About the work
Goplana is a romantic opera in three acts by Władysław Żeleński, with a Polish libretto by Ludomił German based on Juliusz Słowacki's 1839 drama Balladyna. It premiered on 23 July 1896 in Kraków; German replaced the title Balladyna with Goplana and softened politically sensitive elements of the source to evade tsarist censorship.
Plot
The fairy/water-nymph queen Goplana loves the peasant Grabiec in vain and has her attendants scheme to separate him from the power-hungry Balladyna. Balladyna kills her sister Alina to seize power, becomes a princess, is increasingly consumed by guilt, and is finally struck down by lightning.
Cultural significance
The premiere was celebrated as a Polish cultural event with standing ovations; until its triumphant Warsaw premiere in 1898, the work was among the most successful Polish operas of its time. The score combines Polish folk-inflected melody with a leitmotif technique schooled in French grand opera.