The Life and Times of Smetana´s The Two Widows: Background: History of the Czechs Czech „Cullodden“: Battle at the White Mountain (1620): Protestants beaten by Catholics, „national catastrophe for 300 years“- „Age of Darkness“

The Life and Times of Smetana´s The Two Widows: Background: History of the Czechs 14th century: Independent Kingdom of Bohemia; Charles IV (ruled 1346-1378); Centre of the Holy Roman Empire

The Life and Times of Smetana´s The Two Widows: Background: History of the Czechs 15th century: Jan Hus (burned at the stake 1415): Protestant Revolution: The Czech „Hussites“ Defeated crusades from Catholic Europe

The Life and Times of Smetana´s The Two Widows: Background: History of the Czechs - 1621: 27 Czech protestant noblemen executed 1618-1648: Thirty Years´ War Subjugation under Austrian Habsburgs Until 1780s-1790s

The Life and Times of Smetana´s The Two Widows: Background: History of the Czechs Austrian Enlightement ruler Joseph II (1780-1790) gave impetus to the Czech National Revival which then developed under the impulse of Romanticism

The Life and Times of Smetana´s The Two Widows: Background: History of the Czechs • But, police oppression before 1848 (Metternich´s Absolutism) • (short lived „democratic revolution in 1848) as well as in 1849-1860 (Bach´s Absolutism) • Only cultural, literary effort was possible

The Life and Times of Smetana´s The Two Widows: Background: History of the Czechs • After Austria defeated by French-Sardinian forces at Magenta and Solferino (1859), Bach´s absolutism fell •Constitution published in February 1861 • First elections in March 1861, high voting preferences to aristocracy, monied classes • General franchise not introduced in Austria-Hungary until 1907

The Life and Times of Smetana´s The Two Widows: Background: History of the Czechs December 1867: a more democratic constitution: • citizen´s equality before law • sanctity of property • freedom of movement • freedom of assembly • freedom of speech • independent judiciary

The Life and Times of Smetana´s The Two Widows: Background: History of the Czechs From 1861, political activity was possible: As of January 1861, Národní listy newspaper, edited by František Ladislav Rieger. Programme: • National equality • Civic rights • Extensive self-government

The Life and Times of Smetana´s The Two Widows: Background: History of the Czechs Two main political parties: 1. conservative: The Old Czech Party leaders: František Palacký F. J. Rieger

The Life and Times of Smetana´s The Two Widows: Background: History of the Czechs 2. Radical democrats: The Young Czech Party: Smetana sympathised with them and was hated by the Old Czechs leader: Karel Sladkovský

The Life and Times of Smetana´s The Two Widows: Background: History of the Czechs 1866: Austria defeated by Prussia: • Austria´s centralising structure was broken up • Austria – Hungary was created • The Czechs were passed over: • A wave of frustrated Czech nationalism • Laying the foundation stone to the National Theatre in Prague

The Life and Times of Smetana´s The Two Widows: Background: History of the Czechs Life in Smetana´s times in Austria-Hungary: • cultural, economic dominance of the Germans, but not embedded in law • 1866 – 1914: period of stability • economic, technological, cultural boom • continuing nationalistic squabbling • culturally, the Czechs and the Germans ignored each other

The Life and Times of Smetana´s The Two Widows: The life of Bedřich Smetana (1824 – 1884) • Bedřich´s father František (1777-1857) – a true self-made-man. • Maltster, brewery manager • Pleasant, sunny, middle class family environment

The Life and Times of Smetana´s The Two Widows: The life of Bedřich Smetana (1824 – 1884) • Young Bedřich highly intelligent, great difficulty attending school in authoritarian Austria of the 1830s and 1840s. • Eventually gave up, devoting himself to music • At 19, destitute in Prague, then teacher in the family of Count Thun • Asks Franz Liszt for help

The Life and Times of Smetana´s The Two Widows: The life of Bedřich Smetana (1824 – 1884) • From his teens Smetana was obsessed with girls • In 1849 he married his first wife Kateřina (22), he was 26. She died of tuberculosis in 1859.

The Life and Times of Smetana´s The Two Widows: The life of Bedřich Smetana (1824 – 1884) In 1860, Smetana married his second wife Bettina (19) when he was 36. This is their wedding photograph

The Life and Times of Smetana´s The Two Widows: The life of Bedřich Smetana (1824 – 1884) • 1855: Smetana composed the „unplayable“ Triumphal Symphony • 1856 onwards: Directorship of Philharmonic Society in Göteborg, Sweden; stayed until 1861 • 1857 – conflict with Herbeck in Weimar: Smetana swore to devote himself to Czech music

The Life and Times of Smetana´s The Two Widows: The life of Bedřich Smetana (1824 – 1884) • On returning to Prague, no one interested in him or his music • Clash with Rieger and Old Czechs, Smetana passed over • Problems with the non-existence of Czech National Theatre • Smetana: erudite and critical reviewer of Czech musical life

The Life and Times of Smetana´s The Two Widows: The life of Bedřich Smetana (1824 – 1884) • 1862-63: wrote first opera, Brandenburgers in Bohemia, nationalist, implicitly socialist. Against the wishes of Old Czech conductor Maýr opera premiered in 1866 • 1866 – finally appointed conductor at the Provisional Theatre • wrote the Bartered Bride, premiered 1866, matured until 1870 (final version)

The Two Widows • Dvě vdovy (The Two Widows) Smetana´s 5th opera, completed in 1872 • Based on Le deux veuves by Jean Pierre Felicien Mallefill (1813-1868) • transferred into the Czech environment • (clumsy) librettist Emanuel Zuengel • opera written in 4 months (July-Nov. 1873)S

The Two Widows • Originally, four characters: • cousins Anežka, Karolína • Karolína is cheerful, loves life. Assertive, emancipated young woman • Anežka wants to remain faithful to her dead husband, ignoring advances of young count. She feels guilty she fancied him while her husband was still alive

The Two Widows Smetana : Love and life must prevail over convention and memory of dead husband Karolína – a totally new character in Czech music, literature, culture. Assertive, emancipated woman Is Czech upper middle-class society really as sophisticated as this?

The Two Widows The other two characters: • Ladislav Podhájský, the young count • Mumlal, old gamekeeper

The Two Widows A young peasant couple of Toník and Lidka added as a counterbalance to the upper middle-class life

The Two Widows Premiered in Prague on 27th March 1874: only the four main characters and the choir • Premiere was very successful, but there were only six performances • 1881, The Two Widows staged in Hamburg, but only five performances • From 1892 the opera was performed in a truncated version, from 1923 restored to its original version.

Smetana´s later life • 1866 – laying of the foundation of the National Theatre • 1881 completed, opened with Smetana´s Libuše. In the same year, it burned down

Smetana´s later life Smetana directed Prague opera for eight years (1866-1874) He also cultivated symphonic music In 1874, at the age of 50, Smetana went deaf, had to give up the post of Head of Prague opera 1876 – retired to a gamekeeper´s lodge near Jabkenice Still composed several operas, including The Kiss (1876) and the cycle of symphonic poems Má vlast

Smetana´s later life On May 5th 1882, Smetana experienced a fantastic celebration, on the occasion of 100th performance of The Bartered Bride Dec. 1882: lost his speech April 1884: confined to an asylum Died on 12th May 1884