Karol Kurpiński, Overture To The Opera "jadwiga, Królowa Polska"

Ministerstwo Kultury i Dziedzictwa Narodowego

HIRE LIBRARY CATALOG WEBSHOP PBM

Karol Kurpiński

Overture to the opera "Jadwiga, królowa polska"

for piano

Publisher: PWM Edition

Countries of delivery:

Cat. no. 12748

The three-act opera Jadwiga, królowa polska (‘Hedwig, queen of Poland’) was first performed on 23 December 1814 at the National Theatre in Warsaw, then located on Krasiński Square. The libretto was written by Julian Ursyn Niemcewicz (1758–1841), one of the most outstanding Polish poets of the Enlightenment. Both the subject matter and the date of the premiere were deliberately chosen. The work’s first performance came on the birthday of Tsar Alexander I, who would soon become the titular king of the Kingdom of Poland. Although Niemcewicz turned to an historical subject, the plot he created is full of allusions to contemporary events.
The story-line follows the dilemmas of the titular heroine, including a crucial love plot. Hedwig must choose between the will of her heart (bidding her to remain faithful to her beloved Wilhelm) and the good of the nation (which is to benefit from her marrying Jagiełło, Grand Duke of Lithuania). The situation is complicated further still by the scheming of the Teutonic Knights, working to thwart the planned union between Poland and Lithuania. Ultimately, Jagiełło comes to blows with Konrad, Grand Master of the Order of Teutonic Knights, with the Lithuanian ruler defending the virtue of Hedwig, accused by Konrad of failing to keep her premarital chastity. The knight dies in the duel, and the queen agrees to marry her defender.
Although revisiting glorious periods from Polish history in dramatic works was nothing new in Kurpiński’s times, in musical terms the works performed in those days were closer to singspiel than to grand historical opera. The libretto, brilliantly constructed by Niemcewicz, displaying excellent literary qualities, allowed the composer to write a variety of elaborate musical sections. The score features exalted choruses, virtuosic arias, a number of lyrical and dramatic moments, and also numerous examples of illustrative music, such as the fight scene and the monumental march in Act 3.
Jadwiga is undoubtedly one of the major achievements in Polish opera of the pre-Moniuszko era. Between its premiere and the outbreak of the November Uprising in 1830, it was performed almost 30 times on the Warsaw stage, which for a work by a Polish composer was quite a success in those times. In Kurpiński’s lifetime, it was also staged in Vilnius (1816) and Cracow (1821).