''The Beginning of a Novel'' (''Počátek Románu'') is an opera by Leoš Janáček to a Czech libretto by Jaroslav Tichý after a short story by

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 ' ...

, itself suggested by a painting by

Jaroslav Věšín Jaroslav František Julius Věšín ( bg, Ярослав Вешин, ''Yaroslav Veshin''; 23 May 1860 – 9 May 1915) was a Czech painter who mainly worked in Bulgaria and who was noted as a master of genre painting. The realistic depiction of b ...

. Composed in

1891 Events January–March * January 1 ** Paying of old age pensions begins in Germany. ** A strike of 500 Hungarian steel workers occurs; 3,000 men are out of work as a consequence. **Germany takes formal possession of its new Africa ...

, it was first produced on 2 October

1894 Events January–March * January 4 – A military alliance is established between the French Third Republic and the Russian Empire. * January 7 – William Kennedy Dickson receives a patent for motion picture film in the United S ...

Brno Brno ( , ; german: Brünn ) is a city in the South Moravian Region of the Czech Republic. Located at the confluence of the Svitava and Svratka rivers, Brno has about 380,000 inhabitants, making it the second-largest city in the Czech Republic ...

. Although not a successful work, it is significant because it marks the beginning of Janáček's association with Gabriela Preissová, who also wrote the story on which '' Jenůfa'', his first great opera, was based. Originally planned as a

singspiel A Singspiel (; plural: ; ) is a form of German-language music drama, now regarded as a genre of opera. It is characterized by spoken dialogue, which is alternated with ensembles, songs, ballads, and arias which were often strophic, or folk-like ...

with spoken dialogue, ''The Beginning of a Novel'' is unusual among Janáček's stage works in being a "numbers opera" rather than composed with continuous music.

Synopsis

Poluška, a pretty village girl, flirts with Baron Adolf despite her engagement to Tonek, a boy of her own class. Tonek is downcast. The gamekeeper catches Adolf and Poluška courting and tells Poluška's parents. Her father disapproves, but her mother is excited and arranges a meeting with Baron Adolf's father. This does not go well, and Poluška returns chastened to the faithful Tonek, while the Baron finds happiness with a Countess. The characters reflect on the folly of mésalliance.

External links

Gavin Plumley's Leoš Janáček site, information on Počátek Románu
Retrieved 25 November 2009 Czech-language operas Operas by Leoš Janáček 1894 operas Operas Operas based on literature {{opera-stub