The Two Widows

The Two Widows is a two-act Czech opera by Bedřich Smetana based on the libretto of Emanuel Züngel. The libretto is based on Jean Pierre Felicien Mallefille's one-act play Les deux veuves. The opera was composed between June 1873 and January 1874, and its premiere took place on 27 March 1874 at the Prague Czech Theatre under the direction of Smetana. However, this premiere was not successful and the opera was rewritten in 1874. The spoken dialogue was replaced by through-composed recitatives and some of the music and characters were reworked. The second premiere on 20 October 1874 was very successful. A further revised version was premiered on 17 March 1878, under Adolf Čech.

For a later performance in Hamburg in 1882 "Smetena reluctan[t]ly added a trio in act 1 and an alternative ending to Agnes' aria in act 2, and consented to a redivision of the opera into three acts".

Performance history
The US premiere took place in New York on 23 October 1949 and it was first given in the UK on 17 June 1963 at the Guildhall School of Music.

Kurt Honolka provided a German version in 1958.

The opera was presented by Scottish Opera in 2008 at the Edinburgh Festival.

Synopsis

 * Place: A castle in Bohemia (Czech Republic).

Act 1
At the castle, people are celebrating. The two widows, Caroline and Agnes, are sisters but are very different personalities. Caroline, the wealthy owner, is happy about her liberty and independence, while Agnes cannot make friends because she is still in mourning. Caroline is being pursued by Ladislaus, but does not want to marry him, so she conspires to make Agnes fall in love with him. Caroline invites Ladislaus to the castle, where he is arrested by Mumlal, the gamekeeper. Ladislaus is condemned by Caroline to one day's house arrest in the castle, and accepts the punishment. Agnes still shows no interest in him. At the end of the act, Lidka (Mumlal's daughter) and her suitor Toník, with the chorus, sing about love.

Act 2
While in prison, Ladislaus sings a love song, which awakens romantic feelings in Agnes. However, learning of Caroline's scheme and Ladislaus's confession, she will not show weakness. Only when Caroline begins to flirt with Ladislaus does Agnes admits her feelings for him. Mumlal cannot keep Lidka and Toník apart. At the ball, both couples become engaged.

Recordings

 * 1956, Jaroslav Krombholc (conductor), Prague National Theatre Orchestra and Chorus; Drahomíra Tikalová, Ivo Žídek, Maria Tauberová, Miloslava Fidlerová, Antonín Zlesák, Eduard Haken
 * 1974, Jaroslav Krombholc (conductor), Symphony Orchestra and Chorus of the Prague Radio; Jana Jonášová, Marcela Machotková, Miroslav Švejda, Dalibor Jedlička, Alfred Hampel, Daniela Šounová-Brouková
 * 1975, František Jílek (conductor), Prague National Theatre Chorus and Orchestra; Naďa Šormová, Marcela Machotková, Jiří Zahradníček, Jaroslav Horáček, Zdeněk Švehla, Daniela Šounová