The Good Soldier Schweik

Tickets and Information

Visit the The Good Soldier Schweik website:
http://www.longbeachopera.org

Decades before M*A*S*H and Catch 22, there was The Good Soldier Schweik,
Jaroslav Hasek's 1923 witty military satire that follows the misadventures of Schweik as he
stumbles through World War I. Schweik is an Everyman attempting to do the "right" thing
while turning the world around him into chaos. Is he a fool or a very wise observer of the
human condition? About Robert Kurka's 1956 opera, librettist Lewis Allan wrote, " I am sure
that Schweik represented to Bob [Kurka] the indestructibility of Man, the long-tried, abused,
victimized, patient common man who somehow always manages to survive the brutal
stupidities of his rulers, rebuild his world, and laugh." Kurka's punchy score is a mixture of
American musical and brass band riffs, jazz notes, and Czech folk tunes with overtones of
Kurt Weill. Tenor Matthew DiBattista, who will sing the demanding role of Schweik, has
been described as "brilliant" by Opera News. He has performed on national and international
opera and concert stages with such conductors as James Conlon, Seiji Ozawa, Keith
Lockhart, and Robert Shaw. The opera will be staged by Ken Roht and conducted by
Andreas Mitisek.

Saturday, January 23, 2010 at 8:00pm
Center Theater, LB Performing Arts Center
300 E. Ocean Boulevard
Long Beach, CA 90802

Saturday, January 30, 2010 at 4:00pm
Barnum Hall
601 Pico Boulevard
Santa Monica, CA 90404