Description
A great nation in turmoil after the abrupt end to a ruling dynasty leaving no clear path forward. This was Russia in the Time of Troubles, the seventeenth-century period in which Antonín Dvořák set his 1882 opera Dimitrij. A stellar cast along with the Bard Festival Chorale animate this powerful production by Anne Bogart for the 2017 Bard SummerScape Festival.
Supporting content further explores the context of this rare opera with a recording of Janáček’s Sinfonietta and discussions between Music Director Leon Botstein, noted Dvořák specialist Michael Beckerman, Bard musicologist Christopher Gibbs, and Dimitrij stage director Anne Bogart.
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Director Talk
Bard musicologist and historian Christopher Gibbs and Dimitrij stage director Anne Bogart discuss the work and the historical context in which Dvořák composed this fascinating and unjustly neglected piece.
Opera Talk
Leon Botstein is joined by Dvořák scholar Michael Beckerman for an insightful talk on Dimitrij and Dvořák as opera composer.
Details
Program
Sinfonietta (1925)
Composed by Leoš Janáček
Conducted by Leon Botstein, music director
The “Symfonietta with fanfares” of Antonín Dvořák’s compatriot Leoš Janáček, which would later become the soundtrack to Haruki Murakami’s novel 1Q84, is a tribute to Janáček’s adopted hometown of Brno, which he came to see in a new light and with a new sense of belonging after the declaration of Czech independence in 1918:
“As if by a miracle, liberty was conjured up, glowing over the town. I saw myself in it. I belonged to it.“
Recorded live during the 2003 Bard Music Festival.
Dimitrij
Composed by Antonín Dvořák
Conducted by Leon Botstein, music director
Directed by Anne Bogart