Janáček Festival Brno 2024 Presents Varied Programme at Spectacular Event

6 November 2023, 1:00
Janáček Festival Brno 2024 Presents Varied Programme at Spectacular Event

The programme for Janáček Brno 2024, an international opera and music festival now in its 9th year, was unveiled at a concert held to mark this occasion entitled Janáček to the start! On Saturday, 4 November, the Mahen Theatre was filled not only with devoted fans of the festival, but also with foreign journalists, politicians and prominent figures from the world of culture. In addition to a collection of wonderful musical performances, the audience was also treated to a lineup of renowned artists – Kateřina Kněžíková (soprano), Václava Krejčí Housková (mezzo-soprano), Josef Špaček (violin) and, last but not least, Robert Kružík, who took on the role of both conductor leading the Orchestra of the Janáček Opera at the National Theatre Brno during the evening and also performing as a cellist.

The event was also graced by the presence of Minister of Culture Martin Baxa, who announced during a speech by Martin Glaser, Director of the National Theatre Brno, that the Janáček Festival Brno would be entering into cooperation with the Ministry of Culture of the Czech Republic and that a memorandum would be signed regarding financial support for the event in 2024 and 2026. Both men signed this memorandum in front of the audience. To date, only two Czech festivals enjoy similar cooperation with the ministry, these being the Karlovy Vary International Film Festival and the Prague Spring International Music Festival.

janacek_na_start_foto_marek_olbrzymek_03

The evening began with a rendition of Suite Rustica Op. 19 by Vítězslava Kaprálová, a composer of the early 20th century born in Brno. Unfortunately, the performance of this work by the Orchestra of the Janáček Opera at the National Theatre Brno left the opening piece of the evening sounding very uneven and rhythmically scattered, as if the players were still just warming up. On the other hand, the melodious, cleanly played oboe solos and a certain plasticity – malleability in the dynamics during the third movement were notable highlights. In the aria of Svatopluk Čech from Janáček’s opera The Excursions of Mr. Brouček, the audience was introduced to baritone Tadeáš Hoza, whose performance I have no complaints about. The orchestra itself also sounded more settled, more coherent and more colourful in its playing.

janacek_na_start_foto_marek_olbrzymek_01

The first part of the concert ended with a rousing performance by violinist Josef Špaček and Dvořák’s Concerto for Violin and Orchestra in A minor, Op. 53. The penetrating, rich and “juicy” tone of the performer’s violin stood out especially in the cantabile, romantic passages, which were interspersed with technically demanding movements full of scale runs, octaves or other double stops – played with absolute ease by Špaček. The performances by the French horns were also a resounding success, especially the moment when the French horn switches from its solo part to the accompaniment with a sustained note. The connection between the soloist and the orchestra was superbly coordinated by the conductor Robert Kružík, who often turned to the violinist while he was playing (not only due to the timing of his entrances) to ensure better communication. Špaček, as the piece itself demands, occasionally adjusted the tempo, but always very tastefully and with feeling. This, of course, made it difficult for the conductor, who attempted the whole time to defer to the violinist, to follow his tempo and to get the orchestra to follow his lead. Albeit with occasional hesitations, musically this was an excellent experience which worked perfectly as a way of enticing people to attend the concerts in the upcoming ninth edition of the festival.

In fact, room was also given to this topic after the interval, when the dramaturg at the Janáček Opera Brno, Patricie Částková, and the artistic director, Jiří Heřman, introduced the main motto of Janáček Brno 2024 – Without Borders and outlined the programme for the festival. We can, for example, look forward to The Excursions of Mr. Brouček opening the festival, directed by the world-famous opera director Robert Carsen and scored by Marko Ivanović in co-production with Teatro Real Madrid and the Berlin State Opera, as well as The Makropulos Affair performed by the Berlin State Opera, the original version of Jenůfa from 1904 staged in collaboration between conductor Anna Novotná Pešková and director Veronika Kos Loulová, and the opera The Charlatan by Janáček’s pupil Pavel Haas, directed by Ondřej Havelka. As far as concerts are concerned, these being strongly oriented towards the Year of Czech Music, the concert of the Bamberg Symphony with conductor Jakub Hrůša is definitely worthy of attention. The festival will close with the opera The Cunning Little Vixen directed by Jiří Heřman, where we can look forward to performances by Adam Plachetka (the Forester) and Kateřina Kněžíková (Sharp Ears).

This singer drew attention to herself during the reviewed evening in several performances in which she sang well-known arias or duets (together with her colleague Václava Krejčí Housková) from Janáček’s operas. We were reminded of the drama of this piece with the protagonist’s prayer from the veristic work Jenůfa, which the singer underlined with a gentle pleading expression; with the vocal number “Why Can’t People Fly Like Birds” from Katya Kabanová, we found ourselves on the plane of infatuation and the despair which springs from this. The poignant, dreamy yet naïve dialogue between the two singers portraying friends depicts the plight of the protagonist (Kněžíková), who confides in her friend (Krejčí Housková) about an evil whispering in her ear. Exposed melodies, unnaturally large intervals and use of a higher range place great demands on the soloist, which Kateřina Kněžíková coped with adequately – albeit with the occasional deterioration in the clarity of the lyrics.

janacek_na_start_2023_foto_marek_olbrzymek_06

Pavel Haas was remembered with his Overture for Radio for small orchestra, four male voices and recitation composed in celebration of radio broadcasting and one of its pioneers, the Italian physicist and inventor Guglielmo Marconi. The lyrics by the composer’s brother Hugo Haas are not only celebratory, but also humorous to a certain extent – a farce. The composition itself gives the impression that it is a work rooted in the furtherance of socialism, an impression which the convincing performances of the reciter Pavel Čeňek Vaculík and the singers Tadeáš Hoza, Ondřej Koplík, Vít Nosek and Jan Šťáva also contributed towards. The number brought a breath of fresh new air to what was already a demanding and lengthy programme.

janacek_na_start_2023_foto_marek_olbrzymek_05

Things were no different in the case of two works by Bohuslav Martinů. In Variations on a Slovak Folk Song for Piano and Cello with orchestral instrumentation by Martin Wiesner, the role of soloist was taken by Robert Kružík, who surprisingly handed over the conductor’s baton to Josef Špaček. Martin Wiesner’s orchestration plays with the melodic line of the cellist, whose part it either adopts or merely accompanies on the principle of contrasting texture. The imaginative passages in which the wind instruments alternate with the full sound of the orchestra or other instrumental sections make the accompaniment much more colourful in tone, and as a result the overall feel of the piece was not dull. Robert Kružík did credit to his part –most definitely showcasing his musical versatility. During his career, Josef Špaček has undoubtedly gained a lot of experience playing with orchestras and guiding them under his baton, and in recent years he has in fact been performing much more on concert stages as a conductor. Špaček also confirmed these qualities by conducting the Brno Opera Orchestra, which did, however, exhibit certain shortcomings. Leaving aside the conducting style as such, his leading of the orchestra itself seemed somewhat distracted. Be this in terms of work with the left hand, just keeping time or a certain naturalness of gestures. This impression was reinforced by the very end of the Variations, in which the speed of the orchestra broke away from that of the soloist. The courage and determination with which Špaček led the ensemble are admirable and his conducting is certainly worthy of appreciation. The overture, serenade and finale from Martinů’s ballet Who is the Most Powerful in the World worked well again as lighter pieces, with which came comicism, playfulness in the form of expressive rhythms or a final parody of the finesse of classical works. The performance given by the theatre orchestra was harmonious, homogeneous and expressively varied. The wandering part of the solo viola, supported at times by clarinets and flutes, was particularly interesting from the point of view of its timbre.

janacek_na_start_foto_marek_olbrzymek_4

The end of the concert, as will be the case at the end of the festival itself, belonged to the opera The Cunning Little Vixen. Kateřina Kněžíková (Sharp Ears) and Václava Krejčí Housková (Gold Stripe) offered the audience a glimpse into the upcoming production with their duet, which followed the previously mentioned lighter note. Both in terms of singing and acting this was an adorable courting scene, followed by the last number of the evening – a duet between Svatopluk Sem (the Forester) and Adela Plachetková (Skokánek the little hare), again with a superb performance by both artists.

The evening of tasters accomplished everything it set out to do. The audience was treated to the unveiling of the absolutely packed festival programme for Janáček Brno 2024. But at the same time, they were already able to enjoy some wonderful early performances of works by artists they can look forward to seeing again next year.

Programme:

Vítězslava Kaprálová: Suita Rustica op. 19

Leoš Janáček: The Excursions of Mr. Brouček – Aria of Svatopluk Čech No. 16

Antonín Dvořák: Concerto for Violin and Orchestra in A minor, Op. 53, B108

Pavel Haas: Overture for Radio for small orchestra, four male voices and recitation

Leoš Janáček: Jenůfa – Jenůfa’s Prayer

Bohuslav Martinů: Variations on a Slovak Song (instrumentation by Martin Wiesner)

Leoš Janáček: Katya Kabanová – Katya’s scene “Why Can’t People Fly Like Birds”

Bohuslav Martinů: Suite from the ballet Who is the Most Powerful in the World

Leoš Janáček: The Cunning Little Vixen – duet of the Vixen and the Fox and the end of the opera

Robert Kružík – Conductor, Cello

Kateřina Kněžíková – Soprano

Václava Krejčí Housková – Mezzo-soprano

Svatopluk Sem – Baritone

Josef Špaček – Violin

Tadeáš Hoza – Baritone

Ondřej Koplík – Tenor

Vít Nosek – Tenor

Jan Šťáva – Bass

Pavel Čeněk Vaculík – Recitation

Orchestra of the Janáček Opera at the National Theatre Brno

4 November 2023 at 7:00 pm, Mahen Theatre

Photo by Marek Olbrzymek

Comments

Reply

No comment added yet..

The programme for Janáček Brno 2024, an international opera and music festival now in its 9th year, was unveiled at a concert held to mark this occasion entitled Janáček to the start! On Saturday, 4 November, the Mahen Theatre was filled not only with devoted fans of the festival, but also with foreign journalists, politicians and prominent figures from the world of culture. In addition to a collection of wonderful musical performances, the audience was also treated to a lineup of renowned artists – Kateřina Kněžíková (soprano), Václava Krejčí Housková (mezzo-soprano), Josef Špaček (violin) and, last but not least, Robert Kružík, who took on the role of both conductor leading the Orchestra of the Janáček Opera at the National Theatre Brno during the evening and also performing as a cellist.  more

The musical comedy The Addams Family is the latest production to hit the stage of the Music Theatre of Brno City Theatre. Audiences are in for an ironic, slightly morbid and enticingly horrific spectacle for the whole family. A musical production has been crafted here which serves up a famous contemporary pop culture phenomenon, as well as a generous helping of hyperbole and catchy melodies to boot. And testament to the audience’s hunger for this wacky family is the fact that all thirty performances are already nearly sold out…  more

The Ensemble Versus choir, accompanied by the Ensemble Opera Diversa under the baton of Gabriela Tardonová, demonstrated what a combination of historical and modern instruments sounds like within a contemporary musical context in the Red Church. The dramaturgical line of Tuesday evening was presented in the spirit of a combination of the works of Carlo Gesualdo da Venosa (1566-1613) and the world premiere of Exsultet by the principal composer Ondřej Kyas (*1979), which also includes parts written for cornett (Radovan Vašina), dulcian (Jan Klimeš), trombone (Pavel Novotný) and theorbo (Marek Kubát).  more

The second New World of Moravian Autumn festival began on Thursday in Brno’s Besední dům. This project, by students of the Faculty of Music at the Janáček Academy of Performing Arts, was primarily originally created for the practical musical programming course and intended to be a one-off event during the Moravian Autumn the year before last. Subsequently, however, more students signed up and started working on a repeat festival. The dramaturgy for New World 2023 was handled by percussionists Adéla Spurná and David Paša, bassoonists Aneta Kubů and Josef Paik, and multimedia composer Martin Janda. Three concerts were prepared for 19, 20 and 21 October for this mini festival.  more

The Restlessness of Icelandic Peace was the name of a concert on 15 October at the Cathedral of Saints Peter and Paul in Brno, at which conductor Chuhei Iwasaki with the Moravia Brass Band and American artist Adam Wiltzie performed a work by Icelandic composer Jóhann Jóhannsson (1969-2018). Many of you may know his music from the award-winning films The Theory of Everything and Arrivalmore

The third concert of the Moravian Autumn Festival, held under the auspices of the Ambassadors of Latvia and Lithuania, Elita Kuzma and Laimonas Talat-Kelpša, presented mostly contemporary works by foreign composers on Wednesday 4 October at the Besední dům. The show was directed by the Kremerata Baltica string orchestra, who invited the young talented pianist Onutė Gražinytė to join them, and the whole evening primarily rode on a wave of minimalism. However, during the preparation of the concert, the programme was changed and instead of Geörgy Ligeti's String Quartet No.1 "Métamorphoses nocturnes", works by Jēkabs Jančevskis and Olli Mustonen were performed in their place.  more

The Ensemble Opera Diversa has already presented several compositions by David Matthews (*1943) to Brno audiences, and in most cases these were Czech or even world premieres. This year Matthews’ 80th birthday was celebrated with a performance by the above-mentioned ensemble, or rather its chamber branch Diversa Quartet, headed by dramaturge Jiří Čevela, with a concert on 20 September at the Villa Löw-Beer. The programme, consisting of works by composers closely associated with David Matthews himself, including his own compositions, was preceded by an hour-long discussion in the presence of the composer. Matthews is a British-born composer with long-standing ties to the Brno circle of composers and musicologists. In addition to his participation in the so-called "apartment seminars" in the 1980s, he also is friends with several personalities such as composer, pedagogue and oboist Pavel Zemek Novák (*1957).  more

Trains as a symbol of departure, arrival and return were the main theme of the second edition of the International Festival of Jewish Culture ŠTETL FEST, which took place at the end of August and beginning of September. The four-day program combined the historical events of Jewish citizens taken from Brno to concentration camps during World War II with the modern stories of Ukrainians who fled to the city from the war in their country. To commemorate these events, the Memorial to the Disappeared was unveiled at the opening of the festival at Brno's main railway station and visitors can see the exhibition entitled Stories from Ukraine in various Brno locations until the end of September. The final concert directed by the Škampa Quartet under the title Trains, held on Sunday 3 September at the Besední dům, was a meaningful end to the festival, during which the question of leaving and returning was musically and historically reinforced.  more

The Brno-based singer-songwriter Yana recorded her first album Journey of the Soul in Dublin, Ireland, and invited a number of top Irish musicians to join her in the studio.  more

The international group Ensemble Fantasmi, which focuses on older music and was founded by flautist Paul Leenhouts, performed in Olomouc, at the Znojmo Music Festival and also visited Brno during a small European tour. The group presented themselves to the audience on Monday 24 July at Červeny kostel, where they, along with the invited singers prepared vocal-instrumental works by Czech Baroque composers. The reviewed concert in the Hall of Merciful Brothers on 25 July, which was also the last night of the tour, was in the same spirit. Its subheading Musica Bohemica pointed to a varied programme consisting of instrumental works by Czech composers of the Baroque and Classical periods.  more

The trilogy of lute concerts at the chateau within the Concentus Moraviae International Music Festival concluded on the evening of Sunday, 18 June. Once again, the audience at the Ceremonial Hall of the Rájec nad Svitavou Castle saw performances by Ryosuke Sakamoto on the Renaissance lute and David Bergmüller on the Baroque lute. Both prepared their own recital for the audience, dedicated to the given historical period, finally joining their artistry at the end of the concert. There was also a slight change in the program of the Renaissance block, which was more than welcome given the expansion of the repertoire and the offer of interesting - often lesser-known - lute pieces.  more

For the fourth year in a row, audiences could visit the courtyard of Špilberk Castle and enjoy the dance art of the Ondráš Military Art Ensemble from Brno in a series called Evenings with Ondráš. This year, on the two days of 15 and 16 June, those interested once again saw the best that the company currently has to offer. Moreover, the concerts were fundraisers, with the money raised going to the Military Solidarity Fund. I will take a look at the second, Friday evening, during which Ondráš invited his friends from the Mladina ensemble of Pilsen to the stage.   more

The Concentus Moraviae International Music Festival has been underway in thirteen Moravian towns since the end of this May. The theme of the twenty-eighth edition, titled Between Kroměříž and Vienna, highlights the interconnectedness of the seat of the Olomouc archbishops and the Imperial Habsburg court. The concert held on Friday, 16 June in the reconstructed church of the Cistercian Abbey Porta Coeli, offered the audience a musical probe into the Moravian Baroque.  more

Although this year’s 28th edition of the Concentus Moraviae international music festival embraces the theme Between Kroměříž and Vienna, the three-day project Island of Lutes by virtuoso lutenist and guitarist Pierre Pitzl holds a special place in its program design. From 16 to 18 June, the lute, vihuela or baroque guitar brought life to the castle grounds in Lysice and Rájec-Jestřebí with performances of  works by Renaissance and early Baroque composers. The noteworthy culmination of the project was prepared by the organizers of the festival on Saturday, 17 June on the premises of the Rájce-Jestřebí Chateau. In addition to the vihuela and Baroque guitar player Pierre Pitzl, it also featured Renaissance lute player Ryosuke Sakamoto and theorbist David Bergmülller  more

For the twenty-eighth year running, the Concentus Moraviae International Music Festival presents dramaturgically varied and interpretively refined evenings set not only in concert halls, but also in courtyards and chateau salons, castle halls, basilicas, churches and synagogues. The theme of this year’s 28th edition is Between Kroměříž and Vienna. Vienna, the cultural centre of Europe, served as the seat of the Habsburg emperors, while Kroměříž was the home of the archbishops of Olomouc. The dramaturgy of this year’s edition was prepared by a trio of respected experts: the Dean of the JAMU Faculty of Music, harpsichordist, organist and musicologist Barbara Maria Willi; historian, musicologist and choirmaster Vladimír Maňas; and Otto Biba, Austrian musicologist and long-time director of the Vienna Gesellschaft der Musikfreunde archive.  more

Editorial

The new form of the Brno Music Marathon festival is connected with the arrival of the chief dramaturge, Milan Tesar, music publicist, head of the music editorial office of Radio Proglas and since 2000 head of the international panel of radio music publicists of World Music Charts Europe (WMCE). In the past years he has participated in the Brno Music Marathon as a dramaturge of the World Music Scene.  more

The Lyric Opera of Chicago, with a capacity of 3,300 seats making it the second largest opera house in the USA after the Metropolitan Opera, staged Janáček's opera Jenůfa from 12-26 November 2023. In the foyer of the theatre, the series of performances was accompanied by an exhibition dedicated to Leoš Janáček, prepared by TIC BRNO and the Moravian Museum in cooperation with the Consulate General of the Czech Republic in Chicago and the Lyric Opera. The musical staging in Chicago was undertaken by Brno-born conductor Jakub Hrůša.  more

Members of one of the most influential bands in rock history, the British King Crimson, will present The Crimson Marathon project, created exclusively for the Czech festival Prague Music Performance, at Brno’s Sono Centre. The aim of the project, created with the consent of the group’s founder Robert Fripp, is to present the individual members of King Crimson through their own projects and through the work of the group itself.  more

The theme of guitarist Milan Bátor’s second album is the legendary The Beatles in instrumental arrangements for solo guitar, written by Italian guitarist Mario Gangi. The album, entitled I Beatles, will be launched in the Löw-Beer Villa in Brno.  more

The Brno Culture Newsletter brings you an overview of what is happening in theatres, clubs, festivals and cultural events in Brno.  more

The 52nd Moravian Autumn festival is now coming to an end. On Sunday, it will close at the Janáček Theatre with the Poznań Philharmonic Orchestra commemorating the 90th anniversary of the birth of Krzysztof Penderecki, one of the most important composers of the second half of the 20th century. The evening’s soloist Milan Paľa will perform his Viola Concerto and, in the second half, Szymanowski’s Violin Concerto No 2more

The next two seasons of the Janáček Opera at the National Theatre Brno will be in the spirit of the Year of Czech Music 2024. This year's first premiere will therefore belong to the Czech opera The Jacobin by Antonín Dvořák. Thanks to the OperaVision project, the opera production directed by Martin Glaser will reach audiences all over the world. Czech Television will record the performance for the CT ART channel.  more

Jaroslav Březina received the Thalia Award for his role as Herod in the opera Salome.  more

The ReConnect conference is part of the Batch club festival. A diverse range of music professionals will gather in Brno for three days to discuss key topics and issues in the music industry.  more

The 57th International Musicology Colloquium will take place in Brno, this year under the title New Paths in Opera. It is organised by the Faculty of Arts of Masaryk University (FFMU) together with the National Theatre Opera and the State Opera through the Musica non grata project. World renowned figures from the ranks of musicologists, conductors, opera directors, dramaturges and representatives of music producers will discuss avant-garde musical theatre of the first half of the 20th century with an emphasis on "Entartete Musik". The conference will be streamed live on Musica non grata and FFMU platforms. The project includes the opening concert of the Brno Contemporary Orchestra season.  more