Viola (opera)

Viola
Opera by Bedřich Smetana
The composer around 1883
Librettist	Eliška Krásnohorská
Language	Czech
Based on	Shakespeare's play Twelfth Night
Premiere	11 May 1924 National Theatre, Prague

Viola is an unfinished romantic opera by Bedřich Smetana. The libretto was written by Eliška Krásnohorská, and is based on Shakespeare's play Twelfth Night. The composer did some work on it in 1874 and then came back to it in 1883, when he only managed to orchestrate a few scenes; the opera was left incomplete upon Smetana's death in 1884.

Performance history

A concert performance (of the unfinished work) was given on 15 March 1900 and it was staged at the Prague National Theatre on 11 May 1924.

Roles

Role	Voice type	Premiere cast, 15 March 1900 (Conductor:-)
Orsino, Duke of Illyria	tenor
Viola, twin sister to Sebastian	mezzo-soprano
Sebastian, twin brother to Viola	soprano
Olivie	mezzo-soprano
Tobiáš	baritone
Ondřej	tenor
Malvolio	baritone
Marie	soprano
Šašek	baritone
Antonio, a captain	bass
Marko, an old fisherman	bass

Recordings

• 1982, Zdeněk Košler (conductor), Prague National Theatre Orchestra and Chorus; Jiří Pokorný (Piano), Marie Veselá, Drahomíra Drobková, Dalibor Jedlička, Jaroslav Horáček, Miroslav Švejda, Karel Hanuš

References

• Amadeus Almanac, accessed 11 February 2010
• Tyrrell, John. "Smetana, Bedrich". Grove Music Online, ed. Laura Macy. Retrieved 12 May 2009. (subscription required)