The final opera of the Year of Czech Music Opera Fest in Toronto will be Dvořák’s opera Jakobín, presented in concert with a chamber orchestra on September 13. It’s a rare chance for Toronto audiences to hear this work in performance.
In fact, it’s only the second time it’s been performed in North America. The Czech Music Institute last performed Jakobin in Toronto at the last Year of Czech Music Festival in 2014.
The Opera
For a lighthearted romantic comedy, Dvořák’s Jacobin, Op. 84, B159, B200 had a somewhat torturous history of creation. The Czech composer completed the first version on November 1888. But, when it premiered in February 1889, criticism of both the music and story led him to revise it. The second, or Prague version, was completed in 1898.
In writing a new comic opera, Dvořák was attempting to build on the success of the premiere of his Tvrdé palice, an older one-act play. That premiere had taken place in October 1881, a full seven years after he’d written the piece. He was hoping, at the time, to create a sense of momentum.
Even before that, the opera took about six years to complete, in large part because of many revisions by librettist Marie Červinková-Riegrová. His first choice for libretttist, Josef Štolb, who’d worked with him on Tvrdé palice, bowed out due to low pay. Maria had collaborated with Dvořák previously on Dimitrij, and she agreed to the project even though she had little experience with comedies. While they wrangled over changes and several versions, the composer became worried about the potential failures of an opera with a Czech theme on international stages, adding to the delays.
The story, while comic overall, contains a balance of elements between dramatic and comedic, lyrical and whimsical, with a patriotic theme underlying the action of the story. It’s set in a Czech town during the time of the French Revolution, and the cast represents a range of classic Czech characters. For the composer, there were reminders of his youth in Zlonice, including the character of Benda, a musician who many believe was inspired by one of Dvořák’s early teachers.
It’s one of the most lighthearted and even idyllic operas not only among Dvořák’s works, but Czech operas in general. Musically, he was exploring the roots of Slavic folk music in an expressive mode that can range from sorrow to joy. There is humour and warmth to the story.
In the end, he seemed pleased with his work, and wrote, “I managed that serenade so that it would not have embarrassed Mozart”.
Soprano Grace Quinsey performs “Ach bože, božínku” from Dvořák’s Jakobín in November 2022 with pianist Adam Weinmann:
The Story & Cast
The story features themes dealing with mistaken identity and love triangle to supply the dramatic tension, a music schoolroom setting, and a warm family reconciliation, patriotism, and the power of music to heal on the positive side.
The music teacher/cantor Benda lives with his daughter Terinka in a small village. Terinka is in love with a peasant and singer by the name of Jiří, but she’s also being courted by Purkrabi, the village bailiff and an older man. Refugees from the French Revolution reach the village, and rumours spread that they are Jacobins, who will bring persecution to their Czech homeland. The strangers, though, are Bohuš, his wife Julie, and a load of family drama.
The opera includes several roles;
- Benda, an old village music teacher — tenor Alex Cappellazzo
- Terinka, his daughter — soprano Grace Quinsey
- Jiří, a villager, and their best tenor — tenor David Walsh
- Filip, the Purkrabi, or village bailiff — bass-baritone John Holland
- Count Vilém of Harasov — bass Dylan Wright
- Bohuš, his estranged son — baritone Michael Robert-Broder
- Julie, Bohuš’ wife — soprano Paulina Swierczek
- Adolf of Harasov, the Count’s nephew — baritone Alasdair Campbell
The Canadian Institute for Czech Music was formed in 2013 to promote research and performance of Czech Music in Canada.
- Find out more about the September 13 performance Dvořák’s Jakobín to complete the Year of Czech Music Opera Fest, co-presented by Opera by Request at Jeanne Lamon Hall [HERE].
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