PT Journal
AU Franek, M
TI "The Age of Heroes' Minds Wins by Weapons of Truth and Peace." On the Contemporary Contexts of the Libretto for Fibich's Opera Blanik
SO Musicologica Olomucensia
PY 2021
BP 124
EP 137
VL 33
IS 1
DI 10.5507/mo.2021.009
DE Eliska Krasnohorska; Blanik; Zdenek Fibich; Frantisek Duchek; Ctibor Blanicky; opera libretto
AB In the 1870s Eliska Krasnohorska wrote the libretto for the opera Blanik for Zdenek Fibich. The author based her work on the legends about Mount Blanik, where an army is hiding but will come to the aid of the Czech nation when it is at its worst. These legends were updated in 19th-century Czech culture to meet contemporary national demands - Czech patriots transform themselves into the role of "Blanik knights", the saviours of the nation. Krasnohorska situated the opera's plot in 1623, when the Catholic party won. In her libretto, she made a strong appeal for national unity and a common love for the homeland. The critics of the time mostly praised her libretto, but there were also opinions that reproached her for shortcomings in the dramatic construction (e. g. from Otakar Hostinsky). Frantisek Duchek's libretto entitled Ctibor Blanicky was also written at the same time. This forgotten and unrealised curiosity shows what possibilities the theme of Blanik provided for contemporary opera.
ER