Viola (opera) explained

Viola
Genre Header:Opera
Composer:Bedřich Smetana
Image Upright:0.9
Librettist:Eliška Krásnohorská
Language:Czech
Based On:Shakespeare's play Twelfth Night
Premiere Location:National Theatre, Prague

Viola is an unfinished romantic opera by Bedřich Smetana. The libretto was written by Eliška Krásnohorská, and is based on Shakespeare's play Twelfth Night. The composer did some work on it in 1874 and then came back to it in 1883, when he only managed to orchestrate a few scenes; the opera was left incomplete upon Smetana's death in 1884.

Performance history

A concert performance (of the unfinished work) was given on 15 March 1900 and it was staged at the Prague National Theatre on 11 May 1924.

Roles

!Role!Voice type
Orsino, Duke of Illyriatenor
Viola, twin sister to Sebastianmezzo-soprano
Sebastian, twin brother to Violasoprano
Oliviemezzo-soprano
Tobiášbaritone
Ondřejtenor
Malvoliobaritone
Mariesoprano
Šašekbaritone
Antonio, a captainbass
Marko, an old fishermanbass

Recordings

Further reading