Ensemble Opera Diversa will perform two operas today to mark the 200th anniversary of Mendel’s birth

The Brno Ensemble Opera Diversa will perform two chamber operas by Miloš Štědron this afternoon. Magnum mysterium will be performed in its world premiere, and Palackého truchlivý konec will be performed in a revival (it was premiered in 2013). The ensemble will perform both works in the Old Brno Monastery on Mendel Square as part of the Mendel 2022 Festival. The performance will be directed by Gabriela Tardonová.

The opera Palackého truchlivý konec was premiered by Ensemble Opera Diversa at the OPERA 2013 festival. This grotesque farce is above all a welcome opportunity to demythologise national historical lessons with ironic exaggeration. The author of the puppet play, on which the libretto is based, is Hubert Krejčí, and the opera portrays the revivalists with much-needed humor and detachment. Puppet theatre inspiration is also a prominent element of the stage design, with five performers playing more than double the number of characters, plus the indispensable opera chorus. Finally, all the action is commented on indiscriminately in the entrances by the rapping Kašpárek.

Magnum mysterium is given its world premiere and is essentially an apocryphal work in which the author combines fictional commentaries with real events and texts from the life of the later Abbot of St. Brno. This multi-layered nature is reflected in the exaggeration of the plot itself as well as in the musical treatment of the material. The speeches of the characters are mostly ironic, including Štědroň’s typical laconic musical speech. In contrast, J. G. Mendel is the only serious character whose counterpart here is also the role of witness (testo-historicus) in the spirit of Baroque opera and oratorio. Both works will be performed by the ensemble today, 24 July 2022 at 14:00 in the Old Brno Convent, Mendlovo náměstí 1/4.

Program:

Miloš Štědroň: PALACKÉHO TRUCHLIVÝ KONEC (2013)

chamber opera based on the play by Hubert Krejčí (revival study)

MAGNUM MYSTERIUM Sacra et profana in vita Gregori Mendeli (Sacred and Secular in the Life of Gregor Mendel) (2020)

chamber opera to a libretto by the author (world premiere)

Production team:

Musical staging and conductor: Gabriela Tardonová

Directed by Tomáš Studený

Set and costumes: Sylva Marková

Production: Sylva Marková

Production assistant: Kateřina Křivánková

Persons and cast: Historicus/Lysenko/Janáček Tomáš Krejčí Johan Gregor Mendel Aleš Janiga Anselm Rambousek Michael Robotka Frau Čučka (the girl from Brno 1) Lucie Kašpárková Frau Meier (the girl from Brno 2) Jana Vondrů

EOD Chamber Orchestra

Concertmaster and artistic director Jan Bělohlávek (violin)