Pop Ćira i pop Spira
| Opera dates | |
|---|---|
| Title: | Pop Ćira i pop Spira |
| Original title: | Поп Ћира и поп Спира |
Illustration from the book template |
|
| Shape: | Opera buffa in two acts |
| Original language: | Serbian |
| Music: | Dejan Despić |
| Libretto : | Vesna and Dejan Miladinović |
| Literary source: | Stevan Sremac : Поп Ћира и поп Спира |
| Premiere: | March 28, 2018 |
| Place of premiere: | Serbian National Theater Novi Sad |
| Playing time: | approx. 1 ¾ hours |
| Place and time of the action: | a village in the Banat |
| people | |
|
|
Pop Ćira i pop Spira (Cyrillic: Поп Ћира и поп Спира , German: "Father Ćira and Father Spira") is a Serbian opera buffa in two acts by Dejan Despić (music) with a libretto by Vesna and Dejan Miladinović based on the novel of the same name (German: Popen are also only people ) by Stevan Sremac . The world premiere took place on March 28, 2018 in the Serbian National Theater in Novi Sad .
action
In a prosperous village in the Serbian Banat live two Orthodox priests who have got along well so far: Father Ćira and father Spira. Both have a wife (Persa or Sida), a daughter (Melanija or Jula) and a servant (Erža or Žuža). Peace in the village is mixed up when the new teacher Pera takes up his position, because both mothers see in him an ideal marriage candidate for their daughter.
first act
The coachman Pera Tocilov and the policeman Nića lead Pera through the village, show him the houses of the two priests and explain their family circumstances to him. First he meets father Spira, who invites him to breakfast tomorrow, Sunday. Then he is greeted by the village community. Everyone is impressed by his beautiful voice and his good looks and immediately fear for their daughters.
The next morning, Pera appears at the house of the Spira family as agreed and gets to know his wife Sida and their daughter Jula. Sida is fascinated by Pera, who drinks too much wine.
The pumpkins in the garden lead on to the next scene and report that a terrible noise broke out during the meal in Ćira's house.
The Gabrijela village gossip reports to the women of the Ćira family about Pera's breakfast at Spira. They send the servant Erža over to spy. This is how they learn about the good qualities of the teacher. Persa is determined to thwart the Spiras' plans and win Pera for her daughter Melanija.
Meanwhile, Spira and his wife try to pair their daughter Jula with Pera. The entire Ćira family appears at the door and invites themselves to dinner. Spira cannot simply send the neighbors away, and so Melanija takes possession of the teacher. In fact, the two get closer to each other quickly. Sida urges Jula to try harder for him.
The Ćiras reciprocate with a return invitation for the afternoon, during which Melanija can impress the teacher with her piano playing, her singing and her interest in literature. Jula, on the other hand, doesn't make the slightest effort and is scolded accordingly by her mother.
The reason for Jula's lack of interest quickly becomes clear: she loves the village barber Šaca, whom she secretly meets at the garden fence every night. This time, Šaca quickly consoles her over her mother's lecture by proposing to her.
Pera meets Melanija alone in her father's house and confesses his love to her. Gabrijela interrupts the rendezvous to spread the latest gossip: Apparently, after failing to win the teacher over to Jula, the Spiras are trying to harass the Ćiras. So they set up their noisy flour mill directly on the way to their house. Persa is deeply outraged by this behavior and asks her husband to confront Spira.
The two women quarrel more and more violently over small things and finally fight in the middle of the street.
Second act
Jula and Šaca are still happily in love. Šaca serenades her with his friends until the police officer Nića asks him to keep the night quiet. Nića promises to keep Šaca's relationship with Jula a secret.
The next argument is in the church where Ćira and Spira work. Ćira addresses the problem with the flour mill, because of the noise he has to keep the windows closed now. One word gives the other, until both accuse the other of the immoral behavior of their daughters.
Gabrijela tells the villagers about the fight between the two priests: In the end, Spira threw a prayer book at Ćira and knocked out his tooth.
The residents tell each other that both priests went to the city: one to get medical treatment, the other to save his skin.
Reluctantly, Ćira promises his wife to sue Spira with the bishop and to present his tooth as evidence. He wants to take Tocilov's carriage, which only charges half the price if he can find another passenger.
Spira also has to go to the city for the trial. Tocilov informs him that Ćira will go with him. He learned that Ćira will carry the compromising tooth with him. On the way they will spend the night with Father Oluja, a good friend of Spira, who will surely help them steal the tooth.
The journey goes exactly as anticipated by the driver. Oluja and Spira ensure that Ćira gets drunk at dinner, and Spira can swap the knocked-out tooth without being noticed.
The villagers talk about the farce of the bishop's trial and his wise judgment.
Ćira Spira accuses the bishop of knocking out a tooth. Spira claims not to know anything about it. The conflict began with Ćira insulting his daughter Jula. Thereupon Ćira pulls out his piece of evidence: This turns out to be a horse's tooth - which triggers great amusement among the priests present. Only the bishop remains serious. He condemns both adversaries to forgive each other and to return home together in brotherhood.
Everyone in the village is happy about the happy outcome of the trial and the upcoming weddings. Only Persa is outraged by her husband's failure and refuses to eat him. Sida, on the other hand, triumphs. In this good mood, she happily agrees when Šaca asks her and her husband for Jula's hand. Pera also receives the blessing of Melanya's parents. The opera ends with a happy double wedding.
layout
Dejan Despić composed his opera in the neoclassical style. Formally it is a two-act opera buffa .
Work history
Dejan Despić began composing his first opera Pop Ćira i pop Spira in 2009. The libretto was written by the Serbian opera director Dejan Miladinović and his wife Vesna. It is based on the novel of the same name by Stevan Sremac from 1898, which was processed several times, including 1957 for the first Yugoslav color film and 1982 a Yugoslav television series from 1982. A German translation by Alfred von Buttlar-Moscon with the title Popen are also only Menschen appeared in Vienna in 1955.
The librettist Miladinović had originally proposed that the opera be given the title Весели попови банатски ("The Merry Priests from the Banat") analogous to the Merry Wives of Windsor . Despić then decided to keep the original title of the template. Various other titles were also mentioned in program announcements, including English Give and Take, Hungarian Adok-Papok and German Hader-Pater - The happy pastors from the Banat.
The world premiere took place on March 28, 2018 in the Serbian National Theater Novi Sad under the musical direction of Željka Milanović. Ivana Dragutinović Maričić directed, the stage was by Vladimir Savić, the costumes by Senka Ranosavljević and the lighting design by Marko Radanović. It was a co-production with the National Theater Belgrade .
The production was selected as a competition entry for the Armel Opera Festival 2018 and played in this context on July 2, 2018 in Müpa Budapest . A video recording was made available on Arte Concert on the Internet.
Recordings
- July 2, 2018 - Željka Milanović (conductor), Ivana Dragutinović Maričić (director), Vladimir Savić (stage), Senka Ranosavljević (costumes), Marko Radanović (lighting), orchestra and choir of the Serbian National Theater Novi Sad.
Saša Štulić (brother Ćira), Violeta Srećković (Persa), Danijela Jovanović (Melanija), Branislav Cvijić (Pera), Marija Cvijić (Erža), Nebojša Babić (brother Spira), Verica Pejić (Sida), Vishnja Popov (Jula), Branislav Stankov (Šaca), Darija Olajoš Čizmić (Mrs. Gabrijela), Antonel Boldan (Pera Tocilov), Miloš Milojević (Brother Oluja), Željko R. Andrić (Bishop of Timișoara), Vladimir Zorjan (Nića bokter).
Video; live from the Armel Opera Festival from Müpa Budapest .
Video stream at Arte Concert .
Web links
- “Friar Cira and Friar Spira” by Dejan Despić at the Armel Opera Festival at Arte Concert , video available until December 1st, 2018
Individual evidence
- ↑ Zorica Premate: Review of the premiere. In: Politika of March 31, 2018. Quoted from the work information on snp.org.rs, accessed on July 14, 2018.
- ↑ a b Performance information on snp.org.rs, accessed July 14, 2018.
- ↑ a b М. Мирковић: Поп Ћира у опери. Performance announcement on novosti.rs, accessed on July 14, 2018.
- ↑ a b “Friar Cira and Friar Spira” by Dejan Despić at the Armel Opera Festival at Arte Concert , accessed on July 14, 2018.
- ↑ Wolfgang Rössig: Literatures of the World in German Translation. A chronological bibliography. J. B. Metzler, Stuttgart / Weimar 1997, ISBN 978-3-476-00961-6 , p. 266 ( limited preview in the Google book search).
- ↑ a b Dejan Despić: Give and Take - Comic opera in two parts (world première). Performance information on the Müpa Budapest website , accessed on July 14, 2018.
- ↑ Program of the Armel Opera Festival 2018 (PDF) , accessed on July 14, 2018.
- ↑ Work information on snp.org.rs, accessed on July 14, 2018.