Konrad Wallenrod (opera)

Konrad Wallenrod is a Polish-language opera by Władysław Żeleński to a libretto by Zygmunt Sarnecki (1837-1922) and Władysław Noskowski (1841-1881) based on the epic poem Konrad Wallenrod (1828) by Adam Mickiewicz. The premiere was 1885 in Lviv, which was not prepared technically to create a grand opera on this scale.[1] Notably at the premiere the elaborate harp part was played on the piano by Paderewski.[2] A further staging in Krakow was not followed by a planned staging in Warsaw, which was stalled partly due to the Tsarist censor's concerns with the subject. Konrad Wallenrod was not performed in Warsaw till the 1930s.

Plot

The plot follows closely the poem Konrad Wallenrod with Wallenrod and his wife Aldona sacrificing themselves in the final act and the triumph of the Teutonic knights.[3]

Cast
  • Alf, later performing under the assumed name of Konrad Wallenrod, a tenor
  • Aldona, his wife, soprano
  • Halban, priest of Perkūnas Baltic god of thunder, bass
  • head knight commander, baritone
  • Witold minstrel baritone
  • Orlandi minstrel soprano
  • Clavigo minstrel mezzo-soprano
  • First Crusader bass
  • Second Crusader baritone
  • Knight first tenor
  • Knight second bass
  • Knight third baritone
  • Knight fourth baritone
  • Monk, non speaking role
  • Lithuanians, Lithuanians, pages, bards, Teutonic Knights, knights, priests, peasants, peasant women and children

Recording

References
  1. The Polish Biographical Dictionary Stanley S. Sokol, Sharon F. Mrotek Kissane, Alfred L. Abramowicz · 1992 p 456 "Among his best compositions are the operas Konrad Wallenrod , Goplana , Janek , and Old Tale"
  2. Center Stage: Operatic Culture and Nation Building Philipp Ther · 2014 - Page 118
  3. Konrad Wallenrod Grzegorz Zieziula BIBLIOGRAFIA
    • Zdzisław Jachimecki, Władysław Żeleński, Kraków 1987.
    • Michał Jaczyński, „Konrad Wallenrod” Władysława Żeleńskiego, Wagner i „sprawa polska” – konteksty lwowskiej prapremiery utworu w 1885 roku, w: Krytyka muzyczna – krytyka operowa, red. Michał Bristiger i Rafał Ciesielski, Zielona Góra 2016, s. 59–77.
    • Felicjan Szopski, Władysław Żeleński, Warszawa–Kraków 1928.
    • Philipp Ther, Center Stage. Operatic Culture and Nation Building in Nineteenth-Century Central Europe, transl. Charlotte Hughes-Kreutzmüller, West Lafayette 2014.
    • Anna Wypych-Gawrońska, Literatura w operze. Adaptacje dramatyczno-muzyczne utworów literackich w Polsce do 1918 roku, Częstochowa 2005.
    • Anna Wypych-Gawrońska, Lwowski teatr operowy i operetkowy w latach 1872–1918, Kraków 1999.
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