# Dvorak's neglected masterpiece "Dimitrij"



## MosmanViolinist (Nov 10, 2015)

I am very fortunate to be in possession of a copy of the full score for this marvellous opera. One Dvorak revised (no other of his operas did he do this with). It is an amazingly rich work, which calls for his standard orchestral forces seen in the symphonies, plus one harp. However, it uses very large choral forces, including two SATB choirs, and a couple of smaller choirs. Wonderful roles for the hero, Dimitrj, a tenor soprano, Xenia. 

I am currently working on a full score edition of this work, with an English translation. It's a labour of love (pardon my Aussie spelling!).

There is only one complete recording of this work, as far as I can glean. It is a good one, too, with Gerd Albrecht and the Czech Philharmonic.


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## Guest (Nov 10, 2015)

Agreed about both _Dmitrij_ and about Albrecht's recording.

But I would say that one could easily say that all of Dvorak's operas are neglected. Sure _Rusalka_ gets a little bit of love, but mostly for one aria.

Which is particularly ironic as Dvorak thought of himself as an opera composer.


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## MosmanViolinist (Nov 10, 2015)

Hi some guy, yes, you are spot on. I also love Armida, very hard to find a full score for my collection.


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## superhorn (Mar 23, 2010)

Mosman, I have the excellent Supraphon recording of Armida conducted by the late Gerd Albrecht , a live recording of I believe, a concert performance . I don't know if it's still available, but check arkivmusic.com , the best place on the internet for hard to find classical CDs .
Albrecht, who died last year in his late 70s, has put fans of obscure but interesting operas everywhere in his debt for recording so many of them .


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## Pugg (Aug 8, 2014)

some guy said:


> Agreed about both _Dmitrij_ and about Albrecht's recording.
> 
> But I would say that one could easily say that all of Dvorak's operas are neglected. Sure _Rusalka_ gets a little bit of love, but mostly for one aria.
> 
> Which is particularly ironic as Dvorak thought of himself as an opera composer.


It's a bloody shame, Rusalka is a wonderful piece, much underrated


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## superhorn (Mar 23, 2010)

Actually , Rusalka has finally become an established part of the operatic repertoire, and it has been performed with great success at opera houses everywhere, including the Met.
Dvorak's comic opera "The Devil & Kate" is great fun and is one of the best and funniest comic operas .
There are two Supraphon recordings, with K+Jiri Pinkas and Zdenek Chalabala conducting , and a DVD in English from the Wexford festival in Ireland .
Do get this DVD ! You can see the audience having a blast ! You will too !


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## Guest (Nov 11, 2015)

Well, if I'm actually wrong about Rusalka, I'm glad.

And what would make me really happy would be to be wrong about all the other operas as well.

Maybe not all of them could become established parts of the repertoire, but certainly _Dmitrij_ and _Armida_ and _The Devil and Kate_ would be front-runners in this goal.

I've had all of them for many years and have enjoyed each one thoroughly.


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## MosmanViolinist (Nov 10, 2015)

G'day superhorn, yes, I too own that one. I really love it, too. There are some superb fanfares for the four orchestral trumpets, if only I could find a full score of it.


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## MosmanViolinist (Nov 10, 2015)

Hey some guy. Yes, I agree. the Devil and Kate is a funny work AND the only piece where Dvorak used a contrabass clarinet. I'm fortunate to own full scores of it, plus the Jacobin (which is a great work too), plus, as I said Dmitrij. Of course Rusalka is a terrific opera, damned tricky for the strings (like most of Dvorak's writting). He was, afterall, a viola player in an opera Orchestra in Prague.


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## MosmanViolinist (Nov 10, 2015)

Here is one page of the full score of Dimitrij, SATB chorus (Poles), SATB chorus (Russians), TB chorus (Priests) plus five soloists, this is taken from near the start of Act 3.


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## gardibolt (May 22, 2015)

Thanks for the tip; I like Dvorak generally and it's good to have a solid recommendation for a piece I'm not familiar with.


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## MosmanViolinist (Nov 10, 2015)

gardibolt said:


> Thanks for the tip; I like Dvorak generally and it's good to have a solid recommendation for a piece I'm not familiar with.


I hope you enjoy this opera, I wish the Supraphon recording was still available, Czech Philharmonic ... you could PM me if it is not, I might be able to help out.


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## Woodduck (Mar 17, 2014)

The Jacobin is delightful too. I always grin when I hear that wonderful children's chorus, the melody of which is clearly a take-off on "Home on the Range," which Dvorak must have heard in America.


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## gardibolt (May 22, 2015)

MosmanViolinist said:


> I hope you enjoy this opera, I wish the Supraphon recording was still available, Czech Philharmonic ... you could PM me if it is not, I might be able to help out.


I ordered a copy off Amazon for $10 so I'm set.


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## MosmanViolinist (Nov 10, 2015)

gardibolt said:


> I ordered a copy off Amazon for $10 so I'm set.


Oh my gosh, I can't wait to hear what you think of it, I love it; sooooooo dramatic and tuneful.


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## MosmanViolinist (Nov 10, 2015)

Woodduck said:


> The Jacobin..."Home on the Range,"...Dvorak must have heard in America.


I don't remember hearing this, or rather, noticing it. I do own the full score and a couple of different recording of this little treasure. I'll certainly drag it out and listen again.


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## gardibolt (May 22, 2015)

Just came in the mail yesterday (I love Amazon's deal with the USPS to deliver on Sundays!!) but my computer crashed so I unfortunately had to spend the evening dealing with that instead of listening to it. But it's in my hot little hands.


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## MosmanViolinist (Nov 10, 2015)

There is nothing WORSE than when a time allotted to listening to music is purloined by tedium.


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## Guest (Nov 18, 2015)

I can think of one thing worse.

When tedium is accepted prematurely as a permanent characteristic of the object, not as a possibly temporary glitch in the relationship between object and subject.

There are two solutions. One is to switch to something else. The other is to persist with the putatively boring piece until it becomes interesting. Either of these will fix the problem of boredom. Only the latter will fix oneself.


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## gardibolt (May 22, 2015)

Listening to it now; it's quite good. I didn't realize it was about the False Dimitri, so it's basically a more sympathetic take on Boris Godunov. Fascinating period of history and certainly one that can support multiple operas.


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## Orfeo (Nov 14, 2013)

I'm listening to this opera right now via YouTube (an order (1914) recording cond. by Nedbal), and it is very well written. Interesting how the overture reminds me of Goldmark's overture to "Merlin." That said I can see the influences of Meyerbeer and Smetana more than Mussorgsky and the Russian Nationalists. A really fine work that points to Fibich's Sarka.
-->


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## SixFootScowl (Oct 17, 2011)

gardibolt said:


> Listening to it now; it's quite good. I didn't realize it was about the False Dimitri, *so it's basically a more sympathetic take on Boris Godunov*. Fascinating period of history and certainly one that can support multiple operas.


It seems from the synopsis on the *Wikipedia page for this opera* that Dimitrij is more of a sequel to Boris:



> After the death of Boris, the Russian people are split between the followers of the Godunov family (led by Shuisky) whilst others (led by General Basmanov) support Dmitrij, assumed son of Ivan the Terrible and husband to the Polish Marina of the Sandomir family...


And curiously, there is *a 5CD set with both operas*.


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## Jacck (Dec 24, 2017)

Antonín Dvořák - Dimitrij_1995_Praha


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## SixFootScowl (Oct 17, 2011)

some guy said:


> Sure _Rusalka_ gets a little bit of love, but mostly for one aria.





> Like "Rusalka," "Dimitrij" is known for a prominent soprano aria. But whereas the former opera's "Song to the Moon" is a solitary utterance, the aria for Marina, the Polish woman who has married Dimitrij for the sake of power rather than love, is backed by vigorous choral writing, with the Poles celebrating their victory in roisterous mazurka rhythms and the Russian crowd keening their disapproval in strains that echo music of the Russian Orthodox Church.


https://www.newyorker.com/magazine/2017/07/31/an-opera-of-russias-brutal-history


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