Jakov Gotovac - opera Mila de Gojsalić, video recording

[eternalorphea]

Dalmatian composer Jakov Gotovac (born in former Spalato, nowday Split, as - if I recall correctly - Giovanni Giacobbo Gotovac), composed operas: Morana op.14 (1928-30), Ero s onoga svijeta op.17 (1933-35), Kamenik op. 23 (1939-44), Mila Gojsalića op.28 (1948-51), Đerdan op.30 (1954-55), Dalmaro op.32 (1958), Stanac op.33 (1959), Petar Svačić op.35 opera-oratorijum.

Mila Gojsalića (Mila de Gojsalić), recorded on fortress Gripe in Split, Dalmatia, in 1995.
http://youtu.be/dEJCaU_q0Wg?t=5m50s

[alberto]

The "Kolo" (a spirited dance) from the opera "Ero the Joker", op.17 was recorded by no less thar Rudolph Kempe and the Wiener Phil. in 1961, still available (at least to me) in a 11 Cd box.

[eternalorphea]

Hi Alberto,
thank you for that information. Kolo actually means 'round dance', but sure is spirited. Communists in ex Yugoslavia didn't support composition of German or Italian-like art-music, and Croatian composers of the era who had any tendency of becoming more than a music class teacher were constricted to compose solely on Balkan folklore tunes material or sail away to avant-guard music. Ones who didn't subordinate, lead careers of a introvert, making music for a narrow circle of nostalgic acqaintances, if not only for themselves.

[mikehopf]

Thanks for the information, eternalorphea.

Also on youtube are complete performances of:
Gotovac:  Mila Gojsalic & Ero the Joker
Zajc: Amelia
Tijardov: Mala Floramye & Spli'ski Akvarel
Brkanovic: Ekvinocij

Any that I may have missed?

[eschiss1]

Despite which some of them (including e.g. either Gotovac or Tajcevic, iirc, at least according to a review/article by Paul Snook in Fanfare of the cpo recording of works of theirs - he was not referring to the works on the CD, but to other works by (at least one of) them...), managed to create some both quite complicated interesting symphonic poems of a rather modern (not -ist) kind (something called Slaviphonia, or something?) and obtain a wide acclaim (the latter perhaps chiefly on the basis of their more folkloric works, but -that- in and by itself says nothing...)  but then one expects there are exceptions and the need to be careful with your generalizations...

(Speaking of ex-Yugoslavian composers, the Serbian composer Petar Stojanović (1877-1957) is, as I'm sure I've suggested, worth more than just a mention- alas I haven't heard his music, as yet! Some rather interesting-looking, rather Reger-ian (compliment, from me...) chamber music and an opera of his have been posted to imslp.org ...)