Stanislaw Moniuszko was a Polish composer born in 1819.  I first became
acquainted with his music through a disc of his choral music which I liked
very much.  Browsing through a web site a few days ago, I noticed that
Moniuszko's opera, Halka, was available on CPO at reduced price.

The opera's plot is routine.  Poor girl loves royal guy, royal guy plays
her for a fool, royal guy marries royal woman, poor girl marries suicide.
There are obviouly no other alternatives when love is unrequited.

The music is fairly routine also.  It's definitely below the quality of,
say, Undine, whether by Lortzing or Hoffmann.  The soloists are a variable
lot with one or two definite "avoid at all costs."

To be fair, this opera was nationally acclaimed when presented to
the public, and Moniuszko's stock rose greatly.  The political and
nationalistic attitudes in Poland at the time are reported to have added
to the positive view of Halka.  Beyond that, I haven't a clue.  I didn't
find anything memorable about the music, and I'm close to giving up on it.
After listening to the Schubert/Reger songs, this opera is a real letdown.

Don Satz
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