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LibušeKinderveranstaltung

National Theatre (Národní divadlo)Ostrovní 1, Praha 1, Prague, Central Bohemian Region, 11000, Tschechien
Datum/Zeit in Prague Zeitzone
Dienstag 28 Oktober 202517:00
Darsteller
Prague National Theatre Opera
Robert JindraMusikalische Leitung
Jan BurianRegie
Petr ZuskaBühnenbild
Kateřina ŠtefkováKostüme
Daniel DvořákLicht, Bühnenbild
Prague National Theatre Orchestra
Prague National Theatre Chorus
Ondřej HučínDramaturgie
Prague National Theatre Opera Ballet
Prague Philharmonic Children's Choir
Charles University Choir
Pavel VaněkChorleitung
Eva EsterkováSopranFirst harvestman
Veronika KaiserováSopranFirst harvestman
Lucie HájkováSopranSecond harvestman
Yvona ŠkvárováMezzosopranThird harvestman
Petr DvořákTenorFourth harvestman
Dana BurešováSopranQueen Libuše
Mária PorubcinováSopranQueen Libuše
František ZahradníčekBassChrudoš
Martin BártaBaritonChrudoš
Aleš BrisceinTenorSťáhlav
Kateřina JalovcováMezzosopranRadmilla
Jana SýkorováMezzosopranRadmilla
Michaela ZajmiMezzosopranRadmilla
Petra Šimková-AlvarezSopranKrasava
Tamara MorozováSopranKrasava
Pavel ŠvingrBassLutobor
Adam PlachetkaBassbaritonPřemysl
Jiří BrücklerBaritonPřemysl
Svatopluk SemBaritonPřemysl
Aleš JenisBaritonRadovan

The speculations about whether Libuše is Bedřich Smetana’s most mature work within the context of his opera oeuvre, or even within the context of Czech opera in general, whether and how it can stand its ground as against the airiness of The Bartered Bride, the lyricism and absorptive power of Dvořák’s Rusalka, or the emotion and drama of Leoš Janáček’s operas, do not result in definitive conclusions – it will always depend on the angle from which Libuše and any other renowned Czech opera is viewed.

The visual angle that appertains to Libuše most naturally is determined by the very intention pursued by the composer and the consequent tradition. Bedřich Smetana earmarked Libuše for being performed on the festive occasions relating to the life of Czech society, which after 1860 had begun markedly and palpably emancipating itself in terms of culture, politics and economics. Such an occasion was a seminal event in the history of Czech society – the opening of the National Theatre, first temporarily in 1881, and definitively two years later. An event that at the symbolic level widely transcended the narrow universe of Czech theatre-making and became one of the inherent harbingers of the attainment of independence in 1918. Accordingly, the centenary of the foundation of the Czechoslovak Republic was a momentous anniversary for the National Theatre itself, thus affording it the opportunity to create a new production of Libuše as a natural contribution to the celebrations.

There are several genre attributions by means of which we try to characterise Libuše, with one of them being a “scenic ritual of conciliation and purgation”. At variance with the expectations placed on an opera dramatist, Smetana does not sharpen the conflicts and antimonies in Libuše, deliberately seeking instead the path to their timely pacific settlement. Whether it concerns the main plot-forming dispute between two brothers about the inheritance after their late father, the antagonisms between a man and a woman, rigorous justice and friendly amiability, between those of “plebeian” and “noble” decent, between the motifs of light and darkness, all the conflicts in Smetana’s opera are redeemed in the central character of Princess Libuše, who is not just a mythical sovereign foretelling glory for the Czech nation but, first and foremost, a cathartic fabulous symbol of womanhood and motherhood, clemency and peaceful life.

Rezensionen von Libuše inszeniert von Jan Burian

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