It was at this time that Smetana's thoughts turned to creating musical dramas and orchestral pieces which celebrated the popular culture and history of the Czech people. By he had completed his first opera, The Brandenburgers in Bohemia.
This patriotic work which deals with Bohemia's political history and a wholesale uprising proved initially very popular and its warm reception inspired Smetana to look for a production of his already completed following work.
The Bartered Bride, as it came to be known, was produced at the Provisional Theatre. Smetana was now the Theatre's conductor, and all looked set for success. However, the Austro-Prussian War intervened, and although the Bride had a happy premiere, it was only after military maneuvers were over that a less unnerved public took The Bartered Bride to its collective heart. The Bride was blessed with a strong, simple plot, a first-rate libretto, well-conceived characters and music which was endlessly charming — in short, its poise and balance were truly Mozartian.
Smetana spent the rest of his life as an operatic composer trying to recreate this level of popular acclaim. A combination of public expectation and Smetana's increasing inclination to take a more progressive musical stance led to his next opera, Dalibor, being coolly received. This is not to assume that the work itself, a stern assessment of a key figure in Czech history, is poor; it is a fine piece and is often performed in its homeland today, but Smetana had outdistanced his public.
Smetana himself realized the 'occasional' nature of this opera, declaring it fit to be presented only "during festivals which touch the whole Czech nation". For this reason, if none other he waited until the grand opening of the new National Theatre in Prague in for it to be premiered, more than eight years after its completion.
The Two Widows was a comedy with French origins which is unfailingly light in mood and technique, while The Kiss and The Secret were both inspired by stories set in the Bohemian countryside. Not content with celebrating his country's beauty and importance in opera, Smetana also took the previous lessons he had learned from Liszt, Berlioz and Wagner with regard to extended orchestral works and turned them to bear on various aspects of Bohemia.
At the same time, the first signs of the physical disintegration which would kill him manifested themselves, and Smetana realized he was going deaf. Certainly, the second one, Vltava The Moldau is often played as a distinct entity, its wonderful storyline brought to life by the composer's deft melodic and rhythmic invention.
The other exceptionally popular section is From Bohemia's Woods and Fields, and this glorious musical depiction of the Bohemian countryside has a magic all its own. By then Smetana was aware that his deafness precluded any thought of him conducting the premiere. He had withdrawn from public life as his infirmities — caused it seems by hereditary syphilis — increasingly incapacitated him and his conservative enemies in Prague continued their attempts to undermine his position.
Smetana had a difficult school life, he transferred schools many times and he shared residences with many of his family members in the process. However, this was not to hinder his progress with the piano. He regularly composed piano duets for his female companions, some of which were romantic pieces. Not long afterward, the theater burned to the ground, and Smetana assisted in fundraising for the construction of a new building. Facebook Notice for EU! You need to login to view and post FB Comments!
Related Posts. A look Into St. These are the best Czech…. During this time, events were changing in Bohemia. Austria, weakened from futile attempts to maintain control over Italy, granted Bohemia political autonomy in , which elicited strong national feelings from the Bohemians. The following year Smetana returned to Prague to become a leader in the new movement, the first substantial result of which was the establishment in of a theater where opera and drama could be presented in the Czech language.
Smetana's first major operatic success, The Bartered Bride , instantly raised him to the status of Bohemia's leading composer and won for him international success as well as the position as first conductor of the Prague theater. The opera, a humorous tale of peasant life, is full of dance sequences based on Bohemian folk rhythms.
0コメント