Smetana: Libuse / Talich, Czech Philharmonic

$21.99
Label
Supraphon
Release Date
May 22, 2020
Format
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    Featuring ⌄
    • COMPOSER
      SMETANA, BEDRICH
    • ORCHESTRA / ENSEMBLE
      Czech Philharmonic Orchestra, Prague National Theatre Chorus & Orchestra
    • PERFORMER
      Talich
    Product Details ⌄
    • RELEASE DATE
      May 22, 2020
    • UPC
      099925427924
    • CATALOG NUMBER
      SU4279-2
    • LABEL
      Supraphon
    • NUMBER OF DISCS
      1
    • GENRE
      Classical
    Works ⌄

    1. Libuše: Overture

      Composer: Bedřich Smetana

      Ensemble: Tschechische Philharmonie

      Conductor: Václav Talich

    2. Act III: Mír zjednán mezi oběma zas bratry (Peace Is Made Again Between Two Brothers)

      Composer: Bedřich Smetana

      Ensemble: Prague National Theatre Chorus, Prague National Theatre Orchestra

      Performer: Marie Podvalová, Otta Horáková, Marta Krásová, Josef Vojta, Stanislav Muž, Josef Krikava, Vilém Zítek, Jaroslav Veverka

      Conductor: Václav Talich

    3. Act III: Ó, díky tobě (O, Receive Our Thanks)

      Composer: Bedřich Smetana

      Ensemble: Prague National Theatre Chorus, Prague National Theatre Orchestra

      Performer: Marie Podvalová, Otta Horáková, Marta Krásová, Josef Vojta, Stanislav Muž, Josef Krikava, Vilém Zítek, Jaroslav Veverka

      Conductor: Václav Talich

    4. Act III: On jde! (He comes! He still remains hidden)

      Composer: Bedřich Smetana

      Ensemble: Prague National Theatre Chorus, Prague National Theatre Orchestra

      Performer: Marie Podvalová, Otta Horáková, Marta Krásová, Josef Vojta, Stanislav Muž, Josef Krikava, Vilém Zítek, Jaroslav Veverka

      Conductor: Václav Talich

    5. Act III: Buď vítaná (Welcome to us)

      Composer: Bedřich Smetana

      Ensemble: Prague National Theatre Chorus, Prague National Theatre Orchestra

      Performer: Marie Podvalová, Otta Horáková, Marta Krásová, Josef Vojta, Stanislav Muž, Josef Krikava, Vilém Zítek, Jaroslav Veverka

      Conductor: Václav Talich

    6. Act III: Ó bratře, drahý bratře (O, Brother, My Dear Brother)

      Composer: Bedřich Smetana

      Ensemble: Prague National Theatre Chorus, Prague National Theatre Orchestra

      Performer: Marie Podvalová, Otta Horáková, Marta Krásová, Josef Vojta, Stanislav Muž, Josef Krikava, Vilém Zítek, Jaroslav Veverka

      Conductor: Václav Talich

    7. Act III: Slavnostní pochod (Ceremonial Procession)

      Composer: Bedřich Smetana

      Ensemble: Prague National Theatre Chorus, Prague National Theatre Orchestra

      Performer: Marie Podvalová, Otta Horáková, Marta Krásová, Josef Vojta, Stanislav Muž, Josef Krikava, Vilém Zítek, Jaroslav Veverka

      Conductor: Václav Talich

    8. Act III: Hoj, tvrdý Vyšehrad (Hail, stronghold of Vyšehrad)

      Composer: Bedřich Smetana

      Ensemble: Prague National Theatre Chorus, Prague National Theatre Orchestra

      Performer: Marie Podvalová, Otta Horáková, Marta Krásová, Josef Vojta, Stanislav Muž, Josef Krikava, Vilém Zítek, Jaroslav Veverka

      Conductor: Václav Talich

    9. Act III: Sňatek váš buď požehnán (Your Wedding Be Celebrated)

      Composer: Bedřich Smetana

      Ensemble: Prague National Theatre Chorus, Prague National Theatre Orchestra

      Performer: Marie Podvalová, Otta Horáková, Marta Krásová, Josef Vojta, Stanislav Muž, Josef Krikava, Vilém Zítek, Jaroslav Veverka

      Conductor: Václav Talich

    10. Act III: Libušino proroctví (Libuše's Prophecy)

      Composer: Bedřich Smetana

      Ensemble: Prague National Theatre Chorus, Prague National Theatre Orchestra

      Performer: Marie Podvalová, Otta Horáková, Marta Krásová, Josef Vojta, Stanislav Muž, Josef Krikava, Vilém Zítek, Jaroslav Veverka

      Conductor: Václav Talich

    11. Czech Republic [Česká státní hymna (Czech State Hymn), "Where is my home …"]

      Composer: František Jan Škroup

      Ensemble: Prague National Theatre Chorus, Prague National Theatre Orchestra

      Conductor: Václav Talich


The recording of the concert performance in Nazi-occupied Prague of Bedrich Smetana’s My Country (SU 4065-2) conducted by Václav Talich, which took place on 5 July 1939, drew considerable attention worldwide (Special Historic Gramophone Award 2012). It seemed that Talich’s discography had thus been rounded off for good. Yet the personal effects of the late soprano Marie Podvalová, renowned for her outstanding portrayal of Princess Libuše, provided yet another gem. A week prior to the mentioned performance of My Country, on 29 May 1939 a recording was made at the National Theatre of Talich’s account of Smetana’s opera Libuše. Fragments of Act 3 have been reconstructed from the miraculously surviving foils (the present album also contains the 1940 recording of the Overture). In 1939, Libuše’s prophecy in Act 3 of Smetana’s opera must have sounded to Czech ears like an immensely bold declaration of national pride and courage. Although incomplete and far from being perfect in terms of the quality of sound, the recording’s value is truly immense. It is the one and only recording of an opera conducted by Talich, the oldest surviving transmission of an opera performance from the National Theatre in Prague, and the last staging of Libuše during the Nazi occupation before its performances were strictly banned. The audience’s long tumultuous applause and spontaneous singing of the national anthem attest to the moment’s enormous emotional gravity, imbuing the recording with exceptional energy. Talich’s unique account of Libuše – a bold manifestation of national pride and bravery in 1939 in Nazi-occupied Prague