Nikola Šubić Zrinski (opera) - AbsoluteAstronomy.com

Nikola Šubić Zrinski is an opera written and composed by Ivan Zajc

Ivan Zajc

Ivan Dragutin Stjepan Zajc or Ivan pl. Zajc , was a Croatian composer, conductor, director and teacher who for over forty years dominated Croatia's musical culture...

in 1876. It is a retelling of the Battle of Szigetvár

Battle of Szigetvár

The Siege of Szigetvár or Battle of Szigeth was a siege of the Szigeth Fortress in Baranya which blocked Suleiman's line of advance towards Vienna in 1566 AD...

of 1566, in which Nikola Zrinski

Nikola Šubic Zrinski

Nikola Šubić Zrinski , was a Croatian nobleman and general in service of Habsburg Monarchy, ban of Croatia from 1542 to 1556, and member of the Zrinski noble family...

, Ban

Ban (title)

Ban was a title used in several states in central and south-eastern Europe between the 7th century and the 20th century.-Etymology:The word ban has entered the English language probably as a borrowing from South Slavic ban, meaning "lord, master; ruler". The Slavic word is probably borrowed from...

of Croatia

Croatia

Croatia , officially the Republic of Croatia , is a unitary democratic parliamentary republic in Europe at the crossroads of the Mitteleuropa, the Balkans, and the Mediterranean. Its capital and largest city is Zagreb. The country is divided into 20 counties and the city of Zagreb. Croatia covers ...

and captain of the assembled Croatian and Hungarian forces, took a heroic last stand against overwhelming Ottoman

Ottoman Empire

The Ottoman EmpireIt was usually referred to as the "Ottoman Empire", the "Turkish Empire", the "Ottoman Caliphate" or more commonly "Turkey" by its contemporaries...

forces, led personally by Suleiman the Magnificent

Suleiman the Magnificent

Suleiman I was the tenth and longest-reigning Sultan of the Ottoman Empire, from 1520 to his death in 1566. He is known in the West as Suleiman the Magnificent and in the East, as "The Lawgiver" , for his complete reconstruction of the Ottoman legal system...

. Though the fortress fell, the defenders inflicted grievous injuries on the assaulting forces, all but crippling the victors' ability to progress past the Croatian-Hungarian border, and causing the death of the sultan himself.

The opera premiered in Zagreb

Zagreb

Zagreb is the capital and the largest city of the Republic of Croatia. It is in the northwest of the country, along the Sava river, at the southern slopes of the Medvednica mountain. Zagreb lies at an elevation of approximately above sea level. According to the last official census, Zagreb's city...

on 4 November 1876 at what was then the People's Theater housed in the present-day Old City Hall

Old City Hall (Zagreb)

The Old City Hall is a complex of three adjacent buildings located in the Gradec neighbourhood in Zagreb, Croatia. The three buildings were joined in the late 19th century and since then, the complex has served as the place where all sessions of the city assembly are held.-History:The earliest...

building. It was well received by audiences and critics alike. Its enduring fame is due in large part to its climactic chorus, "U boj, u boj

U boj, u boj

"U boj, u boj" is a Croatian patriotic song. It was written and composed by Ivan Zajc in 1866, who later incorporated it as an aria into his opera Nikola Šubić Zrinski where it is sung by a male choir....

!" ("To battle, to battle!"), written by the composer ten years prior to the rest of the opera. It has achieved lasting popularity as a Croatian patriotic song, removed from the context of the opera, as well as a Japanese glee club

Glee club

A glee club is a musical group or choir group, historically of male voices but also of female or mixed voices, which traditionally specializes in the singing of short songs—glees—by trios or quartets. In the late 19th Century it was very popular in most schools and was made a tradition...

staple.

See also