Czech Musical Theatre Organisation August 1, 2017
PRESS RELEASE
Czech Musical Theatre Organisation August 1, 2017
In 2017, OPERA, the Festival of Music Theatre returns to its former autumn term with which it commenced in 1993: The 13th bi-annual festival of music theatre will take place between September 13, 2017 - November 5, 2017. Opera theatres and ensembles from all over the Czech Republic as well as Slovakia will present their best productions. Traditionally, production of grand opera houses will also be complemented by productions created independently of the classical opera network. Once again, majority of the performances will be presented on stages of the National Theatre.
The Festival OPERA, traditionally organized by the Czech Musical Theatre Organisation, is a joint event of all participating theatres and ensembles - both economically and artistically. The National Theatre, as a main partner of the festival, offers its opera houses under non-commercial conditions and therefore outside of Prague theatres will gain only partial costs of the production. The decision whether to participate in the festival is naturally entirely in the hands of the directors of the respective theatres and the heads of the opera ensembles.
The patronage of the festival has been kindly accepted by:
Adriana Krnáčová, Mayor of the City of Prague
Livia Klausová, Ambassador of the Czech Republic in the Slovak Republic
Daniel Herman, Minister of Culture of the Czech Republic
Peter Weiss, Ambassador of the Slovak Republic in the Czech Republic
Honorary Festival Committee: Soňa Červená, Libuše Domanínská, Dagmar Pecková, Jan Klusák, Jiří Kout, Štefan Margita, Richard Novák, David Pountney.
OPERA, the Festival of Music Theatre, is financially supported by of the Ministry of Culture of the Czech Republic and the City of Prague, the participation of Slovak theatres is enabled due the contribution of the Ministry of Culture of the Slovak Republic.
Other festival partners:
Arts and Theatre Institute
International Television Festival Golden Praha
Ostrava in Prague – Festival of Ostrava based Theatres
Viki Flowers (
Sympex Group, s.r.o. (
Festival Media Partners:
Czech Radio 3 – Vltava, Theatre Newspaper, goout.cz, Harmonie, Hudební rozhledy, I-Prague, KAM po Česku, Opera Plus, Opera Slovakia, Voice of Prague (Classic Praha).
13th Bi-annual Festival of Music Theatre l – OPERA 2017
OPERA, the Festival of Music Theatre, was established in 1993 with the aim of offering the possibility of comparisons to both ensembles and audiences, as well as a reminder that opera is still something worthwhile to consider, to support, and to write more about. The core of the showcase is formed by productions of traditional opera houses, complemented by independently created projects outside of the classical opera network. The decision, which production will each theatre bring, is from the very beginning of the festival solely dependent on the theatre’s or ensemble’s management: it is up to them to proudly present what they themselves consider to be the most interesting, whether dramaturgically or production-wise.
In 2015, all three traditional Slovak opera ensembles participated in the festival for the very first time. The festival recalled that opera ensembles from both the Czech and Slovak Republics even after the division of former Czechoslovakia still belong to one common theatre context and that there are still important links between Czech and Slovak theatres. The productions of Slovak theatres were one of the most popular ones in 2015. Luckily, in 2017, the interest of Slovak theatres prevailed and therefore we will once again warmly welcome the ensembles from Bratislava, Banská Bystrica and Košice in Prague.
The festival also be enriched by alternative opera ensembles – traditionally, Ensemble Opera Diversa, Ensemble Damian and Opera Povera, as well as the newly established Opera Studio Prague. The program also includes a project that was created within the unique New Opera Days Ostrava Festival (Oresteia).
The 13th bi-annual festival OPERA 2017 compromises presentation of eighteen different ensembles: from opera classics, to less-known titles and new pieces. It offers opera oeuvres from the Baroque to present times, especially by Czech, Italian and French composers. The program includes Czech premieres (Rossini's comic opera Le Compte Ory and two works inspired by ancient tragedies: Cherubini’s Medea and Xenakis’s Oresteia) as well as works that have not been produced for decades in the Czech Republic (audiences usually recognise only the famous orchestral intermezzo Meditaci from Massenet's Thais). The ensembles Opera Diversa and Opera Povera will present their new ambitious creative projects.
Some productions are not suitable for children, either thematically or due to the used theatre language (Thaïs, Alcina, La Semele, Medea), but on the other hand, we offer two titles that are especially dedicated to children: Zob, Zob, Zoban and L’Enfant et Les Sortileges, where the second one will be accompanied by a special theatrical educational program created by the Ceske Budejovice ensemble, entitled Magic and the Child. This programme will take place at the beginning of the performance right in the auditorium of the theatre and will prepare the children for the perception of Ravel's work.
From the dramaturgical point of view, the offer of this year’s festival is quite varied and the festival will also present different perspectives on contemporary opera staging. There will be productions by younger and the youngest generation of stage directors (Linda Keprtová, Tomáš Pilař, Tomáš Studený), together with stage directors who lead large ensembles (Jiří Heřman, Jiří Nekvasil, Martin Otava ), as well as personalities who surpass the field of opera theatre (Jan Antonín Pitínský, SKUTR, Lenka Flory, Radovan Lipus). Behind the conductor music stand will be the chiefs, chief-conductors and long-term supports of the ensembles (Mario De Rose, Martin Doubravsky, Petr Šumník, Norbert Baxa, Jaroslav Kyzlink, Rastislav Štúr and others). Marek Štryncl stands behind the authentic interpretation of the baroque opera Alcina, and the composer and the founder of the Ostrava New and Experimental Opera Music Festival, Petr Kotík, behind Xenakis’s Oresteia. The festival Opera will present most notable performers in our lands, established ones as well as those with a promising rising career.
Exceptional festival performances will again be awarded with the so-called Libuška Awards – the honorary prizes of the festival. The best productions will be selected by both experts (jury of critics) and spectators (via poll). Newly, the jury of critics together with the spectators will also have a chance to reward their favourite singers. The Director of the festival will once again have the honour to hand over the awards to the winners.
OPERA 2017 – PROGRAM
Wednesday, September 13, 2017, 7 p.m., Estates Theatre
MORAVIAN THEATRE OLOMOUC
Bohuslav Martinů
ŘECKÉ PAŠIJE (THE GREEK PASSION)
Conductor: Petr Šumník, Stage Director: Jan Antonín Pitínský
Starring: David Szendiuch, Jiří Přibyl, Jakub Rousek, Radoslava Mičová, Milan Vlček, Petr Martínek, Václav Málek
Sunday, September 24, 2017, 7 p.m., National Theatre
NATIONAL THEATRE PRAGUE (STATE OPERA)
Giacomo Puccini
MADAMA BUTTEFLY
Conductor: Martin Leginus, Stage Director: Jiří Heřman
Starring: Maria Kobielska, Štěpánka Pučálková, Luciano Mastro, Svatopluk Sem
Monday, September 25, 2017, 7 p.m., Estates Theatre
SILESIAN THEATRE OPAVA
Giuseppe Verdi
MACBETH
Conductor: Petr Šumník, Stage Director: Jana Andělová Pletichová
Starring: Alexander Vovk and Katarína Jorda Kramolišová
Thursday, September 28, 2017, 6 p.m., National Theatre
SLOVAK NATIONAL THEATRE BRATISLAVA
Giacomo Puccini
IL TRITTICO: SUOR ANGELICA, IL TABARRO, GIANNI SCHICCHI
Conductor: Rastislav Štúr, Stage Director: Roman Polák
Starring: Mária Porubčinová, Jitka Sapara-Fischerová / Sergej Tolstov, Miroslav Dvorský, Adriana Kohútková / Gustáv Beláček
Friday, September 29, 2017, 7 p.m., Estates Theatre
NATIONAL THEATRE BRNO
Gioachino Rossini
LE COMTE ORY
Conductor: Robert Kružík, Stage Director: Lenka Flory
Starring: Kateřina Kněžíková, Václava Krejčí Housková, Andrea Široká, Jana Hrochová, Petr Nekoranec, Roman Hoza, David Nykl
Tuesday, October 3, 2017, 7 p.m., Estates Theatre
STATE OPERA BANSKÁ BYSTRICA
Ján Cikker
JURO JÁNOŠÍK
Conductor: Marian Vach, Stage Director: Roman Polák
Lead actor: Michal Hýrošš
Wednesday, October 4, 2017, 7 p.m., Estates Theatre
J. K. TYL THEATRE PLZEŇ
Luigi Cherubini
MEDEA
Conductor: Norbert Baxa, Stage Director: Martin Otava
Alternating in the Title Role: Katarína Jorda Kramolišová / Ivana Veberová / Lívia Obručník Vénosová
Friday, October 6, 2017, 7 p.m., Estates Theatre
F. X. ŠALDA THEATRE LIBEREC
Jules Massenet
THAÏS
Conductor: Martin Doubravský, Stage Director: Linda Keprtová
Starring: Lívia Obručník Vénosová, Czaba Kotlár, Dušan Růžička
Sunday, October 8, 2017, 5 p.m., Estates Theatre
SOUTH BOHEMIAN THEATRE ČESKÉ BUDĚJOVICE
Maurice Ravel
L´ENFANT ET LES SORTILÈGES
Conductor: Mario de Rose Stage Directors: SKUTR / Lukáš Trpišovský a Martin Kukučka
Starring: Karolína Bubleová Berková, Miroslava Veselá, Olga Jelínková, Josef Falta, Martin Štolba
Monday, October 9, 2017, 7 p.m., Estates Theatre
STATE THEATRE KOŠICE
Georg Friedrich Händel
ALCINA
Conductor: Marek Štryncl, Stage Director: Linda Keprtová
Starring: Michaela Várady, Mariana Hochelová, Maksym Kutsenko, Anna Manske, Markéta Cukrová, Maria Taytakova, Marián Lukáš
Tuesday, October 17, 2017, 7 p.m., National Theatre
NATIONAL THEATRE PRAGUE
Bohuslav Martinů
JULIETTE (THE KEY TO DREAMS)
Conductor: Jaroslav Kyzlink, David Švec, Stage Director: Zuzana Gilhuus
Starring: Alžběta Poláčková and Peter Berger
Saturday, October 21, 2017, 7 p.m., Czech Museum of Music
ENSEMBLE DAMIAN
Johann Adolph Hasse
LA SEMELE
Conductor and Stage Director: Tomáš Hanzlík
Starring: Hana Holodňáková, Dora Pavlíková, Martin Ptáček, Šimon Hron, Sergej Sanža
Sunday, October 22, 2017, 7:30 p.m., Theatre DISK
OPERA STUDIO PRAGUE
ANNE, FEARLESSLY LOOK AT THE SKY
Grigorij Frid
THE DIARY OF ANNE FRANK
Bohuslav Martinů
KUCHYŇSKÁ REVUE (KITCHEN REVUE)
Conductor: Sébastien Bagnoud, Stage Directors: Armand Deladoëy, Vojtěch Svoboda
Starring: Anita Jirovská, Anna Kukuczková, Jonatán Vnouček, Michaela Stará, Anton Eliaš
Thursday, November 2, 2017, 7 p.m., Venuše ve Švehlovce
ENSEMBLE OPERA DIVERSA
Ondřej Kyas, Pavel Drábek
ČARODĚJ A JEHO SLUHA (THE SORCERER AND HIS SLAVE)
Conductor: Gabriela Tardonová, Stage Director: Kristiana Belcredi
Starring: Lucie Kašpárková, Ondřej Koplík, Jan Šťáva, Pavla Radostová, Jakub Tuček, Aleš Janiga
Friday, November 3, 2017, 7 p.m., Czech Museum of Music
OPERA POVERA
Vít Zouhar, Rocc
ECHO – METAMORPHOSES II
Saturday, November 4, 2017
OPERA STUDIO OF MORAVIAN-SILESIAN NATIONAL THEATRE OSTRAVA
Edvard Schiffauer
ZOB, ZOB, ZOBAN
Musical Staging: Edvard Schiffauer and Lenka Živocká, Stage Director: Václav Klemens
Saturday, November 4, 2017, 7 p.m., Estates Theatre
MORAVIAN-SILESIAN NATIONAL THEATRE OSTRAVA
Ambroise Thomas
HAMLET
Conductor: Tomáš Brauner, Stage Director: Radovan Lipus
Starring: Thomas Weinhappel, Jana Sibera, Martin Gurbaľ, Janja Vuletic, Martin Šrejma, Roman Vlkovič
Sunday, November 5, 7 p.m., National Gallery – Trade Fair Palace
OSTRAVA CENTER FOR NEW MUSIC
in cooperation with the National Gallery and Moravian-Silesian National Theatre Ostrava
Iannis Xenakis
ORESTEIA
Conductor: Petr Kotík, Stage Director: Jiří Nekvasil
Starring: Holger Falk, Jan Vlas, Tamás Schlanger
OPERA 2017 – ACCOMPANYING EVENT
Czech Musical Theatre Organisation prepared many accompanying events, in cooperation with the National Theatre and other institutions, as for example: International Television Festival Golden Prague. More detailed information will be provided at the beginning of September.
OPERA 2017 – TICKETS
The prices of tickets for festival performances of outside of Prague theatres and ensembles range from 100 CZK to 790 CZK. Seniors, students and spectators who buy tickets for four or more performances of outside of Prague ensembles on the stages of the National Theatre will get a 30% discount. The Czech Musical Theatre Organisation thus honours traditional opera spectators and believes that this ticketing policy will inspire the audiences to see more festival performances than just one.
Tickets can be purchased at the listed theatres, on the theatre websites and tickets to productions staged in the National Theatre venues can be also bought through Bohemia Ticket, Colosseum Ticket, TicketArt, TicketPortal, TicketPro.
Festival Opera is growing, as compared to the previous year, the number of performances and accompanying events will increase again. The 12th biannual festival was attended by over 9.000 spectators. We sincerely believe that the 13th biannual OPERA festival will be as popular with our audiences as was the previous one and that it will be a true opera theatre feast.
• Lenka Šaldová, Head of the Festival, PR
E-mail:
Tel.: +420 606 633 905
• Michaela Syrová, Production
E-mail:
Tel.: +420 602 212 899
• Kateřina Jenčová, PR, Journalists Accreditaion
E-mail:
Tel.: +420 604 421 232