Jiří Kopecký
Opera for the National Theatre: the opera character in the service of the nation
The opening of the National Theatre in 1881 was preceded by an opera competition, which aimed to obtain a prestige work suitable for the opening of such an important institution. Four composi-tions were anonymously entered for the competition, but the authorship of Libuše, Blaník and The Montenegrins was already known to the jury (in particular the overtures to Smetana's Libuše and Fibich's Blaník had been performed publicly before the operas were entered for the competition). In addition to The Montenegrins, Karel Bendl also commissioned the comic musical The Old Bri-degroom, which did not receive an award for purely artistic reasons. As expected, Libuše received the first prize, while Fibich and Bendl shared the money for the unawarded comic opera. Their notions of the opera, which was meant to represent the nation at the highest artistic level, mani-fested themselves in the choice of the most sophisticated operatic models (Wagner's music dra-ma and French grand opera). One of the outcomes of this choice can be seen in the constitution of the main characters, who, instead of the usual solo expressions of personal feelings, greatly suppressed their own individuality. While the supporting characters may live their private lives, in the case of the leading roles the compositional process points to a deliberate reduction of indivi-dual motives and total dedication to the service of the nation (see the cuts in the librettos and sketches, reactions to criticism and revised versions).
Keywords: Bedřich Smetana - Libuše - opera
design by Bedřich Vémola
