This was the first (and, so far, only) recording of Dvorak's charming village comedy—for the Jacobin of the title is not here a political activist but a young man, Bohus, returning from exile in Paris to his stuffy old father, Count Vilem. The sub-plots include all manner of misunderstandings, and set in the middle of them is the touching figure of Benda, the fussy, rather pedantic but wholly moving music-master. Dvorak is known to have had in mind his own boyhood teacher Antonin Liehmann, whose daughter gives her name, Terinka, to Benda's daughter.
Beno Blachut celebrated his sixty-fourth birthday during the making of this set. His was a long career, as well as one of great distinction; he is still well able to get round the lines of this part, and gives an affecting picture of the old musician, never more so than in the rehearsing of the welcome ode. This is an idea that has cropped up in opera before, but it is charmingly handled here. Vaclav Zitek sings Bohus pleasantly and Marcela Machotkova trips away lightly as Julie. Vilem Pribyl sounds at less than his most energetic, though his voice is in good fettle; and there is some lack of drive from Jiri Pinkas, who might have done more to relish the often witty touches in Dvorak's scoring. Never mind: this revived version of a delightful piece can be safely recommended to those who missed it on LP in 1980. There is a full libretto, with translations into French, German and rather stilted English. '