FULL DALIBOR (Smetana) Annandale-on-Hudson 2025 Alfred Walker, John Matthew Myers, Eric Greene, Wei Wu

Information on the Performance

• Work Title: Dalibor   
• Composer: Smetana Bedrich  
• Libretto: Josef Wenzig, Ervin Špindler    Libretto Text, Libretto Index
• Venue & Opera Company: Sosnoff Theater, Fisher Center, Annandale-on-Hudson, Bard College  
• Recorded: July 30, August 1 & 3, 2025
• Type: Staged Opera Live
• Singers: Alfred Walker, John Matthew Myers, Eric Greene, Wei Wu, Terrence Chin-Loy, Cadie J. Bryan, Erica Petrocelli, Patrick Andrews, Aaron Theno
• Conductor: Leon Botstein  
• Orchestra: American Symphony Orchestra  
• Stage Director: Jean-Romain   
• Stage Designer: Bruno de Lavenère  
• Costume Designer: Alain Blanchot  
• Lighting Designer: Christophe Chaupin  

Information about the Recording

• Published by: Fisher Center  
• Date Published: 2025  
• Format: Streaming
• Quality Video: 4 Audio:4
• Subtitles: yessubs, ensubs  

• ADDITIONAL INFORMATION ON THIS PERFORMANCE

  PROGRAM LEAFLET

  Synopsis
  Time: 15th century
  Place: Prague

  Act 1
  Dalibor, a Czech knight is on trial before the king for having murdered the burgrave of Ploškovice in revenge for execution of his best friend, the musician Zdeněk. At the trial, the king calls upon the burgrave’s sister, Milada, who demands Dalibor’s execution. As Dalibor is brought in, the crowd rises in support of him. When Dalibor tells of his friend’s capture and murder the court reduces his sentence from death to lifetime imprisonment. Milada painfully realized that she is falling in love with Dalibor, and in collusion with Jitka, an orphan befriended by the knight, she resolves to set him free.

  Act 2
  After a scene in a mercenary camp, where Jitka and her lover Vítek plot to free Dalibor, Milada enters the prison disguised as a boy and finds employment with Dalibor’s jailer, Beneš. She charms the jailer into allowing her into the dungeon where Dalibor is being held to give him a violin similar to the one his friend used to play. The knight is dreaming and initially thinks Milada is a reincarnation of his beloved Zdeněk. Milada reveals her identity, seeks forgiveness, and explains the purpose of her mission. Then in a passionate duet, they sing of their joy in having found each other.

  Act 3
  In the dungeon, Dalibor looks forward to his escape (singing his famous “Song to Freedom”) but feels it is a bad omen when one of his violin strings breaks. A plot to bribe Beneš fails, and the jailer informs the king of the intended escape. Taking the advice of his council, the king orders Dalibor’s death. Milada, waiting outside the prison, hears the tolling of the bell that signals Dalibor’s execution. Accompanied by her followers, she storms the castle, where, after rescuing Dalibor, she is wounded and dies in his arms. Dalibor stabs himself and is united in death with his beloved.

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