Classical Music

Daddy, how is a bride sold? How did you come to know that someone would sell a bride, Hurvínek? Well, I read here: The National Theatre in Brno is performing Bedřich Smetana's opera The Bartered Bride. So how is it, Daddy? Well, you know, it's just like... how should I put it to you... it's a trick to buy a bride for yourself. So now I'm a fool - is it being sold or bought? You know what, Hurvajz, take Žeryk and Mánička and we'll go to the opera, it'll be easier than explaining it to you!

Daddy, how is a bride sold? How did you come to know that someone would sell a bride, Hurvínek? Well, I read here: The National Theatre in Brno is performing Bedřich Smetana's opera The Bartered Bride. So how is it, Daddy? Well, you know, it's just like... how should I put it to you... it's a trick to buy a bride for yourself. So now I'm a fool - is it being sold or bought? You know what, Hurvajz, take Žeryk and Mánička and we'll go to the opera, it'll be easier than explaining it to you!

Director David Radok and his Rusalka as a fateful drama about unfulfilled desires and human failure, about the contradictory conflict between love and erotic desire, a drama about the sinful human soul. The production will be another contribution to the Year of Czech Music. Since its creation, Dvořák's Rusalka has been one of the most beloved and performed Czech operas, not only thanks to its beautiful and unique music, but also to Jaroslav Kvapil's poetic and timeless libretto, which conceals endless symbolism. The theme is perfect for David Radok, who will create a multilayered production full of strong emotions for the first time in the Czech Republic.

David Radok's set design is based on the concept of Rusalka by set designer Lars-Ake Thessman, presented at the GöteborgsOperan in 2012.

Love knows no bounds, guilt falls into oblivion, but my love will not die... The beautiful Manon is no stranger to any weakness - she wanted the love of the young knight Des Grieux and a life of luxury and wealth that only the old banker Géront can provide... But everything has its price and not even love can save everything. “Manon is a heroine I believe in, and that's why you can't help but win the hearts of the audience. Why couldn't there be two operas about Manon? A woman like Manon can have more than one lover. Massenet feels her like a Frenchman, with powder and minuets. I will feel it like an Italian, with a desperate passion," declared Puccini determinedly, when his publisher tried to talk him out of composing an opera on a theme that had already been set to music. And he did well, because Manon Lescaut has been one of his great successes since its premiere in Turin in 1893. He kept what he promised and offered his audience passion, despair and hope that overcomes even the tragic end of the main characters. After all, love never dies.

French esprit and Spanish passion are hidden in the music of Bizet's Carmen. Finally, who does not know the immortal opera hits - the famous Habanera or the aria of the toreador Escamillo. But what if there is something more hidden behind the story of love's flightiness?

Where did opera originate? What is a libretto? Who is the inspector? And what does a scenographer need to know? You will learn this and much more at our workshop. Participants will learn about the opera genre, the production process, the operation of the theater and the professions that work in the theater. It also includes a taste of opera singing. The participants will be offered several connected activities, which should give them the opportunity to look under the hood of the functioning of the opera theater, the opera genre and its demands. The workshop also includes a short tour of the Janáček Theater.

Worse than a scar on the face are scars on the soul.

Her Shepherdess is one of Janáček's most famous works and is a permanent part of the repertoire of the Brno Opera. It started with a realistic drama by Gabriela Preissová, which the composer himself adapted into the form of an opera libretto. Although he had to significantly shorten the text of the drama, he succeeded in deepening the effect of the tragic story from the Moravian countryside. The spendthrift and fickle Števa, the fierce and yet at heart kind Laca, and above all the inexorable Kostelnička, whose efforts to maintain her position and respect in the village community will lead her to murder the child of her shelter, Jenůfa. Janáček (1854–1928) captured the individual characters in a masterly dramatic shorthand that is chilling and at the same time evokes compassion and understanding in us. The final form of the work, marked by the death of the composer's daughter Olga, led to a long and thorny road. After the successful premiere in Brno in 1904, her pastor had to wait twelve long years before Janáček's efforts were crowned with well-deserved success on other domestic and foreign stages.

The plot takes us to a village where Jeník and Marenka live, two young people who like each other. However, Mařenka is to marry the son of a rich farmer, Mícha, to whom her father is in debt. But the young girl is not going to just give up her love and refuses to marry the chosen groom. Jeník does it smartly and uses matchmaker Kecal. But he and Mařenka don't talk about their plans and the whole thing gets a little messy... Ondřej Havelka created a masterfully played musical theater that is based on beautiful folk traditions, but at the same time found a unique perspective on the whole opera. It takes place not, as is usually the custom, in the summer during the harvest, but during the carnival, or as we call the carnival in Moravia! So you can look forward not only to the comedians in the 3rd act, but also to a number of true Moravian carnival masquerades.

Worse than a scar on the face are scars on the soul. Her Shepherdess is one of Janáček's most famous works and is a permanent part of the repertoire of the Brno Opera. It started with a realistic drama by Gabriela Preissová, which the composer himself adapted into the form of an opera libretto. Although he had to significantly shorten the text of the drama, he succeeded in deepening the effect of the tragic story from the Moravian countryside. The spendthrift and fickle Števa, the fierce and yet at heart kind Laca, and above all the inexorable Kostelnička, whose efforts to maintain her position and respect in the village community will lead her to murder the child of her shelter, Jenůfa. Janáček (1854–1928) captured the individual characters in a masterly dramatic shorthand that is chilling and at the same time evokes compassion and understanding in us. The final form of the work, marked by the death of the composer's daughter Olga, led to a long and thorny road. After the successful premiere in Brno in 1904, her pastor had to wait twelve long years before Janáček's efforts were crowned with well-deserved success on other domestic and foreign stages.

Workshop for 1st – 5th grade elementary school What, but especially who, is needed to create an opera performance? And what would it be like if children became set designers, costume designers, or even an orchestra for a while? We will find out together at the workshop How Opera is Made! So what will we experience together: Getting to know the opera genre and some opera works. We will find out who works in the opera. We will try out some professions. We will learn selected theatrical terms. We will sing.

We are celebrating 140 years since the opening of the National Theatre in Brno! Tours of theatre buildings are very popular among visitors. In all buildings of the National Theatre Brno, knowledgeable guides are available to you, who will not only introduce you to their history and construction development, but will also tell you various interesting facts and tidbits that you will not just hear. You will also get to places inaccessible to ordinary spectators, such as backstage or the technical rooms of the theatre. The tour begins at the MAIN ENTRANCE to the Janáček Theatre.

We are from Bohemia and you ask if we can sing? An unknown couple from abroad arrives in a small Czech village and most of the locals watch them with distrust. Only the old teacher Benda, a music lover, opens his door to them, only to discover that the foreigners are closer to them than one might think. Music in the main role, this is how Dvořák's opera Jacobin could be summarized, because it is precisely music that can change the fate of all the characters in the opera. At the same time, Dvořák created a charming picture of a Czech town from the Enlightenment period populated by the peculiar figures of the music-loving teacher Benda, his stubborn daughter Terinka in love with the teacher's young man Jiřík, or the pompous burgrave Filip. Perhaps it was a fond memory of the circumstances of his own youth that brought so many charming, rich melodies, both playful and melancholic, to Dvořák's music, whether it be the famous scene of the school cantata, the duet "We Wandered Abroad" or Juliet's Lullaby. What better opera to start the season of the Year of Czech Music than Jacobin, Dvořák's tribute to Czech music and the people who love it above all else?

Workshop for 1st – 5th grade elementary school What, but especially who, is needed to create an opera performance? And what would it be like if children became set designers, costume designers, or even an orchestra for a while? We will find out together at the workshop How Opera is Made! So what will we experience together: Getting to know the opera genre and some opera works. We will find out who works in the opera. We will try out some professions. We will learn selected theatrical terms. We will sing.

The music of Bizet's Carmen hides French esprit and Spanish passion. After all, who doesn't know immortal opera hits - the famous Habanera, or the aria of the bullfighter Escamillo. But what if there's something more hidden behind the story of the fleeting nature of love? At the beginning was a short novel by the French writer Prosper Merimée about Don José, who deserted the army because of a foolish passion for a wild gypsy, became a smuggler and a murderer. Carmen, directed by Tomáš Pilar, returns to the original story and reveals additional layers of individual characters - the characters here are mainly people who came from completely different backgrounds. It's not just about Carmen's fleeting and unbridled love, which the jealous José cannot cope with. It is a clash of two worlds – the orderly, neat world of José and Micaëla, bound by predetermined rules, and the world of gypsies and smugglers living day to day, without laws and governed by momentary impulses. Their worlds suddenly intersect, but this difference creates tension and a clash that leads to the complete destruction of both of them. Neither of them is able to prevent it, because neither is willing or able to back down.

Daddy, how is a bride sold? How did you come to know that someone would sell a bride, Hurvínek? Well, I read here: The National Theatre in Brno is performing Bedřich Smetana's opera The Bartered Bride. So how is it, Daddy? Well, you know, it's just like... how should I put it to you... it's a trick to buy a bride for yourself. So now I'm a fool - is it being sold or bought? You know what, Hurvajz, take Žeryk and Mánička and we'll go to the opera, it'll be easier than explaining it to you!

Daddy, how is a bride sold? How did you come to know that someone would sell a bride, Hurvínek? Well, I read here: The National Theatre in Brno is performing Bedřich Smetana's opera The Bartered Bride. So how is it, Daddy? Well, you know, it's just like... how should I put it to you... it's a trick to buy a bride for yourself. So now I'm a fool - is it being sold or bought? You know what, Hurvajz, take Žeryk and Mánička and we'll go to the opera, it'll be easier than explaining it to you!

Two worldviews, one border between them – one embodies reason and light, the other is elemental, dark and irrational. One night, a charismatic shepherd arrives at the Christian court of King Roger, disrupting the established order of Christian values ​​and worldview. Does his teaching bring joy and goodness or only destruction and chaos? The opera King Roger by Polish composer Karol Szymanowski does not offer a clear answer; he himself described it as a mystery whose theme is man’s self-knowledge, his sexuality and spirituality.

For the second grade of elementary schools, high schools and secondary vocational schools Introduce students to theater genres in a different way! What do opera and ballet have in common and how do they differ? What does the process of creating a production look like from the first idea to the finished performance? What professions work in the theater and what do we actually need them for? What do a choreographer, director, costume designer or set designer have to think about to make a performance successful? We will find the answer to these and many other questions together at the workshop – How is opera made x How is ballet made? The workshop also includes a short tour of the Janáček Theater.

Two worldviews, one border between them – one embodies reason and light, the other is elemental, dark and irrational. One night, a charismatic shepherd arrives at the Christian court of King Roger, disrupting the established order of Christian values ​​and worldview. Does his teaching bring joy and goodness or only destruction and chaos? The opera King Roger by Polish composer Karol Szymanowski does not offer a clear answer; he himself described it as a mystery whose theme is man’s self-knowledge, his sexuality and spirituality.

Two worldviews, one border between them – one embodies reason and light, the other is elemental, dark and irrational. One night, a charismatic shepherd arrives at the Christian court of King Roger, disrupting the established order of Christian values ​​and worldview. Does his teaching bring joy and goodness or only destruction and chaos? The opera King Roger by Polish composer Karol Szymanowski does not offer a clear answer; he himself described it as a mystery whose theme is man’s self-knowledge, his sexuality and spirituality.

Two worldviews, one border between them – one embodies reason and light, the other is elemental, dark and irrational. One night, a charismatic shepherd arrives at the Christian court of King Roger, disrupting the established order of Christian values ​​and worldview. Does his teaching bring joy and goodness or only destruction and chaos? The opera King Roger by Polish composer Karol Szymanowski does not offer a clear answer; he himself described it as a mystery whose theme is man’s self-knowledge, his sexuality and spirituality.