Editorial

Jan Blüml, Jiří Kopecký, Marta Ottlová

Musicologica Olomucensia vol. 27, (2018):7-11  

Finanční situace Bedřicha Smetany ve světle pramenů

The Financial Situation of Bedřich Smetana in the Light of Historical Sources

Olga Mojžíšová

Musicologica Olomucensia vol. 27, (2018):12-43 | DOI: 10.5507/mo.2018.002  

The study investigates the financial situation of Bedřich Smetana and its fluctuations in the individual phases of his life. It is based especially on a detailed analysis of the composer's financial records preserved in various types of written sources (diaries, catalogues of his music institute, records of revenues from opera performances, correspondence, and other individual documents). With a few exceptions, Smetana kept regular and systematic records of his revenues from as early as the 1850s; as of the 1860s, his records also included family expenditures. These overviews provide rather detailed and credible information about the amount and structure...

Smetanův význam pro rozvoj hudebního života v Göteborgu

Smetana's Importance for the Development of Musical Life in Göteborg

Anders Carlsson

Musicologica Olomucensia vol. 27, (2018):44-55 | DOI: 10.5507/mo.2018.003  

At the time of B. Smetana's stay in Sweden (1856-1861), Göteborg was a rather small city and also the residence of several very wealthy families. The city a had good institutional basis for the development of music life. The standard for the audience as well as the level of musicians was influenced in particular by the experience with classicist musical works only sporadically influenced by new styles of the first half of the nineteenth century. With his intensive involvement in the organization of a musical life, and also as a teacher, piano virtuoso and a composer, Smetana gave Göteborg incentives that brought fruits already during his stay and were...

Portréty Bedřicha Smetany: o národnosti a odvaze výtvarných umělců

Portraits of Bedřich Smetana: On the Nationality and Courage of Visual Artists

Marie Klimešová

Musicologica Olomucensia vol. 27, (2018):56-63 | DOI: 10.5507/mo.2018.004  

The rich collection of iconographic materials connected to the figure of B. Smetana, assembled by Bedřich Smetana Museum in Prague, requires professional interpretation for two reasons. Firstly, our objective is to determine the actual physical appearance of B. Smetana, and secondly, to interpret the features attributed to B. Smetana in the historical context and with regard to the particular visual style. The aspects taken into account include the rotation of Smetana's head when photographed, his clothes, the colour display of the portraits, etc. Apart from two-dimensional depictions, the study also involves three-dimensional objects including busts.

Fyziognomie Bedřicha Smetany

Bedřich Smetana's Physiognomic Appearance

Emanuel Vlček

Musicologica Olomucensia vol. 27, (2018):64-82 | DOI: 10.5507/mo.2018.005  

The reconstruction of Smetana's grave and exhumation of the virtuoso's remains in 1987 promoted research on Smetana's physical appearance. A relatively large team of experts in various fields of medicine (anatomy, pathology, phoniatrics, dentistry, etc.) was established. The results of the research were compared to contemporary visual materials and written documents (especially Smetana's diary records), including the memories of Smetana's friends. The results are divided into sections concerning the individual features, for instance facial asymmetry, myopia, pigmentation and diseases.

Hluchota Bedřicha Smetany

Bedřich Smetana's Deafness

Jan Betka

Musicologica Olomucensia vol. 27, (2018):83-90 | DOI: 10.5507/mo.2018.006  

The study reconstructs the sequence of events leading to B. Smetana's deafness. It re-examines the autopsy report and analyses the preserved bones of Smetana's middle ear for the possibility of an infectious disease. The study considers the maximum number of factors, including the exceptional surge in creative activity in the last decade of Smetana's life, in order to draw a definite conclusion in the form of a medical image - deafness as a consequence of a veneric infection.

K jednotě sonátového cyklu v Klavírním triu g moll, op. 15 Bedřicha Smetany a Klavírního tria fis moll, op. 1, č. 1 Césara Francka

On the Unity of the Sonata Cycle in the Piano Trio in G Minor, op. 15 by Bedřich Smetana and the Piano Trio in F Sharp Minor, op. 1, No. 1 by César Franck

Markéta Štědronská

Musicologica Olomucensia vol. 27, (2018):91-103 | DOI: 10.5507/mo.2018.007  

Smetana's Piano trio in G minor ranks among the first elaborate works by its author, but was received with a critical distance from its very beginning. The study investigates the historical context of the trio's birth, and based on a comparative analysis, aims at emphasizing Smetana's original solution of the sonata cycle and the form in the scope of a chamber ensemble. In order to read the text, a simultaneous study of the scores of both these chamber works by César Franck and Bedřich Smetana would be needed.

Scéna s ukolébavkou ve Smetanově opeře Hubička

The Lullaby Scene in Smetana's Opera Hubička [The Kiss]

Cyril Šálek

Musicologica Olomucensia vol. 27, (2018):104-109 | DOI: 10.5507/mo.2018.008  

An analysis of one particular scene from the opera Hubička verifies the validity (or merit) of the statement by Gustav Mahler, who compared the compositional masterpiece in the first act of Hubička to the first act of Wagner's Die Walküre [The Valkyrie]. The scene in which Vendulka puts the baby to sleep is embedded in the context of Smetana's other operas, where simple song forms are employed. Although Smetana used very simple musical acts connected to folklore, he managed to incorporate them in elaborate structures: in the case of the analysed scene, it is a two-part aria in the Italian bel-canto opera style.

Příroda - kontrapunkt - recepce. K Smetanově symfonické básni Z českých luhů a hájů

Nature - Counterpoint - Reception. On Smetana's Symphonic Poem Z českých luhů a hájů [From Bohemian Fields and Groves]

Klaus Döge

Musicologica Olomucensia vol. 27, (2018):110-117 | DOI: 10.5507/mo.2018.009  

Analytical commentaries on Smetana's symphonic poem Z českých luhů a hájů are based on the development of the non-musical programme presented by the composer himself, which was later elaborated on by his admirer V. V. Zelený. The problematic relationship between the musical structure and the non-musical programme is viewed from the perspective of variable reception. Although Smetana assumed that the listeners would work specifically with their own fantasy, the study points out receptive approaches standing in contrast to the original intention and as such being a sad example of the reception of the symphonic poem.

Ďábel v opeře. K motivicko-historickému pozadí Čertovy stěny

The Devil in the Opera. On the Motif and the Historical Background of Čertova stěna [The Devil's Wall]

Albert Gier

Musicologica Olomucensia vol. 27, (2018):118-130 | DOI: 10.5507/mo.2018.010  

Various types of music theatre (for instance, singspiel, magic opera, or operetta) serve to reveal how new motifs emerged in opera librettos, presenting unusual challenges for composers. These included non-specified choirs of demons and creatures of the underworld in seventeenth century opera to the individualized character of the devil. Although the interest was preserved until the nineteenth century (K. Penderecki, A. Schnittke), the basic repertory foregrounding the demonic powers was created in the eighteenth century (Meyerbeer's Robert le diable [Robert the Devil], Weber's Der Freischütz [The Freeshooter], or Boito's Mefistofele)....

K pojetí Smetanova Dalibora

On the Conception of Smetana's Dalibor

Marta Ottlová

Musicologica Olomucensia vol. 27, (2018):131-147 | DOI: 10.5507/mo.2018.011  

The first critiques of the performance of the opera Dalibor already pointed out its long-term poor acceptance and major problems with dramaturgy. Although Smetana continued to emphasize the quality of his third opera, he did not succeed in promoting it, and this lack of understanding became the author's life disappointment. Dalibor was considered a Wagnerian work that did not correspond to any type of Czech national opera (one of the reproached aspects was the lack of choir and dance acts which were typical for local culture). The study reveals the intentions of the librettist Adolf Wenzig, who focused on a story of tragic love burdened...

K recepci oper Bedřicha Smetany v Praze v letech 1884-1892

On the Reception of Operas by Bedřich Smetana in Prague in the Years 1884-1892

Petr Kadlec

Musicologica Olomucensia vol. 27, (2018):148-155 | DOI: 10.5507/mo.2018.012  

The period between Smetana's death (1884) and the International Exhibition of Music and Theatre in Vienna (1892) represents a specific phase in the reception of Smetana's work. Smetana's operas were already a stable part of the repertory of the National Theatre even before he became internationally renowned. The Czech critics established Smetana's works as a benchmark to which all new compositions were compared. Many of Smetana's admirers expected his opera works to succeed even beyond the borders of the Czech Lands and they intensively encouraged Czech institutions and listeners to maintain their interest in Smetana's compositions.

Žádné vyrovnání podle not - Prodaná nevěsta ve Vídni v letech 1893 a 1896

No Compromise by Notes - Prodaná nevěsta [The Bartered Bride] in Vienna in the Years 1893 and 1896

Hubert Reitterer

Musicologica Olomucensia vol. 27, (2018):156-167 | DOI: 10.5507/mo.2018.013  

The study is dedicated to the reception of the first German performances of the opera Prodaná nevěsta by Bedřich Smetana in Vienna - in 1893 in the Theater an der Wien, and later in 1896 in Hofoper. Smetana's comic opera came to the Viennese stage as late as almost thirty years after its birth. The work, which was already perceived in Bohemia as part of autonomous Czech music culture as well as a prototype of the national opera of that day, was performed in Vienna during a nationally and politically tense period when Czech society still felt disillusion after the collapse of the Austro-Bohemian compromise in the 1870s. The issue of the position...

Smetana mezi operetou a operou. Zpěváci Divadla na Vídeňce v roce 1893 a ve dvorní opeře v roce 1896

Smetana between Operetta and Opera. Singers in the Theater an der Wien in 1893 and in the Court Opera in 1896

Vlasta Reittererová

Musicologica Olomucensia vol. 27, (2018):168-179 | DOI: 10.5507/mo.2018.014  

The director of the Theater an der Wien Alexandrine von Schönerer and her art advisor Franz Jauner used the success of Smetana's Prodaná nevěsta [The Bartered Bride] on the occasion of the visit of the Czech National Theatre at the International Exhibition of Music and Theatre (Internationale Ausstellung für Musik- und Theaterwesen) in Vienna in 1892. They organized the Viennese premiere of this opera, which was also its first enactment in German, in April 1893. This operetta-focused theatre thus used Smetana's opera as a precursor to the intended change in the repertory composition directed towards the genre of comic and later also serious...

Prodaná nevěsta - jedinečné kulturní politikum (téma z knihy Prodaná nevěsta na jevištích Prozatímního a Národního divadla 1866-2004)

Prodaná nevěsta [The Bartered Bride]: A Unique Cultural-Political Issue (a topic from the book Prodaná nevěsta na jevištích Prozatímního a Národního divadla 1866-2004 [The Bartered Bride on the Stages of the Provisional Theatre and the National Theatre in 1866-2004])

Jan Panenka, Taťána Opatová Součková

Musicologica Olomucensia vol. 27, (2018):180-194 | DOI: 10.5507/mo.2018.015  

Although B. Smetana designated his opera Libuše for representation of the Czech nation, it was Prodaná nevěsta that became a representative work whose performances indelibly illustrated contemporary conflicts. In this respect, it is possible to perceive the individual performances of Prodaná nevěsta as political issues and society-wide events. Apart from information about the main protagonists of the individual performances, including stage designers or directors, the study also provides commentaries on possible motivations within the particular social conditions which led to conflicts around performances of Prodaná nevěsta....

Motiv ze symfonické básně Vyšehrad jako znělka na vlnách rozhlasu Praha a na filmovém plátně

The Motive of Vyšehrad as a Wireless Signature Tune on the Waves of Praha Radio Station and in Feature Films

Ivan Klimeš

Musicologica Olomucensia vol. 27, (2018):195-217 | DOI: 10.5507/mo.2018.016  

The opening bars of Smetana's symphonic poem Vyšehrad found "a new life" in the form of a signature tune on the radio station Praha used since 1933. Radio signature tunes are often inspired by famous works that have the potential to represent a certain cultural circle (such as Leipzig and the tones B♭-A-C-B). It is a music emblem that is easy to remember and has been entering various contexts, particularly thanks to sound in film, in the form of a memento (for instance the Munich Agreement of 1938 or the war events) as well as by means of high explanatory power revealing actors' attitudes, creating comic situations, etc.

Smetanovy opery na scénách německy mluvících zemí

Operas by Smetana on the Stages of German-Speaking Countries

Arnold Jacobshagen

Musicologica Olomucensia vol. 27, (2018):218-234 | DOI: 10.5507/mo.2018.017  

The reception of Smetana's operas in the German-speaking environment is intensive, but very unsteady. Smetana's opera work is not known as a whole (for instance, the first opera Braniboři v Čechách [The Brandenburgers in Bohemia]), but plays such as Prodaná nevěsta [The Bartered Bride] or Dvě vdovy [The Two Widows] returned to German stages on a regular basis. The study provides a detailed image of notable performances of Bedřich Smetana's operas on German stages in the 1900s. It monitors the changing approaches in directions, and lists leading artists who enriched performances of Smetana with idiosyncratic elements.

Opery Bedřicha Smetany na Slovensku v letech 1920 až 1939

Operas by Bedřich Smetana in Slovakia in the Years 1920-1939

Miloslav Blahynka

Musicologica Olomucensia vol. 27, (2018):235-242 | DOI: 10.5507/mo.2018.018  

Smetana's operas were brought to the territory of Slovakia thanks to visiting Czech opera companies as early as before the First World War. With the emergence of Czechoslovakia and the establishment of the Slovak National Theatre in Bratislava, an entirely new situation occurred: the "national" programme was gaining ground in the multi-cultural environment. The meaning of the adjective "Slovak" in connection with theatre was, however, mainly territorial, thus Oskar Nedbal was called to Bratislava as an artistic authority. Nedbal worked as the director of the opera in the years 1923-1930. Smetana's work became the core repertory.

Opery Bedřicha Smetany na ukrajinské scéně

Operas by Bedřich Smetana on the Ukrainian Stage

M. R. Cherkashyna-Hubarenko

Musicologica Olomucensia vol. 27, (2018):243-254 | DOI: 10.5507/mo.2018.019  

The last decades of the eighteenth century and the beginning of the nineteenth century saw an intensive development of theatre life in Ukraine. The core repertory consisted of plays with a high proportion of incidental music. Motifs from rural life were particularly popular. The plot of Smetana's Prodaná nevěsta [The Bartered Bride] matched the traditional repertory well. What is more, it was possible for the local theatre companies to perform Smetana's score at an appropriate level. Smetana became one of the most frequently performed opera composers thanks to his second opera and was regularly included in the programme of Ukrainian theatres...