The Good Soldier Schweik: Complete Opera by Robert Kurka (1921-1957)

Track Listings
Disc: 1
1. Overture    
2. Dami a Pani!    
3. So they killed Ferdinand!    
4. We're having a very fine summer    
5. Pantomime Dance    
6. Good evening, gentlemen, I hope you're all well    
7. Good evening, ev'rybody, it's been a lovely day    
8. We're all in a hell of a mess    
9. It's great fun    
10. The ego and the Id    
See all 18 tracks on this disc
Disc: 2
1. Prelude (March)    
2. O-o-oh!    
3. Just look at me    
4. Achtung!    
5. Aha, rheumatism!    
6. Baroness von Botzenheim    
7. I always thought the army    
8. Okay, let's pray    
9. Why bless my soul    
10. Well, schweik, how'd things go today?    
See all 25 tracks on this disc

Editorial Reviews
Amazon.com
Robert Kurka was a Chicago-area composer of Czech ancestry who, fortunately for us, finished his magnum opus, The Good Soldier Schweik, just before he died at the age of 36 in 1957. It's a fantastic romp, a delight from start to finish. Kurka's brilliant score preserves the bite and the hilarity of Jaroslav Hasek's satiric novel of World War I, whose hero is a symbol of survival in a world gone mad. Kurka's musical models are the sardonic stage works of Kurt Weill and the biting Stravinsky of L'Histoire du Soldat, with a dollop of traditional Czech dances, American blues, and 1930s jazz thrown in, all to exhilarating effect.

The orchestra is an outstanding wind and percussion band, their many solo turns played to perfection and the bright sonorities perfectly complementing the stage action; strings aren't missed at all. Good tunes abound, since Kurka was driven to communicate, not to illustrate abstract compositional theories. The uniformly excellent cast is led by tenor Jason Collins in the title role. He's on stage almost all the time and has the voice and the acting ability (even unseen) to make the character and his many absurd situations come alive. Collins's Schweik is the embodiment of pure innocence, and he sings with a warm, colorful timbre. Everyone in the topnotch supporting cast doubles and triples roles. Schweik is an important opera, and this recording should convince any doubters. If you like Kurt Weill, you'll love this. Enjoy! --Dan Davis

The Good Soldier Schweik: Complete Opera by Robert Kurka (1921-1957), Music, Robert Kurka, Jason Collins, Marc Embree, Kelli Harrington, Alexander Platt, Chicago Opera Theater, Classical, Classical Music, Opera / Operetta / Oratorio, Opera/Operetta
The Good Soldier Schweik: Complete Opera by Robert Kurka (1921-1957)
Average customer rating: 5 out of 5 stars
  • Excellent.
  • Every Dog Has His Day -- & At Last Kurka's "Schweik" Has His
 The Good Soldier Schweik: Complete Opera by Robert Kurka (1921-1957)
Robert Kurka , Jason Collins , Alexander Platt , and Chicago Opera Theater
Manufacturer: Cedille
ProductGroup: Music
Binding: Audio CD

GeneralGeneral | Opera & Vocal | Styles | Music
OperettasOperettas | Opera & Vocal | Styles | Music
GeneralGeneral | Classical | Styles | Music
ASIN: B000066SGC
Release Date: 2002-05-21

Tracks:

  1. Overture
  2. Dami a Pani!
  3. So they killed Ferdinand!
  4. We're having a very fine summer
  5. Pantomime Dance
  6. Good evening, gentlemen, I hope you're all well
  7. Good evening, ev'rybody, it's been a lovely day
  8. We're all in a hell of a mess
  9. It's great fun
  10. The ego and the Id
  11. I never felt so good
  12. Furiant
  13. Achtung!
  14. Who will go to the war when it comes?
  15. Have they ever examined the state of your mind?
  16. Mrs Muller!
  17. Oh, the gen'rals
  18. To Belgrade!

Tracks:

  1. Prelude (March)
  2. O-o-oh!
  3. Just look at me
  4. Achtung!
  5. Aha, rheumatism!
  6. Baroness von Botzenheim
  7. I always thought the army
  8. Okay, let's pray
  9. Why bless my soul
  10. Well, schweik, how'd things go today?
  11. Fox! Fox! Come here boy
  12. Sextet
  13. So you let one of our trunks get stolen
  14. What happened?
  15. Dear Madame
  16. Come in!
  17. Schweik!
  18. Fill up and drink up and fill up again
  19. Polka
  20. Sixteen Soprony, Madame Kakonyi
  21. Well, Scweik
  22. Wait for the ragged soldiers
  23. Now we go to the right
  24. I'll take a quiet road
  25. Schweik, Schweik, where did he go?

Amazon.com

Robert Kurka was a Chicago-area composer of Czech ancestry who, fortunately for us, finished his magnum opus, The Good Soldier Schweik, just before he died at the age of 36 in 1957. It's a fantastic romp, a delight from start to finish. Kurka's brilliant score preserves the bite and the hilarity of Jaroslav Hasek's satiric novel of World War I, whose hero is a symbol of survival in a world gone mad. Kurka's musical models are the sardonic stage works of Kurt Weill and the biting Stravinsky of L'Histoire du Soldat, with a dollop of traditional Czech dances, American blues, and 1930s jazz thrown in, all to exhilarating effect.

The orchestra is an outstanding wind and percussion band, their many solo turns played to perfection and the bright sonorities perfectly complementing the stage action; strings aren't missed at all. Good tunes abound, since Kurka was driven to communicate, not to illustrate abstract compositional theories. The uniformly excellent cast is led by tenor Jason Collins in the title role. He's on stage almost all the time and has the voice and the acting ability (even unseen) to make the character and his many absurd situations come alive. Collins's Schweik is the embodiment of pure innocence, and he sings with a warm, colorful timbre. Everyone in the topnotch supporting cast doubles and triples roles. Schweik is an important opera, and this recording should convince any doubters. If you like Kurt Weill, you'll love this. Enjoy! --Dan Davis

Album Description

More than four decades after its 1958 debut, American composer Robert Kurka's hilarious, satirical opera The Good Soldier Schweik returns to active duty with a complete, world premiere recording on Cedille Records.

Based on Jaroslav Hasek's classic Czech novel of the same name, Schweik lampoons World War I era Europe through a musical score infused with dances, marches, ballads, jazz, and Weill-esque cabaret.

"Think of a manic hybrid between 'Mahagonny,' 'Wozzeck,' and 'Catch 22,' as staged by the Marx Brothers -- that's 'Schweik'," writes the Chicago Tribune's John von Rhein.

This new 2-CD set captures all the wit and sparkle of the Chicago Opera Theater's March 2001 staging, which Opera News called a "triumph . . . it would be hard to imagine a more eminently likeable production." "Bravos to one and all," concurs the Chicago Tribune.

Customer Reviews:

5 out of 5 stars Excellent........2007-05-19

It is a pity that Robert Kurka died so young. THE GOOD SOLDIER SCHWEIK is a tremendous achievement and it is considerably more pleasant to listen to today than much of the avant-garde music of its time.
The only other problem is: this opera is too short. I could easily have listened to a much longer piece with great pleasure.

5 out of 5 stars Every Dog Has His Day -- & At Last Kurka's "Schweik" Has His.......2002-06-11

This long-overdue 1st recording of Robert Kurka's "The Good Soldier Schweik" (premiered by the New York City Opera in 1958) should win many new fans for the piece, both because of the many attractions of its wonderfully quirky score & for the strong performance it receives here. An opera with a big "underground" reputation, it surely deserved to be committed to disc just as much as the other works that the City Opera recorded back in the late 1950s & early 60s, such as Douglas Moore's "The Ballad of Baby Doe," Marc Blitzstein's "Regina" & Robert Ward's "The Crucible." Instead fans had to make do with a "pirate" tape in dim sound.
Now we have this bright, sharp version, with outstanding instrumental work under Alexander Platt's energetic leadership & a strong ensemble cast made up largely of young singers, some just out of professional apprentice programs, along with a helpful sprinkling of more seasoned performers -- baritone Marc Embree outstanding in 3 roles. As Schweik, tenor Jason Collins negotiates Kurka's sometimes awkward tessitura (very high/very low) with great skill, & holds center stage gracefully. My only reservation has to do with the small number of female voices for the 2 mixed chorus numbers in Act II: 1 soprano, 1 alto, 4 tenors & 4 baritones/basses hardly makes for a good balance.
Despite the long list of its musical ancestors - Weill, Stravinsky, Czech folk music, Gershwin, Copland, Bernstein, etc. - "Schweik" impresses as one-of-a-kind: the orchestral writing wonderful, the vocal perhaps less consistently so - but Kurka might have made adjustments had he lived to hear the piece on stage. The libretto by Lewis Allan works well, tho' the level of verbal wit & skill is variable, no match for (say) Blitzstein or John Latouche at their best. In the end, however, an opera stands or falls on the merits of its music, & "Schweik" definitely stands.
I've enjoyed getting to know "Schweik" in this committed & expert performance, & I think anyone interested in American opera & music theater will find it worth their while too. Congratulations & thanks to Chicago Opera Theater!

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