Musically, The Countess is an example of a variety of styles. For a deeper characterisation of its characters, Moniuszko reaches for a specific repertoire, or clearly associated stylistic treatments. He gives the music performed in the Countess's salon the ornamented lightness of French music, and in some places, as in the scene of the rehearsal of the theatre scene, he emphasises the foreignness of the repertoire with the Italian coloratura aria of Ewa, written in the spirit of music by Gaetano Donizetti.
These musical 'cosmopolitanisms' are contrasted with Polish, national music, which Moniuszko understands through references to popular songs and country songs. In this spirit, he evokes the popular song Pojedziemy Na Łów [We Will Go Hunting] in the hunting scene.
Amongst the most popular fragments of the opera are the arias: The Countess’s Suknio, Coś Mnie Tak Ubrała [The Dress, You Which Have Clothed Me Like This], On Tu Przybywa [He Comes Here...], Zbudzić Się Z Ułudnych Snów [To Wake Up From Illusory Dreams], Ewa’s Italian aria Perche Belli, Bronia’s song Szemrze Strumyk pod Jaworem [The Stream Murmurs Under the Sycamore] and Ensign’s song Pomnę, Ojciec Waścin Gadał... [I Recall Thy Father Spoke…]. The collection is completed by a cello polonaise from the beginning of the third act, the circumstances of the composition of which became the subject of an anecdote that was repeated many times later. It is quoted by Bonifacy Dziadulewicz in his memoirs:
The last act was to commence in such a way that the curtain would open and the Ensign and Podczaszyc would immediately begin their scene. Troszel, an excellent musician and singer, came up to the lectern and called out:
'My director, wouldn't it be good if the orchestra played at least a few chords before the curtain went up!'
Oh, very well. And that was the moment the polonaise popped. The rehearsal was over. Everybody dispersed. I just asked cellist Szabliński and a few other members of the orchestra to stop. The polonaise from my head was quickly sketched out on paper – the rehearsal took place and that was the end of it. […]
Żółkowski and Troszel, not knowing anything about the polonaise, have already taken a seat behind the table and are sitting behind the curtain, and in the meantime, God willing, Szabliński begins to play – but how!
He finished, and it seemed to me that the whole theatre was collapsing on my head. Meanwhile, it was just one general applause and one general shout: ‘Encore!’ We repeat once, twice, we repeat a third and a fourth time. At last the curtain opens and Żółkowski calls out: 'My Ensign, what a surprise, if only they wanted to play for us, too! Dear God, believe it or not but we played... once again.'
Unfortunately, this nice legend turned out to be a product of Dziadulewicz's imagination. Witold Rudziński, the foremost Polish researcher of Moniuszko’s life and work, indicated that the cello polonaise came from an earlier series of six polonaises by this composer.
The premiere of The Countess took place on 7th February 1860. It constitutes, next to Halka and The Haunted Manor, Moniuszko's most successful attempt at opera. An additional feature distinguishing it from the composer's other stage works is the presence of historical figures in the libretto, which make it an interesting variation on the Polish Enlightenment.
Author: Agnieszka Okupska, May 2011, translated into English by P. Grabowski,December 2021