(Ger. Troppau).
Town in Silesia, Czech Republic. It is the former Silesian regional capital, with a bilingual Czech-German cultural history. From 1656 to 1660 Pavel Josef Vejvanovský studied at the Jesuit college in Opava. Carl Ditters von Dittersdorf worked in nearby Johannisberg and composed operas for the theatre of the local castle. Beethoven gave concerts in a nearby castle in Hradec nad Moravicí (Ger. Grätz) in 1806 and 1811, as did Liszt in 1841 (Liszt also performed in Opava in 1846 and 1848). Pavel Křížkovský, Janáček's teacher, won a scholarship in Opava in 1832; he studied at the local grammar school from 1834 to 1839. The composer, pianist and organist Eduard Mestenhauser (1832–1912) founded the German Singakademie in 1874; J.F. Hummel (1841–1919) was conductor there and for the German men's choir, 1863–73. Other musicians active in Opava were Bruckner's disciple Ludwig Grande (1865–1940), the violinist Herma Studeny (1886–1973), a disciple of Dvořák and Ševčík, and the composer and conductor Miloš Čeleda (1884–1958).
Opera was given from 1790 in the Theater unter dem Stadtturm (built 1750; rebuilt 1774 after a fire in 1763); in 1794 Mozart’s Die Zauberflöte was staged there. The Městské Divadlo (Municipal Theatre) was built in 1805; major reconstructions were carried out in 1883, in 1909, shortly after World War II and in 1992. Arthur Löwenstein was a conductor there (1929–32); among visiting artists were Marie Gutheil-Schoder and Leo Slezak. Between 1919 and 1938 Czech operas were performed by visiting companies from Ostrava and Olomouc. A professional Czech theatre company (drama, opera, operetta, ballet) was founded in the badly damaged town in 1945. At first, under municipal administration, it was known as the Slezské Národní Divadlo (Silesian National Theatre); after 1949 it became a regional company, making numerous tours. In 1957 it became the Slezské Divadlo Zdeňka Nejedlého; in 1990 it again came under municipal administration and was renamed Slezské Divadlo Opava. The company has performed both Czech and foreign operas from traditional and modern repertories.
Musical associations include the Pěvecko-Hudební Spolek Křížkovský (Křížkovský Singing and Instrumental Club, founded in 1887), Pěvecké Sdružení Slezských Učitelů (Silesian Teachers' Choir, 1906) and Pěvecké Sdružení Slezských Učitelek (Silesian Women Teachers' Choir, 1958). The Silesian Regional Museum houses a musicological centre (founded 1967) which works together with the musicological department of the Institute of Silesian Studies under the aegis of the Czechoslovak Academy of Sciences. The Silesian Musical Archives (founded 1951) contain collections from the Minorite monastery and from the castle in Hradec nad Moravicí. The Věstník matice opavské (Opavian Foundation Gazette) was published from 1891; in 1935 it became the Slezský sborník (Silesian Review). Since 1960 Opava has been the seat of the International Beethoven Society, publishing the journal Československá Beethoveniána. Since 1961 the annual Nationwide Performers' Competition has been held in Hradec.
E. Starowski: ‘Zur Geschichte der Entwicklung des Musiklebens in Troppau’, Zeitschrift für Geschichte und Kulturgeschichte Österreich Schlesiens, no.6 (1913), 1; no.7 (1913), 275; no.8 (1913), 13
O. Wenzelides: Das Troppauer Theater (Nordmährerlad, 1943)
K. Boženek and M. Weimann: 50 let českých profesionálních divadelních představení v Opavě [50 years of Czech professional theatre performances in Opava] (Opava, 1969)
M. Malura: ‘Minoritský hudební archív v Opavě’ [Minorites' musical archives in Opava], Časopis Slezského Muzea, ser.B, xxi (1972), 96–7, 173–4
K. Boženek: ‘Operní společnosti na scéně opavského divadla’ [Opera companies on the stage of the theatre in Opava], Časopis Slezského Muzea, ser.B, xxxi (1982), 134–46
EVA HERRMANNOVÁ