Švanda dudák
(Schwanda the Bagpiper) is one of the
operas which are known for a single
piece of music; rarely do we hear the
entire piece. In the case of Švanda
dudák it is the famous polka,
which has become a well known orchestral
showpiece.
The complete opera
proves to be a series of picaresque
adventures which happen to the bagpiper
Švanda, and his wife Dorota. The plot
is based on a Czech play, but it is
rather reminiscent of such pieces as
Hary Janos and Til Eulenspiegel;
all have a series of entertaining, moralistic
episodes linked loosely to the character
of the hero. But on closer inspection,
Švanda dudák has other
Czech links. The final episode takes
place in Hell and the hero gets the
better of the Devil; though this might
call to mind the Orpheus legend, a closer
parallel
is perhaps with Dvořák’s opera
The Devil and Kate, in
which a woman is sent back to Earth
by the Devil as he can’t stand her talking.
And in the central episode of Švanda
dudák the hero’s wife drops
out of sight (and ear) and her place
is taken by the
Queen; a structure which is very reminiscent
of Dvořák’s Rusalka
where the heroine is silent in the second
Act and her place taken by the Foreign
princess.
With its picaresque
folk plot and tuneful polka, it comes
as something of a shock to discover
that the
opera was written in 1927 and that Weinberger
was taught not by Dvořák but one
of his pupils. There is, in the opera,
something of a conscious exploration
of Bohemia’s picturesque past. This
might go some way to explaining the
operas great popularity abroad
and relative neglect in its homeland
after the Prague premiere in 1927; apparently
it has not been heard at the Prague
National Theatre since 1933.
But the opera is far
from a simple, folk-based number opera;
it is through composed and though there
are individual arias, there is a sense
also of continuous narrative. Weinberger
does write tunes, the famous Polka is
tribute to that, but these are integrated
into the fabric. So in structure it
is far closer to Humperdinck’s Hansel
and Gretel than Smetana’s The
Bartered Bride,
though Weinberger’s musical language
of course is far closer to Smetana and
Dvořák. We should not be surprise
that there is little of the influence
of Janáček here, but what is surprising
is that the musical air that Janáček
was breathing did not have more
of an effect on Weinberger.
The plot of the opera
is relatively straightforward:-
Švanda, a Czech
bagpiper, is newly married to Dorota.
Dorota catches the eye of the bandit,
Babinský. She refuses to have
anything to do with him, so he tempts
Švanda into leaving his farm by telling
him tales of the wide world, how his
playing can help the Queen who has a
heart of ice. Švanda goes off with Babinský,
but Dorota rushes after them.
The Queen’s heart
has been frozen by the Magician. Švanda
enters playing a polka which immediately
melts the Queen’s heart. Švanda and
the Queen prepare to get married, but
celebrations are interrupted by the
Magician who brings on an upset Dorota
who proclaims herself to be Švanda’s
wife. Švanda is locked up, as are his
bagpipes. He is sentenced to death,
but just before he can be executed it
appears that the executioner is trying
to execute him with a broom. Babinský
appears with Švanda’s bagpipes and as
Švanda plays a tune, he, Babinský
and Dorota get away.
Dorota taxes Švanda
with being unfaithful and he takes an
oath to say that he did not kiss the
Queen. Unfortunately he did, so Švanda
descends to hell. Babinský tries
to take advantage of Švanda’s absence,
but Dorota will have none of it. To
show his devotion Babinský goes
off to hell to rescue Švanda; he does
so by playing cards with the Devil and
winning. The opera concludes with Švanda
and Dorota happily back on their farm.
Weinberger uses the
orchestra a great deal; his orchestration
and general orchestral detail are one
of the joys of this opera. There are
a great many orchestral interludes and
dance movements; but more than that,
the general dialogue scenes are constructed
with relatively unmemorable vocal lines
over an attractive orchestral texture.
The performance recorded
here is taken live from the Wexford
Festival. Conductor Julian Reynolds
shapes the opera well and his speeds
are apt. Generally the National Philharmonic
Orchestra of Belarus plays well for
him, but inevitably there are scrappy
moments.
It is wonderfully enterprising
of Naxos to have recorded these performances
to allow us to get to know this opera
better, so it seems churlish to complain
too much. But quite how you appreciate
this performance will depend on your
attitude to vibrato laden Slavic voices.
All the principals have substantial
vibratos, which at least makes for consistency
and all are very expressive in their
own way.
Švanda and his wife
are played by Matjaz Robavs and Tatiana
Monogarova both have attractive, quite
lyric voices. Robavs in particular has
a lovely mellifluous baritone, but both
produce quite a vibrato when under pressure.
Neither role is written with any depth,
but both Robavs and Monogarova do what
they can to create credible characters.
Monogarova gets one of the loveliest
moments in the opera when, after Švanda
has gone to hell, she rejects Babinský
and sings of her love for Švanda.
The strongest written
character is the bandit Babinský.
This is written for one of those rather
Slavic high tenors. Ivan Choupenitch
has the voice for it, but at a price;
his vibrato is so large and substantial
that, for me, it became quite unpleasant
at times. This is a shame because Babinský
is quite a character and Choupenitch
obviously relishes the role.
The smaller roles are
all well taken. Larisa Kostyuk as the
Queen relishes the darker, more dramatic
sections when she is under the malign
influence of the magician. It is here,
with the atmospheric gloom that Weinberger
shows he was capable of writing more
than just folksy music. And when the
Queen discovers that Švanda is married,
Kostyuk becomes wonderfully dramatic.
In the more comic scenes,
particularly the card game in Hell,
we are limited by our lack of understanding
of the Czech language. The production
was obviously very entertaining and
it is frustrating not to be able to
see what is going on, especially as
there is quite a bit of noise from stage
business and from the dancing. Naxos
provide a detailed plot summary but
no libretto. This is a shame, as I feel
a full libretto is almost essential
to understanding this opera.
This is the first recording
of the opera for some considerable time
and it is lovely to have it in the catalogue,
even with the disadvantages of being
recorded live. But I would dearly love
to hear the opera sung in understandable
English with proper lyric voices. I
feel sure that our appreciation of the
piece would be far greater.
Robert Hugill
Wexford Festival Opera Chorus 
