A year after the death of King Přemysl Otakar II. takes place in Brandenburg in Bohemia, the revival of which was presented by the Moravian-Silesian National Theater this Thursday. Bedřich Smetana’s first opera brings the audience closer to the atmosphere of the 13th century, when Brandenburg Margrave Ota Brandenburg invaded Bohemia, completely devastated it and began to terrorize the population. A time of misery is coming, but the nation is gearing up for resistance.
The historical play in three acts from 1863 was presented by the Ostrava stage for the first time on Thursday, the nearest reruns follow this Saturday and again on March 2. In March and May, the production will become part of the cycle commemorating the 200th anniversary of Smetana’s birth. The Moravian-Silesian National Theater included eight of his completed operas in each block.
Smetana composed his first one, Brandenburg in Bohemia, shortly after returning from Gothenburg, Sweden. There he conducted the philharmonic society from 1856 to 1861 and taught local girls and ladies to play the piano.
A competition for the two best Czech operas held by Count Jan Harrach played an important role in the creation of the work. Smetana submitted his theme to the competition in the category of themes from the history of the countries of the Czech crown, and after years of delays in announcing the results, he won.
The libretto was created by Karel Sabina. The impact of the words with the crowd revolutionary scenes of the poor, the opera intertwines with a romantic story about love and the ideals of honor, equality and freedom.
In this way, Smetana wanted to encourage the national awareness of the Czechs and at the same time raise the local opera to the European level. Twelve performances were presented in quick succession by Prague’s Prozatímní divadlo in the summer of 1866, shortly before the theatrical hiatus forced by the 72-day Prussian occupation of the Czech metropolis. But then the public lost interest in Brandenburg in Bohemia for a long time. Thanks to their national and social dimension, they began to be performed again after 1945, the Prague version conducted by Karel Ančerl being particularly famous.
The picture from the Ostrava production shows Tamara Morozová as Ludiše, Barbora Garzinová as Vlčenka and Šárka Hrbáčková as Děčana. | Photo: CTK
The Moravian-Silesian National Theater staged it for the first time in 1980, and most recently in 2016 under the direction of Jiří Nekvasil and the baton of Jakub Klecker. It is from this version that the current renewed premiere with a changed cast is based.
“Smetana’s first opera has fascinated me for four decades. The opera captivated me with its captivating energy, generosity and at the same time the paradoxes it contains,” says Nekvasil. “Even though Brandenburg is the composer’s first opera, in the context of Czech opera literature, this title has a prominent position,” adds conductor Klecker.
The opera choir is led by Yuri Galatenko. The stage was created by Petr Matásek, costumes by Zuzana Bambušek Krejzková. Michael Kubečka and David Szendiuch, Jiří Miroslav Procházka and Roman Vlkovič embody the knights of Oldřich Rokycanský in the new cast of Prague mayor Wolfram Olbramovič. Also performing are Martin Javorský, Martin Bárta, Pavel Divín, Tamara Morozová and Veronika Rovná.
