View source for Viola (opera)

{{short description|19th-century opera fragment by Bedřich Smetana}}
{{Infobox opera
| name              = Viola
| genre_header      = Opera
| composer          = [[Bedřich Smetana]]
| image             = Smetana-old-age.jpg
| image_upright     = 0.9
| alt               = 
| caption           = The composer around 1883
| librettist        = [[Eliška Krásnohorská]]
| language          = Czech
| based_on          = [[William Shakespeare|Shakespeare]]'s play ''[[Twelfth Night]]''
| premiere_date     = {{Start date|1924|05|11|df=y}}
| premiere_location = [[National Theatre (Prague)|National Theatre]], Prague
}}
'''''Viola''''' is an unfinished romantic opera by [[Bedřich Smetana]]. The [[libretto]] was written by [[Eliška Krásnohorská]], and is based on [[William Shakespeare|Shakespeare]]'s play ''[[Twelfth Night]]''. The composer did some work on it in 1874 and then came back to it in 1883, when he only managed to [[orchestration|orchestrate]] a few scenes; the opera was left incomplete upon Smetana's death in 1884.

==Performance history==
A concert performance (of the unfinished work) was given on 15 March 1900<ref>{{Almanacco|dmy=15-03-1900|match=Viola}}</ref> and it was staged at the [[National Theatre (Prague)|Prague National Theatre]] on 11 May 1924.

==Roles==
{| class="wikitable"
|+{{sronly|Roles, voice types}}
!Role
!Voice type
|-
|Orsino, ''Duke of Illyria''
|[[tenor]]
|-
|Viola, ''twin sister to Sebastian''
|[[mezzo-soprano]]
|-
|Sebastian, ''twin brother to Viola''
|[[soprano]]
|-
|Olivie
|mezzo-soprano
|-
|Tobiáš
|[[baritone]]
|-
|Ondřej
|tenor
|-
|Malvolio
|baritone
|-
|Marie
|soprano
|-
|Šašek
|baritone
|-
|Antonio, ''a captain''
|[[bass (voice type)|bass]]
|-
|Marko, ''an old fisherman''
|bass
|-
|}

==Recordings==
* 1982, [[Zdeněk Košler]] (conductor), Prague National Theatre Orchestra and Chorus; Jiří Pokorný (Piano), Marie Veselá, Drahomíra Drobková, Dalibor Jedlička, Jaroslav Horáček, Miroslav Švejda, Karel Hanuš

==References==
<references />

==Further reading==
*{{cite encyclopedia|last=Tyrrell|first=John|authorlink=John Tyrrell (musicologist)|title=Smetana, Bedrich|encyclopedia=[[Grove Music Online]]|editor=Laura Macy|ref=none}} {{Subscription required}}

{{Bedřich Smetana|state=expanded}}
{{Twelfth Night}}
{{Portal bar|Opera}}
{{Authority control}}

{{DEFAULTSORT:Viola (Opera)}}
[[Category:Operas by Bedřich Smetana]]
[[Category:Czech-language operas]]
[[Category:operas]]
[[Category:Unfinished operas]]
[[Category:Operas based on works by William Shakespeare]]
[[Category:Works based on Twelfth Night]]
[[Category:1883 operas]]

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