Catalogue of Czech Television Programmes
The subject of the opera The Polish Jew composed by Karel Weis (1862-1944) is the French folk play of the same title written in 1869 by the Alsatian playwrights Emil Erckmann and Alexander Chatrian. The basic story is the personal tragedy of the main hero, who has memories of events long past come back to him on his daughter’s wedding day. At the time he had robbed and murdered a Polish Jew who had spent the night at his inn. His conscience finally makes him confess and he dies. At the time of its premiere a hundred years ago, the opera by Karel Weis evoked a storm of ovation and the Polish Jew was staged in many theatres abroad within an unbelievably short time. In 1921 the Polish Jew was also presented at New York’s Metropolitan Opera, making it the second Czech opera to be played on this stage after the Bartered Bride. In spite of its grand international acclaim, the opera finally fell into oblivion. However, its renewed premiere has brought many a surprise – mainly that this is an opera of extremely high qualities, which definitely deserves attention and can stand even the strict criteria of present-day strong competition.
SD | 108' | © 2001
director(s): Jiří Nekvasil
producer(s): Czech Television
rights available: TV, Video, Internet
original language: Czech