Opera 31
Blodek: In the well
Soloists
Prague National Theatre
Jan Štych
This was a delightful work. The obvious point of comparison is The Bartered Bride which was first performed around the same time and indeed has the same librettist. This is a lighthearted story about village life and love - the well is where young girls to to see an image of their future husband and the prospective suitor of the heroine hides in a tree above the well so that it is his reflection that is seen. Inevitably he falls into well, but all ends happily ever after.
The music is very much in the early romantic style of composers such as Lortzing with an overlay of the Czech style familiar from Smetana and Dvóřak. It is a short piece which places few demands on the performers - John Tyrrell points out that the piece is often performed by amateurs and is still very much in the Czech operatic repertoire.
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