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.