the jacobin 

composition history

Only in a very few cases has an extended period of time elapsed between Dvorak’s initial decision to write a given work, and the date he actually embarked upon the score. In the case of The Jacobin, this was an interval of six years. Dvorak was encouraged to start a new comic opera after the success of the premiere of his earlier one-act opera The Stubborn Lovers which, after seven years of delays, was finally held at the New Czech Theatre on 2 October 1881. The composer initially requested a libretto for his new opera from the author of the text for The Stubborn Lovers, Josef Stolba, however, the latter was not satisfied with the low fees he was receiving and lost interest in writing librettos. Dvorak then turned with the same request to Marie Cervinkova-Riegrova, with whom he had already collaborated on the opera Dimitrij. Cervinkova was not sure whether she was a suitable choice for a comic libretto but she nevertheless decided to comply with the composer’s wishes. Dvorak’s work on the musical setting of the libretto was continually postponed, for several reasons:

→ The genesis of the libretto was protracted and complicated (see below).
→ There was little time for discussions concerning the new opera due to preparations for the premiere of Dvorak’s and Cervinkova’s previous joint endeavour – Dimitrij. 
→ Dvorak had a series of time-consuming commitments abroad.
→ Dvorak was undecided about using a libretto with a Czech theme (see below). 

characteristics of the libretto

The story represents a well-balanced combination of lyrical, comic, serious and dramatic elements, with an underlying motif of patriotism threading its way through (but without a sense of vehemence). The tale conjures up the atmosphere of an idealised small Czech town during the time of the French Revolution, with a whole variety of typical Czech characters. The libretto would certainly also have appealed to the composer for the fact that a number of plot details surprisingly corresponded with circumstances in Dvorak’s youth. The environment in which the story is set finds parallels with the surroundings of Zlonice, where the composer spent part of his adolescence. The schoolmaster and musician Benda might be seen as a counterpart to Antonin Liehmann in Zlonice, who initiated the young Dvorak into the rudiments of music theory. Just like Benda in the opera, Liehmann also had a daughter named Terinka, with whom Dvorak (Jiri in the opera) sang in the choir during Mass. Earlier literature on Dvorak considers the possibility that Cervinkova may have introduced these parallels deliberately, yet we have no documentation to indicate this. 

The opera also examines the music phenomenon on a personal level: Bohus remembers a lullaby his mother sang to him as a child: “My little son, my flower, my joy, my world, my heaven!” This melody then plays a decisive role in Act Three when Julie sings it from her hiding place in order to evoke in the count memories of his deceased wife; her intention is to soften his heart and urge him to forgive his son. Another example is the derisory tune which Jiri composes himself and directs at his rival in love, the burgrave Filip (“You know this man!”). In this scene the music is, in fact, a means for rebellion, or perhaps a last refuge from the tyranny of the establishment. And music also plays a “main role” in one of the most charming and most appealing scenes in the history of Czech opera, namely the classroom scene, where schoolmaster Benda rehearses a cantata with the children which he has written himself in honour of the new gentry.

composition of the musical setting

Dvorak worked on the original version of The Jacobin for approximately one year, from 10 November 1887 to 18 November 1888. The premiere, held at the National Theatre on 12 February 1889, generated a fair amount of criticism, where the work was justifiably slated for its lack of narrative logic, and also for certain musical flaws. Dvorak himself was dissatisfied with the work as it stood, thus, in 1894, he asked the National Theatre management to halt the production temporarily (the theatre had already hosted 34 repeat performances of The Jacobin), and he decided to rework the opera. He proposed changes to Cervinkova, the librettist agreed to them and revised the libretto accordingly. Nevertheless, due to other commitments, it was only three years later that Dvorak embarked upon a new musical setting. He worked on it from February to December 1897. Apart from the passages of music which had to be written for the new text (a major part of Act Three and Terinka’s aria “In autumn’s hazel grove” from Act Two), Dvorak also rewrote certain other scenes (in particular, the duet “We have roamed foreign lands”). The entire work was greatly enhanced by these revisions and it soon became a permanent part of the Czech operatic repertoire. 

characteristics of the musical setting

The Jacobin is one of the most cheerful and most idyllic operas in the Czech repertoire. It was largely written during a point in time sometimes referred to as the composer’s “second Slavic period”, given that the music returns to the roots of Slavonic folk music, and also manifests a certain inner equilibrium and positive expression. Even by Dvorak’s standards, the melodies in The Jacobin are unusually vibrant and eloquent, reflecting at the same time a whole range of moods, from shades of profound melancholy to joyful revelry. The ubiquitous music motif, the patriotic subtext of the libretto, and the associations of his own childhood were impulses which led Dvorak to turn out one of his most original works, creating an ideal blend of humour and fervour. Each character is portrayed in detail and with precision, each has his own particular qualities. This is most apparent in the character of Benda, the schoolmaster and musician. The way in which Dvorak conceived this exceptionally human individual is, from both a musical and psychological point of view, one of the composer’s true inspirations. The final version of the opera is practically free of recitatives, thus each act represents an almost uninterrupted flow of melody, from the first to the last scene.

The composition of both versions of the opera was separated by Dvorak’s two-and-a-half year sojourn in the United States. Apart from the direct influence this would have had on his work, given his new environment and the impulses it brought him, he would also have been influenced indirectly. After his experience of being far from home all this time, Dvorak would have been well able to understand his characters Bohus and Julie who, after many years spent abroad, were finally returning to their homeland: thus, one of the changes he made to the score of the new version of The Jacobin was the entirely new, highly convincing setting of the duet “We have roamed foreign lands”. It might also be of interest to note that the score of The Jacobin contains several musical witticisms – for example, the scene in which the burgrave boasts that he will be singing at the celebrations instead of Jiri, whom he intends to dispatch to the army. The schoolmaster tries to explain to the burgrave that this isn’t possible, since Jiri is a tenor, whereas the burgrave is a bass. Dvorak then has the burgrave replying “I’ll sing tenor then!” in the lowest possible register. A similar passage occurs at the beginning of Act Two, where Benda congratulates himself on his fine composition of the music for the celebrations. Dvorak set his words “I must confess, that serenade is particularly fine, Mozart would have been proud!” to a Mozartian melody.

premiere and subsequent performances

The premiere in Prague’s National Theatre in February 1889 was a triumph. In the remaining four months until the end of the season, The Jacobin was performed fourteen times, and the number of repeat performances in subsequent years far exceeded that of the composer’s previous stage works. The Jacobin established itself in Czech theatres immediately and permanently – Prague’s National Theatre, for example, performed the work more than a thousand times up until the year 2011. Unlike Dvorak’s previous operas, the work enjoyed a series of productions abroad (all took place after the composer’s death) – Ljubljana, Zagreb, Barcelona, Mannheim, Berlin, Dresden, Essen, Weimar, London, Wexford, Edinburgh and Washington. Czechoslovak Television recorded a production of an abridged version of the opera in 1974.
 

synopsis

the story is set in a small Czech town in the year 1793.

ACT ONE:
Count Vilem of Harasov disowned his own son Bohus for the latter’s excessive liberalism and turned all his attention towards his nephew Adolf. In response, Bohus abandoned the family home and left for Paris. Since then, he has been known in the family as the Jacobin. Today he returns home incognito with his wife Julie when the town is celebrating a feast day; together they make their way to the castle where he was born, long since uninhabited after the departure of the old count. Bohus and Julie observe the locals on the main square: young people coming out of the church, and the schoolmaster Benda with his daughter Terinka who is being courted by the conceited burgrave Filip. Terinka, however, only has eyes for the young gamekeeper Jiri. Jealous of the burgrave’s attentions, Jiri directs a derisory song at Filip, who now thinks only of revenge. Meanwhile, Bohus and Julie are presumed to be foreigners and arouse suspicion. At that moment the old count arrives in the square with his nephew Adolf, whom he declares as his heir.

ACT TWO:
In the classroom, schoolmaster Benda is rehearsing a ceremonial cantata with the children in honour of the new lord of the castle. Bohus and Julie seek refuge at Benda’s house. Filip the burgrave arrives to court Terinka and threatens to force his rival Jiri into the army. Then Adolf suddenly appears, who promises the burgrave a noble title if he catches the suspicious foreigners. Bohus reveals who he is in order to prevent further intrigues on the part of Adolf, but he is arrested and led away to the castle prison.

ACT THREE:
Benda and Julie go to the castle to see the old count. While Julie hides, Benda tries to convince the count to forgive his son. The count won’t listen to his pleas, so Julie decides to take action herself and, from her hiding place, sings an old lullaby which the countess used to sing to her son. The count is overcome with emotion and agrees to hear Julie out. She manages to exonerate Bohus in the eyes of the count, and proves that it was Adolf’s scheming which alienated them both. The count has Bohus ceremonially released from prison, he makes his peace with both his son and Julie, and also gives Terinka and Jiri his blessing.