Soldăţelul de Plumb (The Small Soldier of Lead)

Operetta in two acts composed by Dumitru Capoianu.

Libretto by Dumitru Capoianu based on a play by Saša Lichý.

Lyrics: Vasile Chiriță

“Irrespective of the author’s intentions, the play reinstates fairy tales in their initial rights: only apparently is it devoted to children. Indeed, designed according to the generally established scheme, The Small Soldier of Lead – though placed in a world with no miracles or fantastic beings – transforms a simple story, in a pleasant and gay manner, into general human truths, with strong contemporary resonance and worthy of adult meditation. Beyond the story of the capricious (but nice) princess and the small soldier of lead (whose coat hides the smart child of the toy manufacturer), beyond the complex world of the properly defined court of Kind Olaf XXVIII, the author debates ethical and social issues of ages exceeding the children’s interest for tales and colour and entering the major topics of interest of their parents. Thus, inter alia, the trick that the king-child plays on the pretenders, presenting them with an army of automations, can represent an excellent artistic paraphrase of a witty moral, where Einstein denounces the militarist spirit cultivated by aggressive armies.

However, we are primarily facing a tale for children, and the scenery mainly fits into the framework of the age, into the imaginative power and the sensitivity of childhood.”

*Irina Toma-Constantinescu

 “The complex situations exploits the quid pro quod resulting from the replacement of a toy by a boy. An original pantomime of automatism is thus created, dealing with the ridiculous confrontations between the peaceful and the belligerent king. The parody of conflagration entices the viewers’ affective participation; these become involved in the adventure and are receptive to the comedy of character or situation, less to the comedy of language.

It is a good opportunity to make smaller or elder children become acquainted with a highly contemporary topic. The musical comedy of Dumitru Capoianu, based on a play by Saša Lichý, inspired by the model of the lead soldier, uses a fairy tale topic, trying to explain and, at the same time, satirise war, as a phenomenon.”

**Irina Coroiu