Musicologica Olomucensia vol. 37(2), (2025):106-123 | DOI: 10.5507/mo.2025.007

Smetana's Libuše in Vienna: The History That Never Came About

Jiří Kopecký, Michal Fránek
Department of Musicology, Faculty of Arts, Palacký University Olomouc, Czech Republic, ORCID: 0000-0001-9204-7831
Department of 19th Century Literature, Institute of Czech Literature of the Czech Academy of Sciences, Czech Republic, ORCID: 0000-0001-8928-5847

The choice of the theme of Princess Libuše for the opera shows how problematic mythology is in relation to operatic conventions. The decision of Josef Wenzig (or also Ervín Špindler) and Bedřich Smetana represents, in a sense, a risky artistic experiment as well as a quite exceptional solution. Smetana's Libuše was to retain its position as a representative work within Czech social life, and it still fulfils this purpose today. The history of the reception of Smetana's Libuše is closely linked to the history of the independent Czechoslovak (Czech) state; on the other hand, it is impossible not to see how poor the statistics on the performance of Libuše outside the Czech cultural circle are. Our study attempts to show how Smetana's Libuše helped to build the National Theatre's permanent Czech repertoire, often in spite of the theatre's operational vicissitudes and not infrequently in spite of Smetana's intentions (Libuše was more or less always ready for performance and filled the dramaturgical gaps of the institution's management). A counterpart to the Czech reception history (in the sense of provincial patriotism) is provided by information about performances of Libuše on non-Czech stages. And in this field we find ourselves rather in the realm of - to use Vladimír Macura's words - dreams about Libuše. Of course, dreams and visions also constitute national consciousness. We concentrate on the oft-repeated information that Gustav Mahler intended to perform Libuše in Vienna in the 1890s.

Keywords: Czech National Opera; Libuše; Vienna Court Opera; Bedřich Smetana; Ludwig Hartmann; Gustav Mahler

The choice of the theme of Princess Libuše for the opera shows how problematic mythology is in relation to operatic conventions. The decision of Josef Wenzig (or also Ervín Špindler) and Bedřich Smetana represents, in a sense, a risky artistic experiment as well as a quite exceptional solution. Smetana's Libuše was to retain its position as a representative work within Czech social life, and it still fulfils this purpose today. The history of the reception of Smetana's Libuše is closely linked to the history of the independent Czechoslovak (Czech) state; on the other hand, it is impossible not to see how poor the statistics on the performance of Libuše outside the Czech cultural circle are. Our study attempts to show how Smetana's Libuše helped to build the National Theatre's permanent Czech repertoire, often in spite of the theatre's operational vicissitudes and not infrequently in spite of Smetana's intentions (Libuše was more or less always ready for performance and filled the dramaturgical gaps of the institution's management). A counterpart to the Czech reception history (in the sense of provincial patriotism) is provided by information about performances of Libuše on non-Czech stages. And in this field we find ourselves rather in the realm of - to use Vladimír Macura's words - dreams about Libuše. Of course, dreams and visions also constitute national consciousness. We concentrate on the oft-repeated information that Gustav Mahler intended to perform Libuše in Vienna in the 1890s.

Accepted: January 14, 2026; Published: March 1, 2026  Show citation

ACS AIP APA ASA Harvard Chicago Chicago Notes IEEE ISO690 MLA NLM Turabian Vancouver
Kopecký, J., & Fránek, M. (2025). Smetana's Libuše in Vienna: The History That Never Came About. Musicologica Olomucensia, 37(2), 106-123. doi: 10.5507/mo.2025.007
Share...
Download citation
  • BibTeX (.bib)
  • Bookends (.ris)
  • EasyBib (.ris)
  • EndNote (.enw)
  • EndNote 8 (.xml)
  • ISI WoS (.isi)
  • Medlars (.medlars)
  • Mendeley (.ris)
  • MODS (.xml)
  • Papers (.ris)
  • RefWorks (.txt)
  • RefManager (.ris)
  • RIS (.ris)
  • MS Word (.xml)
  • Zotero (.ris)
    • Open full article

    Selected references

    1. Anonymous. "Theatralia." Národní listy 28, no. 359 (December 28, 1888): 2-3.Anonymous. "Hofoperntheater." Deutsches Volksblatt 9, no. 3147 (October 5, 1897): 7.
    2. Anonymous. "Smetanův 'Dalibor' ve dvorní opeře vídeňské." Národní listy 37, no. 276 (October 5, 1897, afternoon edition): 3.
    3. Anonymous. "Z Vídně." Národní listy 37, no. 318 (November 17, 1897, afternoon edition): 1.
    4. Anonymous. "Premiéra Evgenije Oněgina ve vídeňské opeře." Národní listy 37, no. 321 (November 20, 1897): 3-4.Anonymous. "Různé zprávy. Vídeň." Dalibor 20, no. 3-5 (November 27, 1897): 34.
    5. Anonymous. "Dramatické umění." Národní listy 39, no. 132 (May 13, 1899): 4.Anonymous. "Dramatické umění." Národní listy 39, no. 136 (May 17, 1899): 4.
    6. Anonymous. "Neueste Theaternachrichten." Der Morgen. Wiener Montagblatt 2, no. 36 (September 4, 1911): 6.Anonymous. "Smetanova Libuše ve Vídni." Národní listy 51, no. 244 (September 4, 1911): 3.
    7. Anonymous. "Theater- und Kunstnotizen. Director Gregor…" (Linzer) Tages-Post 47, no. 207 (September 10, 1911): 11.Boleška, Josef. "Smetaniana." Národní listy 38, no. 131 (May 12, 1898): 1-2.
    8. Brodbeck, David. "Dvořák's Reception in Liberal Vienna: Language Ordinances, National Property, and the Rhetoric of Deutschtum." Journal of the American Musicological Society 60, no. 1 (2007): 72, 130.Chvála, Emanuel. Z mých pamětí hudebních. Edited by Filip Karlík and Jiří Kopecký. Olomouc: Vydavatelství Univerzity Palackého, 2020. Go to original source...
    9. F. P. "O dvorní opeře vídeňské." Dalibor 20, nos. 6-7 (December 11, 1897): 42-43.Foerster, Josef Bohuslav. "Z mých vzpomínek na Gustava Mahlera." Smetana 1, nos. 17-18 (June 2, 1911): 264-266.
    10. Foerster, Josef Bohuslav. Poutník v Hamburku. Sfinx, 1939.Fránek, Michal, Ladislav Futtera, Jiří Kopecký, and Jana Spáčilová. The Singing Libuše: An Ancient Bohemian Myth on the Opera Stage. ConBrio, 2025.
    11. h. "Německá Libuše." Národní listy 38, no. 4 (January 4, 1898, afternoon edition): 1-2.
    12. Hasíková, Miriam. "Meziválečné hudební divadlo v Olomouci." PhD diss., Univerzita Palackého, 2018.
    13. Henahan, Donal. "The Opera: Benackova in Smetana's 'Libuše'." The New York Times 136 (14 March 1986), Section C: 7. https://www.nytimes.com/1986/03/14/arts/the-opera- benackova-in-smetana-s-libuse.html.
    14. Hlaváč, Bedřich. "Z Vídně." Hudební revue 3, issue 3 (March 1910): 159-164.
    15. Löwenbach, Jan. "U neznámé korespondence Smetanovy." Hudební revue 10, 1917, issue 7-8 (April-May 1917): 286-293.
    16. Löwenbach, Jan. "Smetana a Vídeň." Lidové noviny 32, no. 115 (March 4, 1924): 7.Löwenbach, Jan B. "Smetana und Wien." Illustrirtes Wiener Extrablatt 53, no. 64 (March 5, 1924): 6.
    17. Ludvová, Jitka. "Gustav Mahler in Prag im Mai 1908." Hudební věda 23, no. 3 (1986): 255-263.
    18. Maria, Jaroslav. Já, vlastní životopis. Edited by F. Hynek. Prague: Academia, 2020.Marek Pechač. "Jan Löwenbach and the Beginnings of his Collaboration with the Artists' Society." Hudební věda 62, no. 2 (2025): 170-205. Go to original source...
    19. Petráněk, Pavel, ed. Bedřich Smetana & Opera: Libreta všech dokončených oper / Librettos of All Completed Operas. Translated by Hana Pavelková. Národní divadlo moravskoslezské, 2024.Pospíšil, Milan. "Smetana's Operas in His Correspondence." In Bedřich Smetana and European Opera, edited by Aleš Březina and Ivana Rentsch, 173-201. Königshausen & Neumann, 2024.
    20. Reittererová, Vlasta, and Hubert Reitterer. Vier Dutzend rothe Strümpfe… Zur Rezeptionsgeschichte der Verkauften Braut von Bedřich Smetana in Wien am Ende des 19. Jahrhunderts. Verlag der Österreichischen Akademie der Wissenschaften, 2004.
    21. Ryba, Vilém. "Feuilleton." Národní listy 39, no. 335 (December 3, 1899): 1 [author's shorthand signature used: -a.].
    22. Smetana, Friedrich. Libussa: Fest-Oper in 3 Akten und lebenden Bildern. Dichtung von J. Wenzig, deutsch bearbeitet von Ludwig Hartmann. Klavierauszug mit Text. Leipzig: Josef Weinberger, J. W., 1968 [after 1897]. Österreichische Nationalbibliothek, Musiksammlung, F18. Schalk. 444/210.
    23. Smetana, Friedrich. Libussa: Festoper in drei Akten und lebenden Bildern. Dichtung von J. Wenzig, deutsch bearbeitet von Ludwig Hartmann. Textbuch. Leipzig: Josef Weinberger, [after 1897].
    24. Smetana, Friedrich. Libussa: Oper in drei Akten von Josef Wenzig, für die deutsche Bühne bearbeitet von Ludwig Hartmann. Clavier-Auszug zu zwei Händen, arr. von Oscar Straus. Leipzig: Josef Weinberger, J. W., 1885 [1897], 164. Österreichische Nationalbibliothek, Musiksammlung, MS1569-4 (cf. MS324-4, Universal Edition, No. 413 / J. W. 885).
    25. Vejvodová, Veronika, and Barbora Števanka Kadlíčková. "Dvořák's Stabat Mater in Vienna in 1888: Presentation of an Unknown Letter from Antonín Dvořák to Alfred Littleton and Period Critical Reaction." Musicalia 16, no. 1-2 (2024): 110-141. Go to original source...
    26. Viktorová, Kateřina. "The Promoting of Smetana's Operas in Hamburg from 1881 to 1897." Musicalia 16, 1-2 (2024): 35-58. Go to original source...
    27. Wenzig, Josef. Libuše: Slavnostní zpěvohra o 3 jednáních. F. A. Urbánek, 1884.
    28. Zelený, Václav Vladimír. "Možnosti a nemožnosti. - Liškův obraz." Hlas národa 3, no. 2 (January 2, 1889): 1 [author's shorthand signature used: X. Y.].
    29. Primary sourcesMahler's letters to F. A. Šubert, stored at: Literární archiv Památníku národního písemnictví (fund F. A. Šubert).National Theatre Archive fund, National Archives.Manuscript of Kovařovic's article on Libuše, pp. 3-4. See the letter from Karel Kovařovic to Jan Löwenbach from October 9th, 1910 and Kovařovic's article Smetanova "Libuše" [4 pages]. Stored at Literární archiv Památníku národního písemnictví v Praze, fund Jan Löwenbach, box. 1, received correspondence, file Karel Kovařovic.
    30. Internet sourcesOperabase. "Libuše." Accessed September 9, 2024. https://www.operabase.com/productions/libuse-5614/sk.
    31. Fisher Center at Bard College. "Events." Accessed July 4, 2025. https://tickets.fishercenter.bard.edu/events/?_gl=1*1yu5uad*_gcl_au*MTc4MDkyNjY1Mi4xNzUxNTUzNTEz*_ga* MTI4MjQxMzg4My4xNzUxNTUzNTE0*_ga_MDV28M4C4N*czE3NTE2NDQzMTM kbzIkZzEkdDE3NTE2NDQ1ODIkajEzJGwwJGgw.
    32. Bard Music Festival. "The Bard Music Festival Returns for Its 35th Season with an Exploration of the Life and Work of Composer Bohuslav Martinů (1890-1959)." Accessed September 8, 2024. https://fishercenter.bard.edu/whats-on/programs/bard-music-festival.
    33. Wiener Staatsoper. "Performance Archive." Accessed September 13, 2024. https://archiv.wiener- staatsoper.at/performances/22816.
    34. National Theatre Archive. Narodni-divadlo.cz. https://www.narodni-divadlo.cz.

    This is an open access article distributed under the terms of the Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike 4.0 International License (CC BY-SA 4.0), which permits use, distribution, and reproduction in any medium, provided the original publication is properly cited. No use, distribution or reproduction is permitted which does not comply with these terms.


    Return to the content