the Air The NBC Symphony Orchestra was a radio orchestra conceived by David Sarnoff, the president of the Radio Corporation of America, especially for the conductor Arturo Toscanini. The NBC Symphony performed weekly radio concert broadcasts with Tosc ...

and conductor

Robert De Cormier Robert Romeo De Cormier Jr. (January 7, 1922 – November 7, 2017), sometimes known as Robert Corman, was an American musical conductor, arranger, and director. He arranged music for many singers and groups, including Harry Belafonte and Peter, P ...

. The European premiere of the opera was given at the

Komische Oper Berlin The Komische Oper Berlin is a German opera company based in Berlin. The company produces opera, operetta and musicals. The opera house is located on Behrenstraße, just a few steps from Unter den Linden. Since 2004, the Komische Oper Berlin, al ...

in a production staged by Joachim Herz in 1958 with conductor Harold Byrns leading the musical forces. The work has had several other stagings in the United States and Europe, including a 1959 production at the

Semperoper The Semperoper () is the opera house of the Sächsische Staatsoper Dresden (Saxon State Opera) and the concert hall of the Staatskapelle Dresden (Saxon State Orchestra). It is also home to the Semperoper Ballett. The building is located on the ...

starring tenor Karl-Heinz Thomann in the title role and a celebrated production by the

Chicago Opera Theater The Chicago Opera Theater (COT) is an American opera company based in Chicago, Illinois. COT is a resident company at the Harris Theater (Chicago), Harris Theater for Music and Dance in Chicago's Millennium Park and is currently in residence at th ...

(COT) in 1981 which was directed by

Frank Galati Frank Joseph Galati (November 29, 1943 – January 2, 2023) was an American director, writer, and actor. He was a member of Steppenwolf Theatre Company and an associate director at Goodman Theatre. He taught at Northwestern University for many ...

. The COT revived the work in March 2001, and recorded that production on disc with

Cedille Records Cedille Records () is the independent record label of the Chicago Classical Recording Foundation. History In 1989, James Ginsburg, the son of U.S. Supreme Court Associate Justice Ruth Bader Ginsburg, founded Cedille Records as a for-profit c ...

. Other organizations to stage the opera include the

Minnesota Opera Minnesota Opera is a performance organization based in Minneapolis, Minnesota. It was founded as the Center Opera Company in 1963 by the Walker Art Center, and is known for premiering such diverse works as ''Where the Wild Things Are'' by Oliver ...

(1966), the

Chamber Orchestra of Philadelphia The Chamber Orchestra of Philadelphia is an American chamber orchestra based in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania. Its principal concert venue is the Perelman Theater of the Kimmel Center for the Performing Arts, of which the orchestra is a founding ...

(1967), the

Opera Company of Boston The Opera Company of Boston was an American opera company located in Boston, Massachusetts, that was active from the late 1950s through the 1980s. The company was founded by American conductor Sarah Caldwell in 1958 under the name Boston Opera Gr ...

(1970), the Houston Grand Opera (1973), Hartford Opera Theater (1974),

Glimmerglass Opera The Glimmerglass Festival (formerly known as Glimmerglass Opera) is an American opera company. Founded in 1975 by Peter Macris, the Glimmerglass Festival presents an annual season of operas at the Alice Busch Opera Theater on Otsego Lake eight ...

(2003), and

Long Beach Opera Long Beach Opera is a Southern California opera company serving the greater Los Angeles and Orange County metroplex. Founded in 1979, it is the oldest continually running opera company in the L.A. area. Though small in size, the company has surveye ...

(2010), among others.

Roles

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Good Soldier Schweik, The 1958 operas English-language operas Operas based on novels Operas The Good Soldier Švejk