Vocalist.org archive


From:  Karen Mercedes <dalila@R...>
Date:  Fri Apr 21, 2000  4:21 pm
Subject:  Re: [vocalist-temporary] Re: Good Soldier Schweik


On Thu, 20 Apr 2000 Mezzoid@a... wrote:

> Can anyone tell me anything about the above opera by Kurka? (I think that's
> the cmoposer's name.) What the roles are like, what the music's like, etc.
> Thanks!!



The opera is based on Czech author Jaroslav Hasek's First World War
"parody" novel, The Good Soldier Svejk and His Fortunes in the World War.

Svejk is classified by the authorities as "feeble-minded", yet still
drafted into the Austro-Hungarian army. He is honest, naive, incompetent
- all characteristics that the readers come to realise are part of a
masquerade by a character who is far more shrewd than he would have the
authorities believe. He goes through a variety of misadventures, and
becomes the nervewracking nemesis of his commanding officer, Lieutenant
Lucas.

This was one of a handful of the many Great War novels that I've read that
I found impossible to warm up to. I think, perhaps, its humour - like
that of Henri Barbusse's Great War Classic LE FEU - hasn't weathered time
too well. The over-the-top carnival atmosphere of the satire was
considered extremely provocative when the novel was first published in
1921-22 - to the extent that the book was banned by the Czech army in
1925, suppressed in Poland in 1928, in Bulgaria in 1935, and burned by the
Nazis in 1933.

If you're interested, you can read the first three chapters of a new
English translation of the novel online at:

http://www.zenny.com/svejk/indexNN.html

Chicago Opera Theater just performed this opera last month. You might
want to contact them to see if they can provide you with programme notes,
etc.
http://chicagooperatheater.org/index.html

There are sound samples in streaming Real Audio from Kurka's "Good Soldier
Schweik Suite" - which is based on music from the opera - at Tower
Records' website. Go to:

http://www.towerrecords.com/product.asp?pfid=1177634

I don't believe the opera itself has been recorded.

KM
-----
Ich singe, wie der Vogel singt,
Der in den Zweigen wohnet;
Das Lied, das aus der Kehle dringt,
Ist Lohn, der reichlich lohnet.
-- J.W. von Goethe, WILHELM MEISTER

My NEIL SHICOFF Website:
http://www.radix.net/~dalila/shicoff/shicoff.html

My Website:
http://www.radix.net/~dalila/index.html


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