Stanislaw Moniuszko: The Raftsman - Opera In 1 Act

Description

Moniuszko made his way to Paris via Germany in the middle of a heatwave, a journey which not only took a month, but emptied his pockets also.

He was not impressed once he arrived either, stating that the
Parisian theatres were “splendid, but very untidily
maintained; the foyers are extremely narrow, […] The singers at Le grand opera are the worst, but at the Opera Comique they are exquisite […] The orchestra and choirs are excellent, but lower standard than in Germany.

These events allegedly gave rise to the legend of how the composer hid in a hotel in Rue de Gramont, closed all the shutters, lit the candelabra, set up his portable desk, and completed the score of his new opera The Raftsman, to a libretto by Stanis 322;aw Bogus 322;awski, in a mere four days. But in reality, if he indeed wrote anything in Paris, it was no more than a general outline of his ‘one-act piece from the Vistula valley'.

All this notwithstanding, the opera does bear the mark of haste. Moniuszko was eager to exploit the recent success of his Halka; especially so since General Ignacy Abramowicz, President of Warsaw’s Government Theatres, was planning to entrust the post of opera conductor to Moniuszko.

All the same, Moniuszko’s one-act opera drew the admiration of the audience on the night of the premiere (24th September 1858) and was received rather favourably by the contemporary critics.