The Good Soldier Schweik is an opera in 2 acts by Robert Kurka with an English language libretto by Lewis Allan based on Jaroslav Hašek's 1921 novel The Good Soldier Švejk. Premiered by the New York City Opera just four months after the composer's death in 1958, the work uses some musical material from Kurka's earlier instrumental piece The Good Soldier Schweik Suite, which was premiered by The Little Orchestra Society in 1952.[1] At the time of his death, Kurka had completed the opera in piano score form but had not fully completed the opera's orchestrations.[2] His friend, the composer Hershy Kay, completed the orchestrations for the last scenes of the opera based on ideas for instrumentation that Kurka had written into the piano score with red pen.[3] The work is scored for a small ensemble of just 16 instruments, which consist solely of woodwinds, brass, and percussion.[4] The music has its roots in Czech folk and dance music with traditional forms like the polka and furiant being developed through a high art classical music lens that eschews lyricism for an edgy tautness.[3][5][4]

Performance history

The work was given its world premiere at the City Center Theater on April 23, 1958 by the New York City Opera; just months after the composer's death from leukemia in 1957.[3] Allan began working on the libretto for the opera in 1955, and the composer wrote much of the music while fighting cancer in 1956 and 1957.[5] The original production was directed by Carmen Capalbo, whose staging included the use of comedic projected film and utilization of movement idioms from American musical comedy.[3] The production featured costumes by Ruth Morley, sets by Andreas Nomikos, and choreography by Robert Joffrey.[4][3] The opera's title hero was portrayed by Norman Kelley, who later reprised the role when the work was performed again at The Town Hall in 1961 with the Symphony of the Air and conductor Robert De Cormier.[6]

The European premiere of the opera was given at the Komische Oper Berlin in a production staged by Joachim Herz in 1958 with conductor Harold Byrns leading the musical forces.[7] The work has had several other stagings in the United States and Europe, including a 1959 production at the Semperoper starring tenor Karl-Heinz Thomann in the title role and a celebrated production by the Chicago Opera Theater (COT) in 1981 which was directed by Frank Galati.[8][9] The COT revived the work in March 2001, and recorded that production on disc with Cedille Records.[9] Other organizations to stage the opera include the Minnesota Opera (1966),[10] the Chamber Orchestra of Philadelphia (1967),[11] the Opera Company of Boston (1970),[12] the Houston Grand Opera (1973),[13] Hartford Opera Theater (1974),[14] Glimmerglass Opera (2003), and Long Beach Opera (2010), among others.[15]

Roles

Roles, voice types, premiere cast
Role[3] Voice type Premiere cast, April 23, 1958[3]
Conductor: Julius Rudel
Joseph Schweik tenor Norman Kelley
Mrs. Muller soprano Mary LeSawyer
Palivec bass-baritone Chester Watson
Bretschneider tenor Jack De Lon
Psychiatrist 1 tenor Howard Fried
Psychiatrist 2 baritone Chester Ludgin
Psychiatrist 3 bass Joshua Hecht
Army doctor bass-baritone Emile Renan
Baroness Von Botzenhelm contralto Ruth Kobart
Katy Wendler mezzo-soprano Helen Baisley
Army Chaplain tenor Jack De Lon
Lieutenant Henry Lukash baritone David Atkinson
Chorus: soldiers

References

  1. ↑ "Orchestra Society Plays Kurka Suite Allan". The New York Times. November 25, 1952.
  2. ↑ John W. Freeman (1984). "The Metropolitan Opera Stories of the Great Operas". Vol. 2. Metropolitan Opera Guild. p. 187. ISBN 9780393040517.
  3. 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 Howard Taubman (24 April 1958). "Opera: Kurka's Schweik". The New York Times.
  4. 1 2 3 Charles Sinclair (April 28, 1958). "Happy Debut For Yardbird Schweik at City Center". Billboard.
  5. 1 2 Lewis Allan (April 20, 1958). "Czech Opera by American Czech". The New York Times.
  6. ↑ Eric Salzman (December 18, 1961). "Opera: The Good Soldier Schweik; Kurka Version of Novel Given at Town Hall Norman Kelley in Title Role of Production". The New York Times.
  7. ↑ Ross Parmenter (November 30, 1958). "World of Music: Schweik Abroad". The New York Times.
  8. ↑ "Schweik Is Sung in East Germany – Dresden Audience Warmly Applauds Opera by Late Robert Kurka of U. S." The New York Times. November 12, 1959.
  9. 1 2 John von Rhein (March 23, 2001). "Kurka's Good Soldier Schweik is in no danger of fading away". Chicago Tribune.
  10. ↑ Raymond Ericson (February 12, 1966). "Opera: The Good Soldier Schweik in Minneapolis; Robert Kurka's Work Rarely Heard Here Center Company Gives the Right Touch". The New York Times.
  11. ↑ Donal Henahan (November 29, 1967). "Philadelphia Group Performs Good Soldier Schweik Opera". The New York Times.
  12. ↑ Donal Henahan (October 5, 1975). "Prodigious Sarah". The New York Times.
  13. ↑ Raymond Ericson (February 11, 1973). "At 29, an Opera Impresario". The New York Times.
  14. ↑ Raymond Ericson (May 19, 1974). "No Energy Crisis for Summer Music". The New York Times.
  15. ↑ "Long Beach Opera to perform The Good Soldier Schweik". Los Angeles Times. January 17, 2010.
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