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Leoš Janáček's Šárka In Successful US Premiere at Dicapo Opera Theatre

Mar. 03, 2009

Dicapo Opera Theatre of New York presented the US premiere of Leoš Janáček's Šárka last month, conducted by Oliver Gooch and directed by Walter Sutcliffe. Dicapo's premiere performances were received with great interest and acclaim by the media. Šárka, Janácek's first opera, with a libretto by Julius Zeyer, is based on a Bohemian legend of the maiden warrior, Šárka, found in the mythology of the Czech people. Written in 1887, the opera was first performed in 1925 in honor of the composer's 70th birthday. Vivien Schweitzer of the New York Times writes:

There are several beautiful choral numbers in Šárka, and both male and female choruses were effectively deployed in Walter Sutcliffe's deft staging. Oliver Gooch conducted a lively reading of the vividly orchestrated score.

The main feature of John Farrell's spare and intelligently conceived set was a scrim on which different images were elegantly illuminated to reflect a particular scene. At one point a corpse on a throne (representing the deceased Libuse, ruler of the matriarchal society) appeared with morbid clarity through the backdrop.

The final moments of the opera, a kind of Immolation Scene, are particularly striking, with dramatic orchestral music and a lovely choral lament.

Find out more on the life and music of Leoš Janáček by visiting www.universaledition.com.

Leoš Janáček
Šárka (1887-1888)
opera in three acts
libretto (Czech) by Julius Zeyer
available in English translation by John Tyrrell
for soprano, tenor and 2 baritones
2.3.3.3-4.2.3.1-timp.perc-hp-str
67'

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