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Konrad Wallenrod (opera)

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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

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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

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  • 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

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References

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  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.