Jan Nepomuk Maýr (sometimes spelled Mayr, Mayer, or Maier; 17 February 1818 – 25 October 1888) was a Czech

opera Opera is a form of History of theatre#European theatre, Western theatre in which music is a fundamental component and dramatic roles are taken by Singing, singers. Such a "work" (the literal translation of the Italian word "opera") is typically ...

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tenor A tenor is a type of male singing voice whose vocal range lies between the countertenor and baritone voice types. It is the highest male chest voice type. Composers typically write music for this voice in the range from the second B below m ...

opera director Crossbreed is an American industrial metal band from Clearwater, Florida, formed in 1996. They were signed with Artemis Records before being dropped from the label in 2003. The band released two EPs and three full-length albums before disbandi ...

conductor Conductor or conduction may refer to: Biology and medicine * Bone conduction, the conduction of sound to the inner ear * Conduction aphasia, a language disorder Mathematics * Conductor (ring theory) * Conductor of an abelian variety * Cond ...

composer A composer is a person who writes music. The term is especially used to indicate composers of Western classical music, or those who are composers by occupation. Many composers are, or were, also skilled performers of music. Etymology and def ...

and music educator. He is best remembered today for serving as the first director/principal conductor of the

Provisional Theatre The Prague Provisional Theatre (, ) was erected in 1862 as a temporary home for Czech drama and opera until a permanent National Theatre could be built. It opened on 18 November 1862 and functioned for 20 years, during which time over 5,000 perfo ...

Prague Prague ( ; ) is the capital and List of cities and towns in the Czech Republic, largest city of the Czech Republic and the historical capital of Bohemia. Prague, located on the Vltava River, has a population of about 1.4 million, while its P ...

Biography

Born in

Mělník Mělník (; ) is a town in the Central Bohemian Region of the Czech Republic. It has about 20,000 inhabitants. The historic town centre is well preserved and is protected as an Cultural monument (Czech Republic)#Monument zones, urban monument zon ...

, Maýr began his career working as an opera singer at the

opera house An opera house is a theater building used for performances of opera. Like many theaters, it usually includes a stage, an orchestra pit, audience seating, backstage facilities for costumes and building sets, as well as offices for the institut ...

in Klagenfurt in 1839. From 1842–1844 he worked at various theatres in Prague, after which he was committed to the opera house in

Darmstadt Darmstadt () is a city in the States of Germany, state of Hesse in Germany, located in the southern part of the Frankfurt Rhine Main Area, Rhine-Main-Area (Frankfurt Metropolitan Region). Darmstadt has around 160,000 inhabitants, making it the ...

from 1844–1846. At the behest of

František Ladislav Rieger František Ladislav Rieger (10 December 1818 – 3 March 1903) was a Czech politician and publicist made famous for his leadership of the early Czech nationalist movement. Early life Rieger was born into the household of a miller in the town of ...

, he returned to Prague in 1846 to become a principal singer at the

Estates Theatre The Estates Theatre (in Czech: ''Stavovské divadlo'') is a historic theatre in Prague, Czech Republic. The Estates Theatre was annexed to the National Theatre in 1948 and currently draws on three artistic ensembles, opera, ballet, and drama, w ...

. His singing was praised by Czech audiences but his acting was found to be wanting. He was eventually appointed the house's chorus master at the beginning of the 1848–1849 season. By 1851 Maýr was no longer appearing in opera roles, but was now working as a conductor of a number of different musical ensembles in Prague; including choirs in various

cathedral A cathedral is a church (building), church that contains the of a bishop, thus serving as the central church of a diocese, Annual conferences within Methodism, conference, or episcopate. Churches with the function of "cathedral" are usually s ...

s in the city (such as the Our Lady of the Snows Basilica). He left his position as chorus master at the Estates Theatre in 1853 to focus on his career as a conductor. He gained a great reputation in Prague for his conducting of sacred music during the 1850s. In 1854 he was appointed as a teacher of singing at the

Prague Conservatory The Prague Conservatory () is a public music school in Prague, Czech Republic, founded in 1808. Currently, the school offers four- or six-year courses, which can be compared to the level of a high school diploma in other countries. Graduates c ...

. In the autumn of 1862, Maýr was appointed the first director/principal conductor of the

, to the disappointment of

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 ...

, who had hoped for the position himself. The theatre opened on 18 November 1862, with a performance of

Vítězslav Hálek Vítězslav Hálek (also known as Vincenc Hálek; ; 5 April 1835 – 8 October 1874) was a Czechs, Czech poet, writer, journalist and dramatist. He was known for his optimistic work, which earned him fame and recognition during his lifetime. Life ...

's tragic drama ''King Vakusin''.Large, pp. 124–125 Since there was at the time no Czech opera deemed suitable, the first opera performed at the theatre, on 20 November 1862, was Cherubini's ''

Les deux journées ''Les deux journées, ou Le porteur d'eau'' (''The Two Days, or The Water Carrier'') is an opera in three acts by Luigi Cherubini with a libretto by Jean-Nicolas Bouilly. It takes the form of an opéra comique, meaning not that the subject matter i ...

''. For the first year or so of its life, the Provisional Theatre alternated opera with straight plays on a daily basis, but from the start of 1864 opera performances were given daily. Maýr remained at the Provisional Theatre until September 1866; his tenure was marked by a professional rivalry with Smetana, who criticised the theatre's conservatism and failure to fulfil its mission to promote Czech opera. Maýr retaliated by refusing to conduct Smetana's ''

The Brandenburgers in Bohemia ''The Brandenburgers in Bohemia'' () is a three-act opera, the first by Bedřich Smetana. The Czech libretto was written by Karel Sabina, and is based on events from Czech history. The work was composed in the years 1862–1863. Smetana and ...

''. A change in the theatre's management in 1866 led to Maýr's removal and replacement by Smetana.Large, p. 167 He continued to be active as a conductor in Prague up until his death in that city in 1888. Maýr also produced a few musical compositions. Most of his output was in sacred music, but he also wrote two operas: ''Horymír'' and ''Jaromír, vojvoda český''.

References

Sources

* * {{DEFAULTSORT:Mayr, Jan Nepomuk 1818 births 1888 deaths People from Mělník Czech people from Austria-Hungary 19th-century Czech classical composers Czech opera directors Male singers from Austria-Hungary Composers from Austria-Hungary Composers from the Austrian Empire Academic staff of the Prague Conservatory Burials at Olšany Cemetery