ABSTRACT
When Zdeněk Fibich’s opera Šárka premiered in 1897, the story of the eponymous heroine was already a beloved part of the Czech national consciousness. The myth tells of an Amazon maiden who endeavours to defeat a male warrior and claim the Bohemian crown. Fibich’s librettist (and lover) Anežka Schulzová had distinct goals for Šárka, which at times conflicted with Fibich’s aims for the opera. With Šárka Fibich made a clear attempt to win over Czech audiences by writing an overtly national opera. However, Fibich’s intentions were obscured by Schulzová, who prioritised character development and resisted stereotypes of the time by creating a strong female protagonist. Schulzová willingly acknowledged the artistic liberties she had taken in her introduction to the libretto; nevertheless, her work dismayed reviewers who argued that she had an ethical imperative to uphold what they saw as “the property of the nation.” By examining the critics’ hostile reaction to Schulzová’s libretto, I expose their own selective memories. My analysis of versions of the Šárka myth reveals that, while it first appears as a passing mention in the earliest Czech histories, the legend Schulzová knew did not become a significant part of Czech “history” until the nineteenth century—well within living memory of the critics who found Schulzová’s interpretation of the story traitorous. I argue that although Fibich found his greatest operatic accomplishment with Šárka, Schulzová’s efforts were less successful because of her willingness to tinker with material that others considered the property of the nation—an intervention all the more marked by her gender.
