National Theatre (Národní divadlo)Ostrovní 1, Praha 1, Prague, Central Bohemian Region, 11000, Czech Republic
Dates/times in Prague time zone
| Friday 30 June 2023 | 19:00 |
Programme
| Smetana, Bedřich (1824-1884) | Libuše |
Performers
| Prague National Theatre Opera | ||
| Robert Jindra | Conductor | |
| Jan Burian | Director | |
| Daniel Dvořák | Set Designer | |
| Kateřina Štefková | Costume Designer | |
| Prague National Theatre Orchestra | ||
| Prague National Theatre Chorus | ||
| Ondřej Hučín | Dramaturgy | |
| Dana Burešová | Soprano | Queen Libuše |
| Svatopluk Sem | Baritone | Přemysl |
| František Zahradníček | Bass | Chrudoš |
| Jaroslav Březina | Tenor | Sťáhlav |
| Michaela Zajmi | Mezzo-soprano | Radmilla |
| Alžběta Poláčková | Soprano | Krasava |
| Jiří Sulženko | Bass | Lutobor |
| Jiří Brückler | Baritone | Radovan |
| Prague State Opera | ||
| Prague Philharmonic Children's Choir | ||
| Charles University Choir | ||
| Petr Zuska | Choreography | |
| Pavel Vaněk | Choirmaster / chorus director |
Smetana’s Libuše occupies a truly special position in Czech opera and culture as a whole. It is directly connected with our ancestors’ endeavour to restore Czech statehood and independence. It was written for the inauguration of the National Theatre in Prague, a dreamt-of artistic institution, which foreshadowed the later foundation of the Czechoslovak Republic itself. Paraphrasing an old Czech fable of Princess Libuše, in his opera Smetana does not only extol the nation’s bygone glory, he primarily accentuates an absolutely timeless ideal that today may appear as virtually unattainable – the affability, modesty, wisdom and unanimity of the representatives of a nation, and society for that matter.
