The Excursions of Mr. Brouček to the Moon and to the 15th Century (Czech: Výlety páně Broučkovy) is the complete title of Leoš Janáček’s fifth opera, based on two Svatopluk Čech novels, Pravý výlet pana Broučka do Měsíce (1888) (The True Excursion of Mr. Brouček to the Moon) and Nový epochální výlet pana Broučka, tentokráte do XV. století (1889) ('‘The Epoch-making Excursion of Mr. Brouček, this time to the 15th Century'’). The librettists for Part 1 were František Gellner, Viktor Dyk, František Sarafínský Procházka and others, while Part 2 was written by F. S. Procházka.
This two-part satirical opera was premiered at the National Theatre in Prague on 23 April 1920, the only Janáček opera not premiered in Brno.
Mr. Brouček (translated as "Mr. Beetle" (literally little beetle)) is a Philistine landlord in Prague who experiences a series of fantastic events as he is swept away (due in large part to excessive drinking) first to the Moon and then to 15th-century Prague, during the Hussite uprising against the Holy Roman Empire in 1420 (see Synopsis). In both excursions, Brouček encounters characters who are transformed versions of his earthly acquaintances.
Due to the popularity of the original novels by the iconic Czech writer Svatopluk Čech the opera was met with much scrutiny. Janáček experienced a number of setbacks in the creation and rehearsal of the work, especially in dealing with librettists (See Background). The composer's aim in The Excursions of Mr. Brouček was apparently quite specific: "I want us to be disgusted with such people, to stamp on them and strangle them when we meet them," speaking of Brouček. Janáček's campaign, along with Čech's, was against the pettiness of the bourgeoisie, specifically of Czechoslovakia. However, according to Desmond Shawe-Taylor, who saw the opera performed in Czechoslovakia, most observers reacted with cheerful laughter and even felt a bit sorry for the poor fellow Brouček.
In the early 20th century, Janáček sought to write an opera based on Čech's novels; however, Čech outrightly denied him the rights to his stories. Janáček eventually put the project aside until Čech's death in 1908. At this time, Janáček was reminded of his previous desire to set the story and sent letters to Artuš Rektorys, a friend of his in Prague, asking him to check the availability of the rights now that Čech had died. Rektorys responded with news that Čech's family was hesitant to release the rights, but after hearing from Janáček himself, they agreed to give him sole use of the novels. It was performed by English National Opera at the London Coliseum in 1978 directed by Colin Graham, and again in 1992 in a David Pountney production conducted by Sir Charles Mackerras; and by Opera North at the Grand Theatre Leeds in October 2009, in a production by John Fulljames.
Although it had received a concert performance by the San Francisco Opera Ensemble on 23 January 1981, six performances were given, of which one was videotaped and televised in December. Another 15 years passed until its first professionally staged American performance at the Spoleto Festival U.S.A. in 1996.
The stage premiere of the Ur-version of Brouček (without the excursion to the 15th century) took place at the Janáček Theatre Brno on 19 November 2010 as part of the Janáček Biennale, conducted by Jaroslav Kyzlink, with Jaroslav Březina in the title role.
Roles
{| class="wikitable"
!Role – In Prague (1888)
!Role – On the Moon
!Role – In Prague (1420)
!Voice type
!Premiere Cast, 23 April 1920<br>(Conductor: – Otakar Ostrčil)
|-
|Matěj Brouček, a landlord
|Matěj Brouček
|Matěj Brouček
|Tenor
|Mirko Štork
|-
|Mazal, a painter
|Blankytný, Azurean
|Petřík, Pete
|Tenor
|Miloslav Jeník
|-
|Sakristán, Sacristan
|Lunobor, Lunigrove
|Domšík od Zvonu<br> (Domšík from the Bell)
|Bass-Baritone
|Vilém Zítek
|-
|Málinka, his daughter
|Etherea, lunar goddess
|Kunka, his daughter
|Soprano
|Ema Miřiovská
|-
|Würfl, a bartender
|Čaroskvoucí, Wonderglitter
|Kostka, konšel, councillor
|Bass
|Václav Novák
|-
|Číšníček, Young waiter at bar
|Zázračné dítě, Child prodigy
|Žák, Student
|Soprano
|
|-
|Fanny, Housekeeper
|Nourishing Minister
|Františka / Kedruta
|Mezzo-soprano
|
|-
|Skladatel, Composer
|Harfoboj, Harper
|Miroslav, zlatník, the goldsmith
|Tenor
|
|-
| Básník, Poet
| Oblačný, Cloudy
| Vacek Bradatý<br> (Vacek the Bearded)
|Baritone
|
|-
|
|
|Svatopluk Čech
|Baritone
|
|-
|Guests at "Vikárka"
|Delegates of the Moon
|Armed Citizens
|Chorus
|-
|Spectators
|Moonwomen
|People, Children
|Chorus
|}
Synopsis
Part 1: The Excursions of Mr. Brouček to the Moon
Scene 1
Mr. Matěj Brouček is a rather unkempt drunken landlord in late 19th-century Prague. On a moonlit night in 1888, Mr. Brouček stumbles down Vikárka street after a drinking binge at the Hradčany tavern. In his impaired state, he encounters Málinka. She is upset and dramatically suicidal after discovering that her lover, Mazál (who happens to be one of Brouček's tenants) has been cheating on her. In an ill-advised attempt to calm Málinka, Brouček agrees to marry her. He quickly realizes the error in this and retracts his offer, leaving Málinka to return to her bohemian lover. Brouček decides he has had enough of this stress and dreams of a more relaxed life on the Moon.
Scene 2
Brouček is quickly disillusioned by what he finds in his lunar paradise. He "lands" in the middle of an avant-garde colony of lunar artists and intellectuals, whom the uncultured Brouček clearly despises. He finds himself in the home of an avant-garde artist, Blankytny (a parallel character to Mazál). Blankytny sings a heartfelt ode of platonic love to the lunar maiden, Etherea. Example 1 (see Musical examples below) shows a motif from Brouček and illustrates some alterations of the same motif. Example 2 is another motif used in the opera. Janáček often employs short musical phrases that extend beyond his unique definition of a motif, creating what Cooper calls a motive. – Janáček
</blockquote>
It is well known that Janáček's music was greatly influenced by the nature and sounds of Czech speech and language. One may begin to clearly recognize this influence as it appears in the relationship between the musical motif and Czech words. For example, when a word in Czech changes tense, it often changes the sound of the vowel in that word, paralleling Janáček's contour alteration of a short motif. Also, in Czech, the first syllable of a word is stressed, allowing distinction of each word by the beginning sound. The avoidance of ending a motif on the downbeat could be seen as analogous to the fact that Czech speech avoids stress on any syllable other than the first. Third, the final syllable of a Czech word is to receive full value without changing the pitch or weakening the sound. This closely relates to Janáček's idea of maintaining a single dynamic in his motifs. Janáček also had a strong interest in the melody of speech (see quote above): intonation, stress, length, and pitch.
Musical ideas in the opera
The introduction to Part 1 is not unlike many of Janáček's opera introductions, preludes, or overtures. Made up of several short musical items and motives that will show up later in the opera, the music is propelled by the abrupt juxtaposition of these ideas, which often come in a different order than they will appear throughout the opera proper. There are three melodies of importance in the introduction to Part 1 of Brouček. The first is a light, rhythmically uncertain figure (Example 4) that leads to quickly to the stocky bassoon melody (Example 5), which is a caricature of Brouček. This melody appears many times subsequently and in different forms. The third is the tender melody first introduced by the flute and violins (Example 3), which represents the young lovers Málinka and Mazal. This melody is also altered several times, and there is an allusion to Blankytný (= Mazal) and Etherea (= Málinka) on the moon. All three motives are present in the closing moments of Part 1, an orchestral interlude that brings Brouček back to earth from his dream.
Throughout The Excursion to the Moon, Janáček makes extensive use of waltzes and waltz-like melodies, which were apparently misheard by the Russian composer Dmitri Kabalevsky, who considered them "à la Strauss". Even from the opening of the opera, faint allusions of a waltz can be heard between statements of the light 2/4 melody. The prelude dissolves into the opening scene, which begins with the bickering of Málinka and Mazal set to a waltz. A fantastic example of a waltz as a parody is the Child Prodigy's singing of the moon anthem, which actually is a spoof of the Czech national song. The "audience" within the opera hears it as a serious patriotic anthem, while the opera house audience perceives it as a parody anthem. Janáček uses the music of a waltz at the end of the first dream to break the tension of the Moon population's threats against Brouček and help resolve the plot. Many other waltzes can be found in the first part of the opera, some more deliberate than others, and Janáček made very purposeful use of each one as a device to aid in communicating unspoken, often satirical content. Though Janáček frequently uses the waltz in an ironic or parodic light, they seem to flow and function entirely within the musical framework of the opera. according to Cooper. Though the listener may not easily recognize the frequent use of the pitch A♭/G♯ as it is clouded by different harmonies, the single pitch plays a crucial role in connecting differing ideas throughout Part 2. Example 8 points to an ill-tempered Brouček leaping up to Ab on his main point. Later in Part 2, as Brouček pleads for mercy during his condemnation scene, he explains that he "wasn't born yet," and that he is "a son of the future," both ending on A♭ (Example 9).
Critical reception
Due to the brevity of his motifs and the way Janáček made use of them and their derivatives, a listener may have difficulty finding something to grasp in the music. Without some study of the score, the logic of his use of motifs and their developments are not aurally so apparent. For this reason, even the well-informed Dmitri Kabalevsky found little in Brouček of which he could sedulously approve.
Some critics have also pointed out that the Moon excursion has a basic flaw in the plot: there is no real "hero" to balance out Brouček, who is the "villain" on the Moon. Richard Bradshaw, who conducted the professional premiere in the United States, said of Brouček, "The two ‘excursions’ have been described as one flawed masterpiece made up of two operas."
Recordings
- Fritz Wunderlich, Kurt Böhme, Wilma Lipp, Kieth Engen, Antonie Fahberg, Lilian Benningsen, Paul Kuen, Karl Ostertag, Bayerisches Staatsorchester, Chor der Bayerischen Staatsoper, Joseph Keilberth, conductor; 19 November 1959, live recording, Orfeo-C354942I (German): 1994.
- Bohumír Vích, Libuše Domanínská, Helena Tattermuschová, Ivo Žídek, Milan Karpíšek, Beno Blachut, Karel Berman, Přemysl Kočí, Orchestra and Chorus of the Prague National Theatre; Václav Neumann, conductor, Supraphon SUA ST 50531/3 (LP issue): 1962.
- Vilém Přibyl, Richard Novák, Karel Hanuš, Libuše Márová, Jaroslav Tománek, Miroslav Švejda, Vladimír Krejčík, Jiří Olejníček, Jaroslav Souček, Jana Jonášová, Jiřina Marková, Bohuslav Maršík; Czech Philharmonic Orchestra and Chorus; František Jílek, conductor; Supraphon 1116 3291-3: 1980.
- Jan Vacík, Peter Straka, Roman Janál, Maria Haan, Zdeněk Plech, BBC Singers, BBC Symphony Orchestra; Jiří Bělohlávek, conductor; Deutsche Grammophon 477 7387: 2008.
- Jaroslav Březina, Aleš Briscein, Doubravka Součková, František Zahradníček, Alžběta Poláčková, Jiří Sulženko, Roman Janál, Josef Moravec, Prague National Theatre Chorus & Orchestra, Jaroslav Kyzlink; Supraphon SU 4339-2, recorded 2020
Musical examples
<gallery>
Image:Janacek_Example_1.jpg|Example 1
Image:Janacek_Example_2.jpg|Example 2
Image:Janacek_Example_3.jpg|Example 3
Image:Janacek_Example_4.jpg|Example 4
Image:Janacek_Example_5.jpg|Example 5
Image:Janacek_Example_6.jpg|Example 6
Image:Janacek_Example_7.jpg|Example 7
Image:Janacek_Example_8.jpg|Example 8
Image:Janacek_Example_9.jpg|Example 9
</gallery>
References
;Notes
;Sources
- Beckerman, Michael. "In Search of Czechness in Music." 19th-Century Music, Vol. 10, No. 1. 1986: University of California Press. 61–73.
- Chisholm, Erik. The Operas of Leoš Janáček. Oxford, New York: Pergamon Press, 1971.
- Cooper, Constance. Janáček’s Techniques of Unification in the Mature Operas, Princeton University, Ph.D. Dissertation, 2003.
- Holden, Amanda, The New Penguin Opera Guide, New York and London: Penguin Puttnam and Penguin Books, 2001
- Hollander, Hans, and Theodore Baker. "Leoš Janáček and His Operas." The Musical Quarterly, Vol. 15, No. 1. 1929: Oxford University Press. 29–36.
- Horsbrugh, Ian. Leoš Janáček, The Field That Prospered. Newton Abbot: David & Charles; New York, N.Y.: Scribner's, 1981.
- Shawe-Taylor, Desmond. "The Operas of Leoš Janáček." Proceedings of the Royal Musical Association, 85th Sess. (1958–1959): 49–64.
- Simeone, Nigel. The Excursions of Mr. Brouček. CD Liner notes. BBC Symphony Orchestra. Deutsche Grammophon, 2007.
- Tyrrell, John, "Excursions of Mr Brouček, The," In The New Grove Dictionary of Opera, edited by Stanley Sadie, Grove Music Online, Oxford Music Online,
- Tyrrell, John. Janáček's Operas: A Documentary Account. London: Faber and Faber Limited, 1992.
- Vogel, Jaroslav. Leoš Janáček, His Life and Works. Translated from Czech by Geraldine Thomsen-Muchová. London: P. Hamlyn, 1962.
Arrangements
- Arrangement suitable for Opera
- arrangement for new German libretto
- arrangement by: Karlheinz Gutheim
- performed by: Soloists, Bavarian State Opera Orchestra, co Joseph Keilberth
- Arrangement suitable for Opera
- arrangement for orchestral suite from the opera
- arrangement by: Jaroslav Smolka and Jiří Zahrádka
- performed by: Prague Symphony Orchestra, co Jiří Bělohlávek
- Arrangement suitable for Opera
- arrangement for orchestral suite from the opera
- arrangement by: Peter Breiner
- performed by: New Zealand Symphony Orchestra, co Peter Breiner