Christine:
"The Good Soldier Schweik" by Robert Kurka was completed shortly
before his death in 1957, It is an excellent satirical comedy about
war, a kind of precursor to TV's MASH. It has 18 roles for men and
only 3 roles for women plus 3 roles for actors, 1 for an actress, and
one for an actor or actress who plays a dog.
The role for Schweik is substantial. He is on the stage a good share
of the time and he must be a good actor as well as a substantial
tenor. His work is tragically comedic and he must have that sense of
timing.
All roles tend to visit the extremes of range. Kurka was not
necessarily the most knowing writer for the voice but his sense of
theatre is excellent and the music is well crafted.
I did the show with Minnesota Opera (then called Center Opera) some
years ago. We did it in the Guthrie Theatre and it worked very, very
well on a thrust stage. The audience loved it. Center Opera
performed it in 3 different seasons if my memory serves me correctly.
Lloyd W. Hanson, DMA
Professor of Voice, Pedagogy
School of Performing Arts
Northern Arizona University
Flagstaff, AZ 86011
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