''In the Well'' () is an 1867 Czech-language comic opera in one act by

Vilém Blodek Vilém Blodek, born Vilém František Plodek (October 3, 1834, Prague – May 1, 1874, Prague), was a Czech composer, flautist, and pianist. Biography Blodek was born into a poor family and was educated at a German Piarist school in Prague. Af ...

to a libretto by

Karel Sabina Karel Sabina (pen names include Arian Želinský and Leo Blass) (29 December 1813 – 8 November 1877) was a Czech writer and journalist. Life Karel Sabina grew up in poverty as an extramarital child of a daughter of a sugar producing factory' ...

, author of ''

The Bartered Bride ''The Bartered Bride'' (, ''The Sold Bride'') is a comic opera in three acts by the Czech composer Bedřich Smetana, to a libretto by Karel Sabina. The work is generally regarded as a major contribution towards the development of Czech music. It ...

''.

Roles

Plot

Following a folk tradition that a girl looking in the village well on Midsummer Eve will see the face of her true bridegroom reflected, Lidunka hopes to see the face of her beloved Vojtech, and not old Janek the wealthy preference of her mother, and consults the village sorceress, Veruna. Both suitors climb a tree to ensure that she sees their reflection, but Janek falls in the well just before she arrives, and his face comes out of the water. Eventually all is resolved and Lidunka marries Vojtech.

Music

John Warrack John Hamilton Warrack (born 9 February 1928) is an English music critic, writer on music, and oboist. Career Born in London, Warrack is the son of Scottish conductor and composer Guy Warrack and Jacynth Mary Ellerton. He was educated at Winches ...

, reviewing in ''

Gramophone A phonograph, later called a gramophone, and since the 1940s a record player, or more recently a turntable, is a device for the mechanical and analogue reproduction of sound. The sound vibration waveforms are recorded as corresponding physic ...

'' the 1981 recording conducted by Jan Štych, commented: "The music is agreeable and well made, and the work could certainly qualify for a 'What next?' suggestion attached to ''

''. However, it is by some way less tuneful, and some of it – for instance, a very attractive moonlight interlude – seems closer to the world of early nineteenth-century German opera than to anything specifically Czech."Copy
at

Exact Editions Exact Editions is an integrated content management platform for magazine and book publishers. It was launched in 2005 by Adam Hodgkin, Daryl Rayner and Tim Bruce. The platform expanded from a web-based subscription service into developing brand ...

Recordings

*1959: Milada Šubrtová, Štěpánka Štěpánová, Ivo Žídek, and Zdeněk Kroupa. The chorus and orchestra of the Prague National Theatre, conducted by . Recorded on tape in stereo in 1959 1'19CDs of 1959 recording conducted by Škvor, . Excerpts were released in monophonic sound on LP in the early 1960s.Review of the LP release conducted by Škvor:

Philip Hope-Wallace Philip Adrian Hope-Wallace CBE (6 November 1911 – 3 September 1979) was an English music and theatre critic, whose career was mostly with ''The Manchester Guardian'' (later known as ''The Guardian''). From university he went into journalism afte ...

"Blodek. ''In the Well'' — excerpts."
''Gramophone'', July 1961, p. 78. Stereo CDs: ADD Supraphon, c. 1996. *1981: Karel Berman, Vojtech Kocián, Libuse Márová, Daniela Sounová-Brouková, Prague National Theatre Orchestra, Kühn Chorus, Kühn Children's Chorus, conducted by Jan Štych 6'Supraphon Original booklet includes libretto and translations. Recorded 24–27 June 1981, Czechoslovak Television.Recording conducted by Štych. CDs: ; online: .

References

External links

* {{Authority control 1867 operas Czech-language operas Operas based on myths and legends One-act operas Operas