It is not hard to point to the defects of Smetana's first opera; they cannot be denied, but especially in a vigorous, committed performance such as this, which makes emotional sense of gestures that often look rather tame on paper, they can be happily accepted. The best of the work is remarkably original: but Smetana also handles with a good deal of verve the parts that are evidently not original. He calls in help from Italian opera and the concertato convention for the cumulative finale to Act 1, but sets it splendidly to service; reinforcements are summoned from France for choral prayers, but the Parisian Grand Opera example is transcended in some of the finest set pieces in the work as the chorus becomes the Bohemian people and the orchestra adds subtle, flexible dramatic comment.
Given the fact that the opera was the first fruit of the prize offered by Count Harrach so as to find the new Czech Provisional Theatre a repertory, it is natural for the plot to be patriotic. It deals with a thirteenth-century struggle when Bohemia was occupied by the forces of Brandenburg, and with some of the personal tragedies that ensued. These centre on the plight of Ludise, sung with a good feeling for the lyrical line of her music by Milada Subrtova, who is abducted by a Prague burgher with the suitably mercenary name of Tausendmark. His part is uncertainly written, and Zdenek Otava does his best to suggest villainy out of slightly indistinct material: Smetana gives him a lyrical aria without having the experience to make this enlarge his character rather than confuse it (in fairness, this was under pressure from the singer). The hero and Ludise's lover is Junos, sung with a fine ardour by Ivo Zidek, and the Prague 'beggar king' Jira is nicely handled by Bohumil Vich.
The recording also has shortcomings which are worth bearing with. Made in 1963, it cannot easily accommodate the choruses which are so important, and there are places where the interaction of orchestra and voices is dramatically ineffective. Jan Hus Tichy clearly has a strong feeling for the work, as does the entire cast, but there are slips in ensemble. However, this reissue of a long-vanished set is a very welcome collectors' item, especially since performances, even in Czechoslovakia, are rare.'