Goplana
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| Title: | Goplana |
Image from the piano reduction, 1897 |
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| Shape: | Romantic opera in three acts |
| Original language: | Polish |
| Music: | Władysław Żeleński |
| Libretto : | Ludomił German |
| Literary source: | Juliusz Słowacki : Balladyna |
| Premiere: | July 23, 1896 |
| Place of premiere: | Teatr Krakówy in Krakow |
| Playing time: | approx. 2 ½ hours |
| Place and time of the action: | At Goplo Lake in prehistoric times |
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Goplana is a romantic opera in three acts by Władysław Żeleński (music) with a libretto by Ludomił German based on Juliusz Słowacki's tragedy Balladyna . The first performance took place on July 23, 1896 in the Teatr Krakówy in Krakow.
action
first act
Shore of a lake
Scene 1. The choir of ghosts sings half-hidden between the brush and trees on either side. Goplana slowly moves on a large leaf towards the bank, where the ghosts Skierka and Chochlik await her. When she sadly climbs ashore, the other ghosts disappear. Goplana explains the reason for her grief: she saved a person (the farmer Grabiec) from drowning and fell in love with him - but then he disappeared from her sight. At that moment, the voice of Grabiec can be heard backstage, singing about his love for the girl Balladyna. Skierka withdraws, Grabiec enters the stage singing, and Goplana rushes to meet him.
Scene 2. Goplana tries unsuccessfully to win Grabiec, whose attempts to escape are repeatedly thwarted by Chochlik. Eventually Goplana gives up and sadly moves away. To support her mistress, Chochlik wants to see that Grabiec loses his lover and then turns to Goplana. The horns of the hunting party of the handsome and rich Count Kirkor sounded behind the stage. Chochlik decides to direct his steps towards the hut where Balladyna lives with her sister and her widowed mother.
Transformation. In the background a forest, on the right the widow's hut, next to the hut a room
Scene 3. Count Kirkor appears with his confidante Kostryn and other knights. Kirkor is happy to be returning home after enduring adventures. He longs for domestic happiness with a woman. A black swallow (directed by Chochlik) catches his attention and leads him to the hut. While the knights are setting up camp, Kostryn knocks on the door.
Scene 4. The widow and her two daughters Balladyna and Alina step out of the hut. Kirkor is instantly enchanted by the beauty of the two young women, but he cannot decide which one he likes better. He ignores Kostryn's references to Alina's beauty. The widow suggests interviewing the daughters - but both swear to him love, loyalty and obedience in equal measure. Chochlik whispers to the widow to let the girls pick raspberries in the forest. The woman who returns first with a full jar is to become the count's bride. The widow and Balladyna lead Kirkor and Kostryn into the hut, and the knights go to their tents. Only Alina remains.
Scene 5. Alina prays that the next morning God will direct her steps to the berry bushes in the forest. She sits down on the bench in front of the hut, where Chochlik spells her asleep.
Second act
Forest
Rocks and scrub to the left, a winding path in between. Tall trees on the right. In front is an uprooted tree. Night. Ghosts, fantastic beings. Wisps go around.
Scene 1. Skierka and Chochlik lead in reluctant Grabiec from the left. The spirits, who do not want to lose him again, surround him and dance around him. Skierka and Chochlik describe the delights that await him when he surrenders to their mistress: he will eat lily stems, frogs and snails and wear clothes made of colorful leaves. When Grabiec realizes that he cannot escape, he tiredly gives up his attempts to escape. The spirits call to Goplana.
Scene 2. Goplana comes in from the right. At her gesture, the ghosts disappear, only Skierka and Chochlik remain. It dawns. Goplana woos the young man again. It promises him eternal youth, beauty and wealth, as well as rule over the spirits. But Grabiec doesn't want to know anything about any of this and calls Goplana a witch. Deeply hurt, Goplana, Skierka and Chochlik curse him. Goplana draws a magic circle. It gets dark and Grabiec sinks under the earth, from which he grows again in the form of a weeping willow.
Scene 3. The ghosts sing about the transformed Grabiec, who from now on is supposed to mourn his fate lonely in the forest until he is ready to turn to Goplana. Then Skierka reports the return of the girls with their mugs.
Scene 4. Morning has broken and the ghosts are gone. Alina appears with her full mug, sings about her happiness and disappears again in the background. Shortly afterwards, Balladyna also arrives, who was less successful and desperate about it. Alina returns and happily greets her sister. The envious Balladyna mocks her by comparing Alina's collected berries with snakes. When Alina promises to find a good husband for her as a countess later on, Balladyna pulls a knife, tells her to give her her full mug, and finally stabs her. The weeping willow lets out a dull moan. Balladyna is initially shocked by what she did, but quickly recovers because there are apparently no witnesses. She grabs Alina's mug and rushes off.
The forest with the hut as in the first act
Scene 5. The widow is waiting for her daughters in front of the hut. Balladyna brings her full mug and is congratulated by her mother. She notices a red spot on Balladyna's forehead, which she thinks is a berry spot. Balladyna tells that Alina fell in love with a shepherd and fled with him. The mother curses the supposedly faithless Alina. She fears having to spend her days alone in the future. The two women go into the hut to prepare for Kirkor's arrival.
Scene 6. Peasants and peasant girls gather in front of the hut in anticipation of the groom. Shortly afterwards, Kirkor and Kostryn appear with the other knights. The widow leads Balladyna out. She wears a black bandage on her forehead, with which she hides the blood stain, and holds the jug of berries in her hand. Kirkor welcomes her happily and promises her a life full of joy. Kostryn, on the other hand, can hardly hide his despair. Kirkor leads his bride away, and the peasant choir also goes away singing. The widow remains lost in thought.
Third act
Hall in Kirkors Castle
Scene 1. Balladyna is sitting alone at the table. She's still wearing the black headband because the red spot doesn't want to go away. Now she has achieved all of her goals, has power, wealth and the love of her husband. But the latter now seems strangely cold to her. While Kirkor is away, Kostryn is in charge of the castle and he is following it with fervent eyes. Despite the increasing loneliness, she wants to continue on the path she has chosen.
Scene 2. Kostryn enters the room to prepare Balladyna for the Count's imminent return. Traditionally, Kirkor will give gifts. Then Kostryn is supposed to give him a report on everything that has happened in the castle. When Balladyna notes that Kostryn seems to have a secret, the latter admits that he has loved her limitlessly for a long time. Balladyna agrees to flee with him and asks him to swear eternal loyalty to her.
Scene 3. A mercenary announces the arrival of a group of magnificently dressed strangers. Balladyna lets the gates open and asks Kostryn to receive them as guests.
Scene 4. While Balladyna is still happy about the change, her mother appears in the door and tells that she had dreamed of Alina. She wore a white dress, but a stream of red blood flowed from her heart. The mother no longer believes that Alina really fled with a lover. Balladyna's bandage also arouses suspicion. Balladyna evades. She tries to send her mother away - but she cannot be driven away. The argument escalates until the mother curses Balladyna and threatens her to leave the room.
Scene 5. The widow is appalled by her daughter's behavior. She realizes that the red spot on this forehead must have come from Alina's blood.
The rear wall of the stage opens up and shows a large hall, which is bordered by a low wall with an open gate
Scene 6. To the sound of trumpet fanfares, Grabiec appears as the fantastically dressed up ghost king. It is followed by Skierka, Chochlik and the other ghosts who start a carousing party. Grabiec gives his new subjects a speech in which he tells his story: After he was turned into a willow tree, Goplana continued to woo him until he gave in to her insistence. Now he is free again and rules over the spirits together with Goplana.
Scene 7. When Balladyna enters with Kostryn and her entourage, she does not recognize Grabiec at first. He tells her to take off the headband so he can read her gaze. Balladyna refuses with a reference to a vow. Skierka and Chochlik fear that Grabiec Balladyna could lapse again and betray them. Grabiec asks Chochlik to entertain the company with a song. While a thunderstorm is approaching, Chochlik tells the story of the Count's choice between the two sisters and reveals Balladyna's murder of Alina, which is still evidenced by the red mark on her forehead. Grabiec already knows this - as a tree he himself had witnessed what had happened. Balladyna panics. She asks Kostryn to pour Grabiec poison into the wine to silence him. For a brief moment the ghost of Alina appears with a jug on its head. Balladyna drives him off. Kostryn starts a drinking song to which the choir joins. Grabiec gets up to thank him, but staggers, gradually loses consciousness and dies from the poison. Then Goplana appears plaintively in the air above the wall. The ghosts try to flee in horror.
Scene 8. Kirkor rushes into the hall with his knights. Skierka and Chochlik lead him to the dead Grabiec, while the ghost choir complains about the murder. When Kirkor asked what happened, Kostryn was silent. Balladyna takes the initiative and explains that Grabiec had attacked her honor and was therefore poisoned by Kostryn. Kirkor has him taken away. There is another thunder and Goplana reappears over the wall. The widow's voice can be heard from outside.
Scene 9. The guards try to stop the widow, but she breaks free and holds back the soldiers who are supposed to lead Kostryn to prison. Then she reveals Balladyna's murder of her other daughter - always accompanied by the accusatory calls of the ghost choir. Kostryn also confesses what he did. He tears off Balladyna's head bandage, under which there is still the bloody mark - evidence of her sister's murder. Balladyna is killed by lightning. Everyone backs away in horror.
Instrumentation
The orchestral line-up for the opera includes the following instruments:
- Woodwinds : three flutes , three oboes , two clarinets , bassoon
- Brass : four horns , three trumpets , two trombones , tuba
- Drums
- harp
- Strings
Work history
The libretto for Żeleński's opera Goplana comes from Ludomił German, who adapted Juliusz Słowacki's play Balladyna published in 1839 . He transformed the tragedy , which was originally reminiscent of William Shakespeare , into a fairy tale, but without softening the cruelty of the original. The composer integrated various Polish dances such as the polonaise , the kujawiak , the mazurka and the oberek .
The world premiere on July 23, 1896 in the Teatr Krakówy in Kraków was played by the ensemble of the Lviv Opera . It sang u. a. Janina Korolewicz-Wayda in the title role as well as Oleksandr Myschuha and Jewgenija Strassem.
In Warsaw, Goplana was given in the 1949/50 season. The conductor was Zdzisław Górzyński , the direction was by Teofil Trzciński and Tadeusz Laskowski, the stage was by Wacław Borowski and the choreography by Stanisław Miszczyk.
In 1971 the work was performed by the Opera Bałtycka in Gdansk. The musical director was Jerzy Procner, the director was Maria Straszewska, the set was designed by Stanisław Bąkowski and the choreography by Henryk Konwiński.
There was a concert performance in 2000 in the Witold Lutosławski Concert Studio of the Polish Radio.
In 2016 there was a new production of the Polish National Opera in Warsaw with a production by Janusz Wiśniewski, who was also responsible for the set and the costumes. A video recording was made available on the Internet as part of the Opera Platform . The production received the International Opera Award 2017 in the “Rediscovery of a Work” category.
Recordings
- 2016 (video; live from Teatr Wielki Warsaw): Grzegorz Nowak (conductor), orchestra and choir of the Polish National Opera. Arnold Rutkowski (Kirkor), Mariusz Godlewski (Kostryn), Małgorzata Walewska (Widow), Wioletta Chodowicz (Balladyna), Katarzyna Trylnik (Alina), Rafał Bartmiński (Grabiec), Edyta Piasecka (Goplana), Anna Skolierina Sołomin (Bern) (Chochlik), Jan Żądło (Landknecht).
Web links
- Goplana : Sheet Music and Audio Files in the International Music Score Library Project
- Libretto (Polish) as digitized version at polona.pl
- Piano reduction (1896) as digitized version at polona.pl (excerpts)
- Piano reduction (Polish / German) as digitized version at polona.pl
Individual evidence
- ↑ Work information on pwm.com.pl , accessed on March 27, 2017.
- ^ Goplana am Teatr Wielki , accessed on March 28, 2017.
- ↑ July 23, 1896: “Goplana”. In: L'Almanacco di Gherardo Casaglia ..
- ^ Goplana December 30, 1949 in the archive of Teatr Wielki , accessed on March 28, 2017.
- ↑ Premieres of the Opera Bałtycka , accessed on March 28, 2017.
- ^ Witold Lutosławski Concert Studio of Polish Radio , accessed March 28, 2017.
- ↑ a b Żeleński - Goplana on The Opera Platform ( Memento from October 9, 2017 in the Internet Archive ).
- ↑ International Opera Awards 2017 , accessed May 10, 2017.