In the Well
{{Short description|1867 Czech opera by Vilém Blodek}}
{{Italic title}}{{expand Czech}}
File:Vocal score p. 001 title page of 'V studni' 1867 by Vilém Blodek – IMSLP 651158.jpg
In the Well ({{langx|cs|V studni|links=no}}) is an 1867 Czech-language comic opera in one act by Vilém Blodek to a libretto by Karel Sabina, author of The Bartered Bride.John Tyrrell. Czech Opera (1988) p. 326
Roles
| class="wikitable"
|+{{sronly|Roles, voice types, premiere cast}} |
| Janek, a peasant, an old widower
| bass | {{Interlanguage link|Josef Paleček (singer) |cs |Josef Paleček (pěvec) |lt=Josef Paleček}} |
| Vojtech, a peasant son
| tenor | Jindřich Polák |
| Lidunka, a peasant girl
| soprano | Terezie Rückaufová |
| Veruna, an old woman
| Ema Sáková |
Plot
Following a folk tradition that a girl looking in the village well on Midsummer Eve will see the face of her true bridegroom reflected, Lidunka hopes to see the face of her beloved Vojtech, and not old Janek the wealthy preference of her mother, and consults the village sorceress, Veruna. Both suitors climb a tree to ensure that she sees their reflection, but Janek falls in the well just before she arrives, and his face comes out of the water. Eventually all is resolved and Lidunka marries Vojtech.
Music
John Warrack, reviewing in Gramophone the 1981 recording conducted by Jan Štych, commented: "The music is agreeable and well made, and the work could certainly qualify for a 'What next?' suggestion attached to The Bartered Bride. However, it is by some way less tuneful, and some of it – for instance, a very attractive moonlight interlude – seems closer to the world of early nineteenth-century German opera than to anything specifically Czech."{{cite magazine|url=https://www.gramophone.co.uk/review/blodek-in-the-well|title=Blodek In the Well|author=John Warrack|date=May 1996|magazine=Gramophone|access-date=17 January 2025}} [https://reader.exacteditions.com/issues/31916/page/117 Copy] at Exact Editions.
Recordings
- 1959: Milada Šubrtová, Štěpánka Štěpánová, Ivo Žídek, and Zdeněk Kroupa. The chorus and orchestra of the Prague National Theatre, conducted by {{ill|František Škvor|cs||de}}. Recorded on tape in stereo in 1959 [71'19].CDs of 1959 recording conducted by Škvor, {{ASIN|B0DP37M748}}. Excerpts were released in monophonic sound on LP in the early 1960s.Review of the LP release conducted by Škvor: Philip Hope-Wallace, [https://reader.exacteditions.com/issues/32967/page/50 "Blodek. In the Well — excerpts."], Gramophone, July 1961, p. 78. Stereo CDs: ADD Supraphon, c. 1996.
- 1981: Karel Berman, Vojtech Kocián, Libuse Márová, Daniela Sounová-Brouková, Prague National Theatre Orchestra, Kühn Chorus, Kühn Children's Chorus, conducted by Jan Štych [66'] Supraphon Original booklet includes libretto and translations. Recorded 24–27 June 1981, Czechoslovak Television.Recording conducted by Štych. CDs: {{OCLC|37793521}}; online: {{OCLC|1023803003}}.
References
{{reflist}}
External links
- {{IMSLP|work=V studni (Blodek, Vilém)|cname=V studni (Vilém Blodek)}}
{{Portal bar|Opera|Czech Republic}}
{{Authority control}}
Category:Czech-language operas