Musicologica Olomucensia vol. 37(2), (2025):139-163 | DOI: 10.5507/mo.2025.003

Scénografická tvorba Karla Svolinského ke Smetanovým operám ve sbírkách Národního muzea

Kateřina Viktorová
National Museum - Bedřich Smetana Museum, Czech Republic, ORCID: 0000-0001-6550-673X

The article focuses on the stage design work of Karel Svolinský for the operas of Bedřich Smetana, preserved in the collections of the National Museum - in the Bedřich Smetana Museum and the Theatre Department. The collection items comprise scenic and costume designs, sketches, costumes, and stage models. Through selected examples, the article documents the evolution of Svolinský's artistic style - from the realistic, decorative compositions of the 1940s to the gradually simplified, stylized forms based on the harmony of colour and space characteristic of the 1960s to 1980s. Particular attention is devoted to his stage designs for The Bartered Bride, The Devil's Wall, The Secret, and The Kiss, demonstrating how Svolinský integrated painterly sensibility and a refined sense of colour and space with the musical structure of Smetana's operas. His work draws inspiration from the spirit of Czech folklore rather than from its literal representation. The scenographic works discussed testify to Svolinský's effort to achieve the purest possible consonance between Smetana's music and the stage image, representing a significant document of the transformations in Czech stage aesthetics throughout the twentieth century.

Keywords: Karel Svolinský; scenography; stage design; Bedřich Smetana; The Devil's Wall; The Kiss; The Bartered Bride; The Secret; National Theatre Prague; National Museum Prague

Karel Svolinský's Stage Design Work for Smetana's Operas in the Collections of the National Museum

The article focuses on the stage design work of Karel Svolinský for the operas of Bedřich Smetana, preserved in the collections of the National Museum - in the Bedřich Smetana Museum and the Theatre Department. The collection items comprise scenic and costume designs, sketches, costumes, and stage models. Through selected examples, the article documents the evolution of Svolinský's artistic style - from the realistic, decorative compositions of the 1940s to the gradually simplified, stylized forms based on the harmony of colour and space characteristic of the 1960s to 1980s. Particular attention is devoted to his stage designs for The Bartered Bride, The Devil's Wall, The Secret, and The Kiss, demonstrating how Svolinský integrated painterly sensibility and a refined sense of colour and space with the musical structure of Smetana's operas. His work draws inspiration from the spirit of Czech folklore rather than from its literal representation. The scenographic works discussed testify to Svolinský's effort to achieve the purest possible consonance between Smetana's music and the stage image, representing a significant document of the transformations in Czech stage aesthetics throughout the twentieth century.

Keywords: Karel Svolinský; scenography; stage design; Bedřich Smetana; The Devil's Wall; The Kiss; The Bartered Bride; The Secret; National Theatre Prague; National Museum Prague

Accepted: January 5, 2026; Published: March 1, 2026  Show citation

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Viktorová, K. (2025). Scénografická tvorba Karla Svolinského ke Smetanovým operám ve sbírkách Národního muzea. Musicologica Olomucensia, 37(2), 139-163. doi: 10.5507/mo.2025.003
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    Selected references

    1. Kotalík, Jan. Karel Svolinský: výběr z díla (kat. výst.). Praha: Národní galerie, 1982.Kusák, Alexej. "Karel Svolinský o sobě." Výtvarné umění 18, no. 4 (1968): 185-186.
    2. Lakosil, Jaromír. Karel Svolinský. Hudební motivy. Beroun: Okresní muzeum, Městské kulturní středisko, 1986.Marešová, Sylva. "Bedřich Smetana: Prodaná nevěsta." Acta Scaenographica 4, no. 12 (1964): 237.
    3. Musil, Roman a Eduard Burget, eds. Karel Svolinský [1896-1986]. Praha: Nadace Karla Svolinského a Vlasty Kubátové, 2001.
    4. Panenka, Jan a Taťána Součková. Prodaná nevěsta na jevištích Prozatímního a Národního divadla 1866-2004. Praha: Galery, 2004.Procházka, Jaroslav. "Česká opera v díle Karla Svolinského." Divadelní noviny 4, no. 12 (1961): 2.
    5. Ptáčková, Věra. "The Bartered Bride in stage - design mirror. La Fiancée vendue dans le miroir de la scénographie." In Theatre Czech and Slovak, no. 6 (1993): 66-79 Praha: Divadelní ústav.
    6. Ptáčková, Věra. "Scénografická tvorba." In Karel Svolinský [1896-1986], edited by Roman Musil a Eduard Burget. Praha: Nadace Karla Svolinského a Vlasty Kubátové, 2001.
    7. Spurný, Jan. Karel Svolinský. Praha: Nakladatelství československých výtvarných umělců, 1962.Spurný, Jan. "Šedesát let Karla Svolinského." Výtvarná práce 4, no. 1 (1956): 3.
    8. Svolinský, Karel. Útržky mých vzpomínek. Prostějov: Okresní knihovna, 1971.
    9. Karel Svolinský - soubor prací: Uměleckoprůmyslové museum v Praze 9. XII. 1935 - 1. I. 1936 / Uměleckoprůmyslové museum, Sdružení českých umělců grafiků Hollar. [Praha]: [nakladatel není známý], [1935].
    10. Karel Svolinský - výbor z díla: Olomouc, Oblastní galerie, listopad 1966-únor 1967 [Olomouc]: [Oblastní galerie], [1966].

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