The source critical edition of Józef Elsner’s famous opera „Król Łokietek, czyli Wiśliczanki” [King Ladislaus the Elbow-High or The Peasant Girls of Wiślica]. The work was first staged at Warsaw National Theatre on 3 April 1818, and was...
moreThe source critical edition of Józef Elsner’s famous opera „Król Łokietek, czyli Wiśliczanki” [King Ladislaus the Elbow-High or The Peasant Girls of Wiślica]. The work was first staged at Warsaw National Theatre on 3 April 1818, and was shown later, among others, in Lviv, Cracow, Vilnius, Poznan, Lublin, Kiev and Chernivtsi. Over ten years after its premiere Niccolò Paganini (1782-1840), the eminent Italian violin virtuoso, composed variations on the mazurka from Elsner’s opera (i.e. „Tema con 7 variazioni”, as a 3rd movement of „Sonata ‘Varsavia’ per violino e orchestra in A major”). Throughout its long stage history the work acquired a rich and multi-layered set of literary, historical, and political contexts.
The edition is based on the unique autograph of the orchestral score (PL-Wn Mus. 91/1, olim akc. 6313) and the first printed edition of the libretto. The volume is preceded with comprehensive scholarly introduction and contains extensive critical commentary.
