VATROSLAV LISINSKI
Vatroslav Lisinski was a Croatian composer.
During his time working as a secretary at the Ban’s Table, Lisinski composed several choral and solo songs, as well as a few piano compositions, and wrote some theatrical works as well.
o je vrlo važno, kako za njega osobno tako i za hrvatsku kulturu, stvaranje njegove prve opere “Ljubav i zloba” na inicijativu Alberta Štrige. Libreto za ovu operu, prema ideji Štrige, prvotno piše Josip Car, a kasnije ga prepravlja Dimitrije Demeter.
Lisinski je bio nadahnut domoljubljem dok je komponirao ovu operu, uzimajući za uzor prvih ruskih narodnih opera Mihaila Glinke. Ova opera je napisana u stilu rane romantične opere, a na nekoliko mjesta glazba je obogaćena nacionalnim izrazom sjeverne Hrvatske.
Značaj “Ljubavi i zlobe” je više povijesni nego glazbeni, budući da je Lisinski u to vrijeme još uvijek bio u+faze formiranja kao skladatelj. I am an inexperienced composer and the libretto was more of a hindrance than a help to me. However, the performance of this opera was a historical event because it was the first opera in the Croatian language and with content from Croatian history.
In 1847, Lisinski went to Prague for musical improvement, thanks to Albert Štriga who raised funds for his education. At the very beginning, he experienced disappointment because, due to his age of twenty-seven, he was not allowed to enroll in the Conservatory. Nevertheless, he stayed in Prague and studied music with private composers Kittl and Pitch.
He lived in poverty because the money Štriga sent him was not enough to cover basic living expenses, and he was constantly falling ill.
Following turbulent years for the Austro-Hungarian Empire (1848-1849) that paralyzed further cultural development in Croatia, the music scene withered and most sponsors withdrew their financial support from Lisinski.
Meanwhile, due to illness, Lisinski repeatedly returned home.
Despite numerous attempts by Albert Štriga, neither he nor Lisinski witnessed its premiere, which happened only on October 2, 1897, a year after Štriga’s and forty-three years after Lisinski’s death.
He died in 1854 at the age of 35 in the arms of his fiancée Hedvige Ban. The Narodne novine newspaper published only a short news article: Yesterday, on May 31st, here (in Jurjevska Street), after a long and severe illness, our only music composer Mr. Vatroslav Lisinski passed away.
Although he created works of great beauty, after his death, the memory of his life and work completely faded away. Ironically, this was contributed by the very person who had helped him the most during his lifetime. Alberto Štriga kept one hundred and twenty of his works with him.
Lisinski composed over seventy solo songs, of which the most famous ones today are: Prosto zrakom ptica leti, Vojnička pjesma, Ribar, as well as pearls of love poetry: Miruj, miruj srce moje, Tuga djevojke, Na vjetar. He wrote about forty choral compositions, the offertory Cum invocarem, and various instrumental works for piano and orchestra.
He paused at the beginning of his creative path, but his works showed his true romantic nature. He was a lyricist of refined emotions, but at the same time expressed courage and heroism through his music.