Mariken de Nimègue
Bohuslav Martinů:
MARIKEN DE NIMÈGUE, H 236 2/I
The Bohuslav Martinů Complete Edition I/1/4
Edited by Pavel Žůrek
Libretto: Henri Ghéon
Language of the work: French
BA 10587-01, cloth bond score (25,5 x 32,5 cm)
· Third opera volume of the scholarly-critical edition
· Previously unpublished first version of the opera in French – with considerable differences to the second and final version of the work in Czech
· Detailed preface and critical commentary by the editor (English/Czech)
· Facsimiles section presenting important sources
This volume was also supported by Mr. Henk Goossen (cee tax management, s.r.o.).
Bohuslav Martinů composed the one-act opera Mariken de Nimègue based on a medieval Dutch Marian miracle during his stay in Paris in 1933 to a French text by Henri Ghéon. This is the unpublished and unperformed first version of the opera. The second and final version was created in 1934, which Martinů included in his Czech-language opera cycle Hry o Marii (The Plays of Mary), H 236. The reason for creating the second version was therefore the need to adapt the music to the Czech translation of Vilém Závada's libretto. The first version of the opera differs from the Czech version largely in the orchestration, the setting of the French text and the extensive original musical material, which Martinů no longer used in the second version.
The foreword describes the complicated genesis and fate of the first version of the opera, including the composer's difficulties in finding a suitable librettist. Martinů had originally intended the Czech poet Vítezslav Nezval to be the librettist (a complete sketch of Nezval's libretto can be found in the “Documents” section).
The selected facsimile pages of the autograph score and the vocal score document the composer's cuts and complicated passages in the edition. The Critical Commentary presents all the music and text sources relevant to the edition, including their evaluation.