The Two Widows
Bedrich Smetana
Cast
Karolina: Elizabeth Gale
Aneska: Felicity Palmer
Mumlal: Joseph Rouleau
Ladislav: Robert White
Lidka: Dinah Harris
Tonik: Bonaventura Bottone
Creative Team
| Conductor | Albert Rosen |
| Director | David Pountney |
| Set Design | Sue Blane |
| Costume Design | Sue Blane |
| Chorus costumes design | Maria Bjornsen |
| Lighting Design | Victor Lockwood |
| Choreographer | Terry Gilbert |
| Chorus Master | Alan Cutts |
Crew
| Stage Manager | Nicholas Till |
The Plot
Place: A castle in Bohemia (Czech Republic).
Act 1
At the castle, the people are celebrating. The two widows, Caroline and Agnes, who live there are very different. The landlady, Caroline, is happy about her liberty and independence, while Agnes cannot make friends since she is still in mourning. Caroline is pressed by her suitor, Ladislaus. However, she does not want to marry him. So Caroline conspires to have Agnes fall in love with Ladislaus. Caroline invites Ladislaus to the castle, where he is arrested by Mumlal. Ladislaus is condemned to one day house arrest in the castle. Ladislaus accepts the punishment. However, Agnes cannot be made interested in him. At the end of the act, Lidka and Toník with the choir sing about love.
Act 2
While in prison, Ladislaus sings a love song, which awakens in Agnes the feeling of love. However, Agnes cannot confess to her feelings. Even Caroline's scheme and Ladislaus's confession does not change her feelings. Only as Caroline begins to flirt with Ladislaus, that Agnes admits her feelings to Ladislaus. The envious Mumlal cannot divert Lidka and Toník from making love to each other. At the ball, both of them get married.
(Source: Wikipedia)