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Jenůfa
''Její pastorkyňa'' (''Her Stepdaughter''; commonly known as ''Jenůfa'' ) is an opera in three acts by Leoš Janáček to a Czech libretto by the composer, based on the play ''Její pastorkyňa'' by Gabriela Preissová. It was first performed at the National Theatre, Brno on 21 January 1904. Composed between 1896 and 1902, it is among the first operas written in prose. The first of Janáček's operas in which his distinctive voice can clearly be heard, it is a grim story of infanticide and redemption. Like the playwright's original work, it is known for its unsentimental realism. While today it is heard in the composer's original version, ''Jenůfas early popularity was due to a revised version by Karel Kovařovic, altering what was considered its eccentric style and orchestration. Thus altered, it was well-received, first in Prague, and particularly after its Vienna première also worldwide. More than 70 years passed before audiences again heard it in Janáček's original ve ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
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 folk music, to create an original, modern musical style.Sehnal and Vysloužil (2001), p. 175 Until 1895 he devoted himself mainly to folkloristic research. While his early musical output was influenced by contemporaries such as Antonín Dvořák, his later, mature works incorporate his earlier studies of national folk music in a modern, highly original synthesis, first evident in the opera ''Jenůfa'', which was premiered in 1904 in Brno. The success of ''Jenůfa'' (often called the "Moravian national opera") at Prague in 1916 gave Janáček access to the world's great opera stages. Janáček's later works are his most celebrated. They include operas such as ''Káťa Kabanová'' and ''The Cunning Little Vixen'', the Sinfonietta, the ''Glag ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Milada Šubrtová
Milada Šubrtová (24 May 1924 – 1 August 2011) was a Czech operatic soprano who had a lengthy career at the National Theatre in Prague from 1948 through 1991. She was part of an instrumental group of the post-World War II Czech opera singers that was responsible for popularizing Czech opera internationally. She drew particular acclaim for her portrayals of the title heroines in Leoš Janáček's ''Jenůfa'' and Antonín Dvořák's '' Rusalka''. Her voice is preserved on a few complete opera recordings made on the Supraphon label. In 1998 she was honored with a Thalia Award. Biography Born in Lhota, Šubrtová moved to Prague and studied singing with Zdeněk Knittl, while working as a secretary in the civil service. She made her professional opera debut in 1946 as Giulietta in Jacques Offenbach's ''The Tales of Hoffmann'' at the "Grand Opera of 5th May". She became a principal artist at the Prague National Theatre in 1948 where she was committed for the rest of her career ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Beno Blachut
Beno Blachut (14 June 1913 – 10 January 1985) was a lauded Czech operatic tenor. An icon in his own nation, Blachut drew international acclaim through his many commercial recordings of Czech music. He was an instrumental part of the post-World War II school of Czech opera singers that were responsible for popularizing Czech opera internationally. He was highly regarded for his interpretations of roles in operas by Leoš Janáček, Antonín Dvořák, and Bedřich Smetana. Biography Born in Ostrava-Vítkovice, Blachut grew up in a poor family of miners. Blachut was highly involved in his church's music program which provided him with his initial musical training as a child and teenager. In 1927, at the age of 14, he began working at an iron factory and from all appearances it seemed he was destined to live a life similar to that of his parents. In the year 1935 he started to study singing at the Prague conservatory. At the conservatory, Blachut studied under Luis Kadeřábek ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
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 librettist and incorporates a number of the performing arts, such as acting, scenery, costume, and sometimes dance or ballet. The performance is typically given in an opera house, accompanied by an orchestra or smaller musical ensemble, which since the early 19th century has been led by a conductor. Although musical theatre is closely related to opera, the two are considered to be distinct from one another. Opera is a key part of the Western classical music tradition. Originally understood as an entirely sung piece, in contrast to a play with songs, opera has come to include numerous genres, including some that include spoken dialogue such as '' Singspiel'' and '' Opéra comique''. In traditional number opera, singers employ two styles of ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Gabriela Preissová
Gabriela Preissová, née Gabriela Sekerová, sometimes used pen name Matylda Dumontová (23 March 1862 in Kutná Hora – 27 March 1946 in Prague), was a Czech writer and playwright. Her play ''Její pastorkyňa'' was the basis for the opera ''Jenůfa'' by Leoš Janáček, as well as a film by Miroslav Cikán. His earlier opera '' The Beginning of a Romance'' was also based on one of her stories. Preissová mostly wrote stories full of optimism and the joy of life idealising village life. Her stories first appeared in the early 1890s. The more significant appeared in a three-volume collection. Her books, written in the 1920s, were about the tragic rural life of the Carinthian Slavs, usually with a strong woman as a heroine. These dramas didn't achieve the artistic spontaneity of her early work. Themes of her stories were mostly the affairs of young lovers and the obstacles to their consummation. Some tales were set to music, such as ''Eva'' by Josef Bohuslav Foerster Josef ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Bohumil Gregor
Bohumil Gregor (Prague, 14 July 1926 – 4 November 2005) was a Czech conductor. Gregor studied double bass at the Prague Conservatory. He made his conducting debut on October 26, 1947, at the Divadlo 5. května (Theatre of the Fifth of May, now the Prague State Opera). He conducted at the State Theatre in Brno (1949–1951), the National Theatre in Prague (1955–1958 and 1962–1966), the State Theatre in Ostrava (1958–1962), the Royal Swedish Opera in Stockholm (1966–1969), the State Opera in Hamburg (1969–1972), De Nederlandse Opera in Amsterdam (from 1972), and also in San Francisco, Philadelphia and Washington. In 1999, he returned to the Prague State Opera where he worked as musical director until 2002. [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Naděžda Kniplová
Naděžda Kniplová (née Pokorná; 18 April 1932 – 14 January 2020) was a Czech operatic soprano who had an active international career from the 1950s through the 1980s. Kniplová possessed a large voice with a sonorous, metallic, dark timbre that was particularly well suited to the dramatic soprano repertoire. While she was most admired in Czech operas and as Wagnerian heroines, she sang a wide repertoire that also encompassed Italian, Russian, and Hungarian language roles. A fine actress, her performances were praised for their intensity and pathos. However, some critics commented on a certain lack of steadiness or purity in her singing. Her voice is preserved on a number of recordings made on the Supraphon and Decca labels. Biography Born in Ostrava to a musical family, Kniplová had her first vocal training from her father before studying under Jarmila Vavrdová at the Prague Conservatory from 1947 to 1953. She pursued further studies at the Academy of Performing Arts in ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Vilém Přibyl
Vilém Přibyl (born Náchod, 10 April 1925 – died Brno, 21 July 1990) was a Czech operatic tenor. he made his professional debut at the age of 34 in Ústí nad Labem, in 1958. Life and career After serving during World War II, Přibyl trained as an electrical technician. In 1952 he took private singing lessons in Hradec Králové, and participated in amateur opera performances; his debut was the same year as Lukas in ''The Kiss'' by Smetana. Further appearances there led to an invitation to join the State Opera at Ústí nad Labem, making his professional debut there in 1959 in ''Rusalka'' as the Prince.Loppert, Max. Obituary – Vilém Přibyl. ''Opera'', Vol.41 No.10, October 1990, p1189. Two years later Přibyl became a soloist of the National Theatre in Brno which became the base for the rest of his career, initially continuing his studies at the city's Janáček Academy. He also sang regularly with the Prague National Opera. In 1964 he visited Edinburgh with the Prague co ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Infanticide
Infanticide (or infant homicide) is the intentional killing of infants or offspring. Infanticide was a widespread practice throughout human history that was mainly used to dispose of unwanted children, its main purpose is the prevention of resources being spent on weak or disabled offspring. Unwanted infants were normally abandoned to die of exposure, but in some societies they were deliberately killed. Infanticide is now widely illegal, but in some places the practice is tolerated or the prohibition is not strictly enforced. Most Stone Age human societies routinely practiced infanticide, and estimates of children killed by infanticide in the Mesolithic and Neolithic eras vary from 15 to 50 percent. Infanticide continued to be common in most societies after the historical era began, including ancient Greece, ancient Rome, the Phoenicians, ancient China, ancient Japan, Aboriginal Australia, Native Americans, and Native Alaskans. Infanticide became forbidden in Europe and t ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Karel Kovařovic
Karel Kovařovic (Prague, 9 December 1862 Prague, 6 December 1920) was a Czech composer and conductor. Life From 1873 to 1879 he studied clarinet, harp and piano at the Prague Conservatory.''Dopisy o životě hudebním i lidském, p. 484'' He began his career as a harpist. In 1900 Kovařovic became the conductor of the national theatre in Prague, due mostly to the success of his opera ''The Dogheads'', after the novel of the same name (about Jan Sladký Kozina) by Alois Jirásek. His engagement at the National Theatre lasted twenty years, until 1920. He composed seven operas. Kovařovic is most remembered today for the revisions he made to Leoš Janáček's ''Jenůfa'' for its premiere in Prague, and it was in his version that the opera was heard for many years. A recording of ''The Dogheads'', featuring Beno Blachut, exists. Compositions Orchestra * 1880 ''Předehra veseloherní (Comic overture)'' * 1883 ''Únos Persefony'', symphonic poem * 1887 ''Concerto in f mineur ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Elegy On The Death Of Daughter Olga
''Elegy on the Death of Daughter Olga, JW 4/30'' (also translated as the ''Elegy on the Death of My Daughter Olga''; in Czech: ''Elegie na smrt dcery Olgy'') is a cantata for tenor solo, mixed choir and pianoforte, written by the Czech composer Leoš Janáček in 1903. It was written to commemorate the death of composer's daughter, Olga Janáčková. Janáček composed the piece to the text of the Russian teacher Marfa Nikolayevna Veveritsa. Background Olga was the first-born child of Leoš and Zdenka Janáček. She was born on 15 August 1882 in Brno. Helfert (2006), p. VI From her childhood, she showed remarkable talent in various arts, though not in music (to the mild disappointment of her father). Her mother later recalled that " lga''grew up into a lovely girl. Her skin was delicate and smooth with a peach-bloom to it; like her father, she had a dimple in her chin."'' Sadly, her health was poor from an early age, and her physical state brought a lot of anxiety to her parents ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Ivo Žídek
Ivo Žídek (4 June 1926, Kravaře – 20 May 2003, Prague) was a Czech lyric tenor, known for his vivid portrayals of character roles in the operas of Smetana, Dvořák and Janáček. Early life Ivo Žídek was born in Kravaře, Czechoslovakia. He was descended from a long family line of music teachers and cantors. His father, Libor Žídek, was also an actor and a singer. As a youth, he was schooled in Ostrava where he studied painting because the local music schools had been closed under the Nazi occupation. However, he studied voice privately with Rudolf Vašek (at first, as a baritone) and studied music theory with Josef Schreiber. He was invited by conductor Zdeněk Chalabala to sing with the opera company in Ostrava, making his debut in the title role of Jules Massenet's Werther" in 1944. He continued singing in Ostrava until 1948. National Theatre of Prague In 1947, he was invited to Prague to appear as guest soloist with the National Theatre as Jeník in Bedřich Sm ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
