Opera 30
Fibich: Šárka
Soloists
Vienna Radio Symphony Orchestra
Sylvain Camberling
Fibich is a name which still has a slight resonance among , at least older, listeners because his poem used to be a staple of the violin recital in an arrangement by Jan Kubelik. I don’t think that I have ever heard any more of his music.
I really enjoyed this opera. It was full of drama and strong characterization. The story is a classic of Czech folklore and was also the subject of an opera by Janáček and a tone poem by Smetana but this opera doesn’t suffer by comparison with that august company. Fibich has a real dramatic flare and a gift for melody. Some of the ensembles were really spine tingling. Fibich’s operas have never really travelled outside the Czech lands (unlike those of Smetana and Dvořák) which on the evidence here is a great pity. This piece would certainly command the stage anywhere.
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