The history of Polish opera.

Abstract

Opera began in Poland soon after its origin in Italy in the early seventeenth century. Its importation was principally due to the enlightened efforts of King Wladyslaw IV, who, as Crown Prince, had traveled in Italy and had become a devotee of the new musical genre. He reigned from 1632 to 1648. Italian artists, musicians and engineers under his patronage were before long presenting opera on a large and lavish scale. It was customary for the King to have his opera troupe travel with him, and whenever a performance was desired, a wooden theatre was constructed for the occasion. Although opera flourished thus in the various courts in Poland, it remained for many years a diversion for the aristocracy only, and the people continued to enjoy the two standard forms of theatre available to them, the farce and the mystery play. We can conclude from the material presented in this dissertation that recent Polish opera has kept pace with opera developments in the world and that the contributions of Poland are equal, and sometimes surpass, those of other countries. The not inconsiderable achievements of Poland in this musical genre have not hitherto been sufficiently recognized, and this history has attempted to indicate areas in which further study is desirable.