Vanda (opera)

After composing operas King and Charcoal Burner and The Stubborn Lovers, Dvořák turned to classical opera, and directly to the genre of grand opera. In the time between the composition of Slavonic Rhapsodies and Slavonic Dances, he logically turned to Slavic themes. The librettists Václav Beneš Šumavský and František Zákrejs wrote their libretto based on a short tale by Ing. Julian Surzycki. Musicologist Alan Houtchens mistakenly judged the source to be German, but the skeleton of the story comes from a popular Polish legend about Princess Wanda, who refused to marry the German Prince Rüdiger, and when the Prince attacked the Poles, Vanda defeated him in battle, whereupon she committed suicide by jumping into the Vistula as a sacrifice for victory. A necessary amorous element in the libretto of the opera is the character of the Polish knight Slawomir, supplied by the authors, who bids for Vanda's hand and share in the government, although he is not of noble origin. Beneš's and Zákrejs' libretto follows the elements of Meyerbeer's grand opera: five acts, alternating choral scenes, ensembles and arias, and the use of various traditional scenes and settings (religious ceremonies, a fight scene, a witch scene, a coronation, hymns and dirges) to give the composer the opportunity to use different musical devices. However, there is a lack of dramatic structure, most of the opera consists of static scenes, the characters are poorly portrayed and lack psychological development, and some scenes - for example, the spectacular scene with the witch Homena - seem to have no relevance to the plot. According to Anna Hostomská, when reading the text, one regrets the composer for having to resort to this strange creation for lack of a more suitable libretto. Dvořák, however, set the text to music with great care. The basic idea of the work and the character of Vanda, who becomes ruler against her will and eventually sacrifices her life for her country, clearly inspired him: Vanda's arias at these two crucial moments: "Gods great, gods terrible" ("Bohové velcí, bohové strašliví") and "Only one thing I wish for myself now..." ("Jen jedno nyní ještě přeji sobě"), are among the opera's best moments. Dvořák dealt with the second act the worst, but the scene of witch Homena in third act does not deny that it is a precursor of the scenes with Ježibaba in Rusalka. The most elaborate and admirable parts are the numerous and extensive choruses, for example in the scenes of Vanda's coronation, the double choral invocation of the gods in fourth act, and the hymnic celebration of the dead queen at the end of the opera. The emphasis on choruses is reminiscent of Dvořák's later opera Dimitrij and the oratorio Saint Ludmila. On the other hand, they contribute to Vanda's static, rather oratorical form, which is a hindrance to its dramatic effectiveness. The opera's orchestration has always been appreciated as well; according to Šourek, Dvořák is here already a master of the Berlioz-like rich and bold palette here. However, the opera's generous treatment did not match the possibilities of the Provisional Theatre in Prague, for which Vanda was intended. It lacked adequate singing forces, a sufficiently large choirs and orchestral parts, and the theatre's small and technically unsophisticated stage did not allow for the successful staging of monumentally conceived scenes, although the theatre's management tried to give the most dignified performance possible. The premiere on 17 April 1876 was a great satisfaction for Dvořák. According to the newspaper Národní listy the opera house was full on all rings and galleries, and in defiance of the tropical heat the audience was excellently animated and stayed until end of the performance. The success was most decided. Immediately after the first act the composer was noisily called several times, and afterwards more than once after each other act. ==Performance history==