Opernhaus Bratislava/Pressburg - Die lustigen Weiber von Windsor

Shakespeare is said to have wri t ten this comedy at the direct request of Queen Elisabeth, who wished to see the stout knight Falstaff, a minor character from Henry IV and Henry V, cast in the comical role of a befooled Don Juan.In a comedy that weaves together several storylines, Sir John Falstaff rose from being minor to main character. This is cer tainly no ordinary career in the history of theatre. The lovable adventurer and tavern idler, who has lost favour with the King, comes up with an incredible plan – to cour t two honest townswomen of Windsor, Mistress Ford and Mistress Page, at the same time, in order to seize the money of their fairly wealthy husbands. Besides overestimating his looks and underestimating his age, the vain Falstaff faces another slight problem – his plans are quickly discovered by both women, and even their husbands. The ladies want rightly to take revenge on Falstaff, and so – for appearance’s sake – both accept his offer. The womanising Falstaff falls into their trap over and over again, but in the last moment manages to escape the clutches of the jealous husband, who always only makes a fool of himself.

Running time: 3 hrs with one interval

program

Die lustigen Weiber von Windsor
Autor: William Shakespeare
Klassische Shakespeare-Komödie über den Weiberhelden Ritter Falstaff

Place

The Slovak National Theatre is the second oldest Slovak professional theatre. It has 3 ensembles (drama, opera and ballet). It was founded in 1920 after the creation of Czechoslovakia as a cooperative and became a state-run company in 1945. Between 1920 and 1945, there was also a musical ensemble. The Slovak National Theatre has represented Slovak culture on its numerous tours abroad.

It was created and, in the 1920s, also run by Czech artists (e.g. Oskar Nedbal, director during 1923-1930). The first performance was the Czech opera Hubička by Bedřich Smetana on March 1, 1920. The ensembles were Slovakized only gradually. In 1932, the drama ensemble split into the SNT Slovak Drama Company led by Janko Borodáč, and into the SNT Czech Drama Company, led by V. Šulc. The Czech Drama Company ceased to operate when it was forced to leave Slovakia in 1938. Since then, the drama ensemble has performed in Slovak only, but in the opera ensemble there were Czech artists even after 1945. In recent years, operas have been presented in their original languages.

Initially, all 3 ensembles were active at the old Slovak National Theatre building. From 1955 to early 2007, the drama company performed at the P. O. Hviezdoslav Theatre and from 1962 to (?)2006 also at a chamber theatre called Malá scéna SND (SNT Small Stage). Since 2007, the ensembles perform only at the old Slovak National Theatre building and the new Slovak National Theatre building opened in April, 2007.

The drama company was shaped by the directors Janko Borodáč, F. Hoffman, J. Jamnický, J.Budský, T. Rakovský, K. I. Zachary, P. Haspra, M. Pietor and the current one – Dušan Jamrich.

The opera ensemble was led by conductors such as Oskar Nedbal, K. Nedbal, J. Vincourek and T. Frešo, and directors including V. Šulc and M. Wasserbauer. The opera became known abroad under the leadership of Czech conductor Oskar Nedbal, who also introduced the first Slovak operas of Jozef Levoslav Bella and V. Figuš Bystrý, and under K. Nedbal, who improved the dramma programme. A great boom occurred after WWII. The SNT witnessed the rise of modern Slovak opera by Eugen Suchoň, Ján Cikker, Alexander Moyzes, Tibor Andrašovan, T. Frešo, and many others. Many singers from the SNT are famous abroad, e.g. Edita Grúberová, Lucia Popp, Peter Dvorský, R. Petrák, S. Kopčák, M. Hajóssyová, E. Jenisová, J. Galla, Jozef Kundlák, and many others.

The ballet ensemble has grown from a small group in 1920 to a huge ensemble today.