Song from The Smith of Lešetín, B204

Opus number

N/A

Burghauser catalogue number

204

Premiere - date and place

1 May 2014, Ostrava

Premiere performer(s)

Tomáš Král, Martin Kasík

As far as can be determined from Dvořák’s surviving autograph, the composer intended to write a musical setting for the poem by Svatopluk Čech, The Smith of Lešetín, in the form of a short song cycle. However, Dvořák only composed a few stanzas and the work remained unfinished. In preparation for a printed edition, the musical setting was completed – making subtle use of Dvořák’s fragment – in 1911 by Josef Suk. The work was first performed in this form on 1 May 2014 at the Antonín Dvořák Theatre in Ostrava.