Antonin Dvorak
Armida
Oper in 4 Akten
Aufzeichnung einer Aufführung des National Moravian-Silesian Theater Ostrava November 2012
After his success with Rusalka (1901), Dvořák was looking for a new
theme for his opera. At the beginning of 1902 Jaroslav Vrchlický
reminded him that he had earlier offered him earlier his libretto Armida
based on Tasso’s epic Jerusalem Delivered which told a story about the
love of a knight Rinaldo and a pagan sorceress Armida. The story had
already been set to music by several composers such as Lully, Händel,
Mysliveček, Gluck, Haydn or Rossini. Vrchlický translated the epic into
Czech in 1887 and soon after that he rewrote it as a libretto for an
opera. After Dvořák’s initial refusal composers Karel Bendl, Zdeněk
Fibich and Karel Kovařovic thought about using the libretto. Vrchlický,
however, hoped that Dvořák would be the one to set it to music. The
libretto met the demands Dvořák had – the story was set in the context
of European-wide culture and it offered a wide range of opportunities
for detailed portrayal and fantastical scenes. Nevertheless, the
composer felt apprehension. After many complications with changes in the
libretto, Dvořák finished his opera and in 1904 he had it ready for the
premiere in the National Theatre in Prague. The audience accepted the
opera well but the unsuccessful rendition of the production drew sharp
criticism. The strain during the preparations for the premiere followed
by the disappointment with the result had a detrimental effect on
Dvořák’s health. One of the greatest composers of our musical history
died a few weeks after the premiere of Armida, on 1st May 1904. The
music of Armida is captivating. The opera returned to Ostrava’s stage
after twenty years.
Hydraot, the king of Damascus | Martin Gurbaľ
Armida, his daughter | Dana Burešová
Ismen, the master of Syria, wizard | Ulf Paulsen
Rinald, knight | Tomáš Černý
Bohumír | Martin Bárta
Petr, hermit | David Szendiuch
Sven, knight | Martin Šrejma
Gernand, knight | Matěj Chadima
Dudo, knight | Peter Svetlík
Ubald, knight | Roman Vlkovič
Roger, knight | Ondřej Koplík
Muezin, Announcer | Martin Štolba
Siren | V. Holbova
Chor und Orchester des National Moravian-Silesian Theater Ostrava
Dirigent | Robert Jindra
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Passwort: operalia
