Two widows

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Two widows ( Czech Dvĕ vdovy ) is an opera in two acts by Bedřich Smetana . The libretto was written by Emanuel Züngel based on the one-act play "Les deux veuves" by the French poet Jean Pierre Felicien Mallefille .

Smetana composed the opera between June 1873 and January 1874, the first performance took place on March 27, 1874 under the direction of the composer at Prague's České Prozatimní Divadlo . Due to the lack of success, he decided to revise it in 1877: he replaced the dialogues with recitatives , added some new pieces of music and invented the Tomík-Lidka pair to go with the other characters. The first performance of the second version was very successful on October 20, 1874. A German-language version with minor changes was created in 1958 by Kurt Honolka .

people

  • Karoline , a young widow (soprano)
  • Agnes , her sister, a young widow (soprano)
  • Ladislav , a landowner (tenor)
  • Mumlal , a Heger (bass)
  • Tomík , a gardener (tenor)
  • Lidka , his fiancee, a maid (soprano)
  • Country folk , choir

The action takes place in a castle in Bohemia during the Biedermeier period .

action

first act

The church consecration day is celebrated at the castle. The two widows Karoline and Agnes who live here are very different. The landlady Karoline is happy about her freedom and independence, but Agnes cannot make friends with her fate. She feels pressured by her suitor Ladislav, which is why she went to see Karoline in the country. So Ladislav Agnes has to approach Agnes with a ruse: He poaches in the forest of the castle and is arrested by the Heger Mumlal on behalf of Karoline. Karoline senses Ladislav's feelings immediately and condemns him to one day of house arrest in her castle. Ladislavs accepts the punishment, Agnes cannot get her protest through. At the end of the act, Lidka and Tomík sing about the power of love with the choir.

Second act

Ladislav sings love songs in prison while Agnes has to be clear about her feelings. She cannot bring herself to confess. Even Karoline's allusions and even a confession of love from Ladislav cannot make her confess her feelings. Only when Karoline begins to flirt with Ladislav does Agnes decide to admit her feelings towards Ladislav. Lidunka and Tomík don't let the envious Mumlal dissuade them from their love. When Agnes comes back in her most beautiful ball gown, she sees Ladislav Karoline throwing herself at her feet. He cannot clear up the embarrassing situation and Agnes is devastated. She confesses her love and for the sake of Karoline renounces Ladislav. Suddenly he falls into her arms, and on the day of the church fair they get engaged.

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