„Zbraní pravdy, zbraní míru zvítězí věk ducha bohatýrů.“ K dobovým kontextům libreta Fibichova Blaníku
“The Age of Heroes’ Minds Wins by Weapons of Truth and Peace.” On the Contemporary Contexts of the Libretto for Fibich’s Opera Blaník

Summary/Abstract: In the 1870s Eliška Krásnohorská wrote the libretto for the opera Blaník for Zdeněk Fibich. The author based her work on the legends about Mount Blaník, where an army is hiding but will come to the aid of the Czech nation when it is at its worst. These legends were updated in 19th-century Czech culture to meet contemporary national demands – Czech patriots transform themselves into the role of “Blaník knights”, the saviours of the nation. Krásnohorská situated the opera’s plot in 1623, when the Catholic party won. In her libretto, she made a strong appeal for national unity and a common love for the homeland. The critics of the time mostly praised her libretto, but there were also opinions that reproached her for shortcomings in the dramatic construction (e.g. from Otakar Hostinský). František Duchek’s libretto entitled Ctibor Blanický was also written at the same time. This forgotten and unrealised curiosity shows what possibilities the theme of Blaník provided for contemporary opera.

• Details
• Contents