Even Less Known Operas by Stanislaw Moniuszko

[Maciek]

OK, I'm definitely mad to be doing this but: has anyone heard any of the less known operas by Moniuszko? I have in particular three comic operas in mind: Verbum nobile, Hrabina (The Countess) and Flis (The Raftsman). I find all three absolutely charming and in some respects prefer them to the "core" Moniuszko (Halka and The Haunted Manor, that is). These were in fact my entrance into the world of his operas, and I've always liked Flis especially. There's a great disc of highlights from Hrabina with the eponymous character sung stunningly by Halina Słonicka (Slonicka):




Also on Polskie Nagrania is a good recording of the one-act Verbum nobile:



Maciek

[bhodges]

OK, I'm definitely mad to be doing this but: has anyone heard any of the less known operas by Moniuszko?

My vote for "GMG Esoteric Thread of the Day" (and yet another reason this place is so great). 

--Bruce

[Maciek]

Well, I was going to change my screen name to Mr Obscure...

[mahlertitan]

Well, I was going to change my screen name to Mr Obscure...

no, not Mr. Obscure. "Poland", "Polish". Since you only focus on composers from Poland.

[Maciek]

Hmmm... You're right. Why on earth did I think that Flis or Hrabina are obscure?

[BachQ]

OK, I'm definitely mad to be doing this but: has anyone heard any of the less known operas by Moniuszko? I

I have so many recordings (including DVD's and vinyl) that I've lost count!  I'm particularly fond of Rokiaczana.

[Wendell_E]

OK, I'm definitely mad to be doing this but: has anyone heard any of the less known operas by Moniuszko?

No. 























Seriously, I haven't even heard his two "greatest hits", though they are on my "to buy" list.

[Maciek]

D Minor, you're pulling my leg, aren't you? That is so cruel!

Rokiczana? Wow! I only know the title...

[BachQ]

D Minor, you're pulling my leg, aren't you? That is so cruel!

Yeah, just a little Stanislaw Moniuszko humor!   

Rokiczana? Wow! I only know the title...

Oh, if you only knew what you're missing . . . . . . 

[Maciek]

This is a post from Mike on the The Haunted Manor thread:

I have been listening to highlights of this composer's 'Hrabina', 'The Countess'. I had no preconceptions other than I had imagined something like Szymanowski. His dates are 1819 to 1872, so there was no chance that my guess would be correct. The soundword sometimes harks back to Mozart, but equally fooled me sometimes into thinking about Lehar who was not even born until 1870. But there is a distinctly Eastern European feel. I have no idea if this piece is typical, but there is melody a plenty, some showstopper arias and a great warmth.

It was very enjoyable indeed and I am happy to explore more of his music. I need however to get to grips with plots etc as, although it sounded charming and ear catching, I have not a clue what it was all about. So, onto Google.

Mike

Mike, I've put together a short synopsis on Wikipedia: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/The_Countess.

Sigh... did I say short? Well, it felt like something I could just sit down and do and, of course, now 2 hours of my life just passed by! Eeek!

For those who would like a sample of what this is like, here is the ballet music from the opera, performed by the Polish Radio National Symphony Orchestra, conducted by Andrzej Straszyński (I believe this selection is much larger than the one on the highlights disc?):
http://www.mediafire.com/?9exjtxlydzw

[knight66]

Maciek, How innocently I started out on my quest for information. Precicely nothing in English about the Opera! So you have been a pioneer. Two hours well spent in charting unexplored waters for English only speakers, thanks.

Mike

PS, I am so glad that the storyline is a happy one, I had assumed so from the music, but would have displayed a tin ear had I been right off the mark.

[Maciek]

I aim to please.

BTW, your positive reaction is music (sic!) to my ears. 0:)

I think Halka and Paria are Moniuszko's only "sombre" operas. Oddly enough, those are his first and his last... He had written a few operettas before writing Halka though.

Looking forward to reading your reaction to Verbum nobile. I guess I'll need to put together another synopsis...

[Maciek]

Here are 3 short clips from the Polskie Nagrania disc.

The Countess's final aria (in Act III) - sung by Halina Słonicka:
[mp3=200,20,0,left]http://www.fileden.com/files/2007/8/25/1381505/Countess%20A3.mp3[/mp3]

The three cellos playing the opening of the beautiful Polonaise in Act III:
[mp3=200,20,0,left]http://www.fileden.com/files/2007/8/25/1381505/Polonaise%20A3.mp3[/mp3]

The Countess's oh, I'm so beautiful in this dress aria (actually, that's Suknio coś mnie tak ubrała - O dress, who has dressed me so!) - Słonicka again (Act II):
[mp3=200,20,0,left]http://www.fileden.com/files/2007/8/25/1381505/Countess%20A2.mp3[/mp3]

All 3 recordings: Orchestra of the Teatr Wielki in Warsaw/Mieczysław Mierzejewski

[Maciek]

Flis, as I've mentioned before, was my entry point. It still has a special place in my heart. The Zosia and Flis (Franek) duo in particular. Here's a sample:
[mp3=200,20,0,left]http://www.fileden.com/files/2007/8/25/1381505/Moniuszko%20Flis%20duo%20sample.mp3[/mp3]
(Halina Slonicka, Bogdan Paprocki, Warsaw NPO/Zdzislaw Gorzynski)

The other two favorites are Franek's "Plyna tratwy po Wisle", and Zosia's dumka "Ach, tys moze wsrod tej burzy...". Here's a bit from the latter:
[mp3=200,20,0,left]http://www.fileden.com/files/2007/8/25/1381505/Moniuszko%20Flis%20dumka%20sample.mp3[/mp3]
(same performers, minus the tenor )

[Maciek]

Well, absolutely no reason to complain about what is happening on the Moniuszko front recently. Of course, many great pieces still remain unrecorded (last year I attended a captivating performance of the cantata Widma and simply cannot believe that even in the LP era no one gave it a try! it's probably the best cantata written in Poland before Szymanowski; who am I kidding? it most certainly is!). It is difficult to believe that the complete works of a 19th century Polish composer who is generally considered to be second only to Chopin have never been recorded. But there's a noticeable change (it is 190 years since Moniuszko's birth this year, perhaps that helped a bit).

Last month, DUX released a disc of Moniuszko's late masses, with a very good set of performers:



Now they have recorded Moniuszko's last opera, Paria. AFAIK this is the first "proper" recording of the piece in history. I do have an old (early or mid 1990s) cassette released by the Poznan Opera (or was it the Wroclaw Opera? I'd have to dig it out to check) of a live recording but it's a miracle that I was ever able to grab that and, well, not only is it live (with lots of superfluous stage and audience noise) but also a cassette - the sound can hardly be called satisfactory. My only concern with this new DUX release is the cast (the names mean nothing to me):



LESZEK SKRLA, JANUSZ LEWANDOWSKI, KATARZYNA HOŁYSZ, TOMASZ KUK, ANDRZEJ LAMPERT, Choir and Orchestra of The Castle Opera/Warcisław Kunc

[Superhorn]

  There was a recent EMI recording conducted by the excellent Polish conductor Jacek Kasprzyk of The Haunted Manor with an all Polish cast,orchestra and chorus which got very good reviews. I don't know if it's still available but I'd like to hear it.

[Maciek]

It's a very good recording, in perfect sound (SACD version also available), though performancewise it loses (slightly) to the earlier one under Krenz, IMO (see more in this thread). As far as I can tell, it is still in print, both in Europe and the States.

The Krenz on Polskie Nagrania also seems to be still in print, at least I see it around all the time. At some point it had also been released be Rodolphe - that version crops up on e-bay occasionally. It's usually quite cheap.

[Maciek]

Speaking of Paria, I just noticed YouTube has this aria sung by Teresa Żylis-Gara!

http://www.youtube.com/v/hotJpUlbn-I

(http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=hotJpUlbn-I)

[Maciek]

A couple of years ago, when I searched for Moniuszko on Youtube, nothing came up. As I have discovered tonight, these days there are pages of material to plough through, which is precisely what I'm doing. Here are some more interesting tidbits:

Zuzia's Dumka from Verbum nobile sung by Krystyna Pakulska
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=WdKH2or3I80

The Polonaise for 5 cellos from act III of Hrabina (Liszt liked this one very much), played by members of the Sinfonia Varsovia (as part of the orchestra's anniversary celebrations earlier this year, I believe). The picture is razor sharp but the video runs a bit choppily (at least at my end). Whoever recorded this seems to be interested in a certain lady cellist
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=WDCoTZK7iUs

Halina Slonicka in Hrabina's "dress" aria from act II
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=LGI3GN3M6p0

Adam Ostrowski in Chorąży's song from act I
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Rq1-aZLYUkU

And finally, odd but interesting. An orchestral arrangements of Moniuszko's most popular song The Spinning-Girl, which was part of a 1936 film version of... The Haunted Manor (?):
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=CTQUWjrml-U