News

You are warmly invited to the matinée performance of the ballet Sleeping Beauty – the Czar’s Last Daughter, taking place at the State Opera on March 20 at 11:00 a.m. Don’t miss the chance to see this spectacular dance drama about the happy days and tragic end of Russia’s last royal family. Tickets are available at the exceptionally advantageous price of 100.- KC.

Matinée Showing of the Ballet Sleeping Beauty – the Czar’s Last Daughter
(Clicking on the thumbnail will open photo in new window)

Ulvi Azizov, principal dancer of the State Opera Ballet, the laureate of many prestigious awards, was awarded for his contribution to the development of ballet Arts and the high level of professional skills at the Rudolf Nureev XVI International Ballet Festival. His talent was highly appreciated by the famous ex Maitre de Ballet of Paris Opera (the choreographer), Professor Francis Malovik: ”Ulvi Azizov has shown himself as a great classical dancer, able to demonstrate both his dramatic talent and excellent techniques”. Ulvi Azizov has participated in many World International Ballet Galas.

Ulvi Azizov will perform in the ballet Swan Lake the role of Prince Siegfried on the January 29, 2012. "It is a big honor for me to perform on the stage of State Opera in the role of Prince Siegfried and to work with the famous Prima-ballerina, Artistic Director, Hana Vlacilova!"

„It is a big honor for me to perform on the stage of State Opera“, says Ulvi Azizov
(Clicking on the thumbnail will open photo in new window)

Don’t miss the season’s last performance of the ballet horror love story, The Phantom of the Opera, taking place on Monday, January 16, 2012. A romantic yarn based on Gaston Leroux’s novel Le Fantôme de l’Opéra, choreographed here by Libor Vaculík, has appealed to a wide spectrum of audience, becoming a staple part of the company’s repertoire. Featured in the leading roles will be Prague State Opera ballet soloists, Richard Hlinka as the enigmatic title hero, and Zuzana Hvízdalová as the object of his passion, Christine Daaé.

For operational reasons, the date of the traditional Prague Ballet Gala, originally set for Saturday, January 14, has been shifted to Monday, March 12, 2012. All tickets already purchased remain valid for the new date. We apologize for any problems incurred by the change. Thank you for your understanding. 

The Prague State Opera ballet ensemble is in full swing preparing its closest new production: a staging of the ballet Don Quixote. The much-loved title, set in sunny Spain and drawing on arguably the most illustrious Spanish novel, Cervantes’ The Ingenious Gentleman Don Quixote of La Mancha, propelled by vivacious music from the pen of the Viennese composer, conductor and violinist, Ludwig Minkus, offers ample opportunities for the full display of sophisticated dancing skills. The first performance of the ballet’s classical choreography by Marius Petipa and Alexander Gorsky, mounted here by the current head of the City of Prague Dance Conservatory, Jaroslav Slavický, will take place on the stage of the Prague State Opera on February 16, 2012.

Here is the first series of photos from rehearsals for the production (a complete gallery will soon be available on Facebook).

(Clicking on the thumbnail will open photo in new window)

The concert held on Saturday in Zwettl, Austria, was more than successful. Sold-out capacity, endless applause, wonderful atmosphere. The orchestra conducted by František Drs and the Prague State Opera soloists made a great impression with the preludes, arias and duets by Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart and Johann Strauss. Tremendous ovations at the end of the concert lead to many encores.

The excitement was huge; the local photographers interrupted the curtain call to be able to get the picture of the orchestra along with the regional politicians. The huge success met with the performances of Jana Sibera, Simona Procházková, Martin Šrejma and Vratislav Kříž.

We are pleased to inform you Vladimir Chmelo, Thalia Prize holder, will perform as Nabucco at the Prague State Opera stage, for the first time, on Thursday, November 17 at 7 pm. Vladimir Chmelo has been cooperating with us over many years. Currently, he performs at most of the world’s significant opera houses, including La Scala in Milan, Stadt Opera in Berlin, or Teatro Colón in Buenos Aires. In February 2012, he will debut as Sharpless (Madama Butterfly), in the Metropolitan Opera in New York.

Vladimir Chmelo’s Nabucco debut
(Clicking on the thumbnail will open photo in new window)

In case, you didn’t take your chance to see the inimitable Csilla Boross as Madama Butterfly, in September, don’t you hesitate to take another chance. The Hungarian soprano, holder of the Thalia Prize 2008, will personalize the geisha Cio-Cio-San character at the Prague State Opera stage on Saturday, November 12, at 7 pm.

Csilla Boross returns as Madama Butterfly
(Clicking on the thumbnail will open photo in new window)

Endless applause and standing ovations capped the October 18 performance of the ballet Giselle, featuring in a repeat of their previous guest appearance last May the prima ballerina of the English National Ballet, Daria Klimentová, and first soloist of the English National Ballet Vadim Muntagirov. Salvos of applause interrupting the show were likewise addressed to the home company’s resident artists, Alina Nanu, Viktor Kocian, Daria Lazurová, Veaceslav Burlac, and the scenes of the Willis in the second act. Shouts of “bravo” also accompanied the arrival on stage for the final bows of the conductor, Václav Zahradník.

The two guests’ dazzling ballet skills displayed in this highly successful classical production of Giselle, choreographed by Hana Vláčilová after Jean Coralli, Jules Perrot and Marius Petipa, will be shown to ballet lovers in a video made by Czech Television (whose crew will also be on the spot to record the October 20 performance). First of all though, you are warmly invited to come and see the “live” performance of Giselle on October 20, for which the last few seats are still available.

(Clicking on the thumbnail will open photo in new window)

Dear PSO Visitors,

Due to operational reasons, the performance of the ballet The Phantom of the Opera scheduled for Sunday, October 16, will not take place. Tickets can be returned or exchanged at the Prague State Opera box office, or at the sales points of Bohemia Ticket agency.

We apologize to all members of our audience for this inconvenience.

The English National Ballet prima ballerina, Daria Klimentová, is making a comeback onto the stage of the Prague State Opera, on two occasions, October 18 and 20, 2011, to appear in the title role of C. A. Adam’s ballet Giselle. Daria Klimentová’s last visit to Prague as Giselle took place last May, when she danced opposite Vadim Muntagirov. The packed Prague State Opera auditorium rewarded both the visiting stars and members of the company’s resident ballet ensemble by an endless applause and standing ovations. The news of the ballerina’s October visit thus augurs yet another memorable experience of ballet art at its best.

On Wednesday, September 14, the Prague State Opera will be witnessing the first appearance on its stage in the title role of Puccini’s opera Madama Butterfly, of the outstanding Hungarian soprano, Csilla Boross. Her creation of the role in the Janáček Opera of the National Theatre in Brno earned her the prestigious Thalia Award 2009. Her previous guest appearance at the Prague State Opera was as Puccini’s Tosca.

Csilla Boross in Madama Butterfly
(Clicking on the thumbnail will open photo in new window)

On Sunday, September 18, the Prague State Opera will be hosting on its stage for the first time the prominent Hungarian soprano, Szilvia Rálik, as Desdemona in Verdi’s Otello. She will then likewise join the Prague State Opera company on its autumn tour of Japan, where she will create Puccini’s Tosca. Szilvia Rálik has been soloist of the Hungarian State Opera in Budapest since 2002. In 2004, she won the Voice of the Year Award, followed in 2008 by the Gundel Award for Outstanding Achievement in Musical Arts, and in 2010 by the Prima Award. She has so far guest appeared in Germany, Austria, Luxembourg, the Netherlands and Switzerland. In the Czech Republic, she has been featured by the National Opera in Brno, as Abigail in Nabucco, and as Turandot. Her gallery of operatic roles includes, among others, Verdi’s Lady Macbeth and Amelia (Simon Boccanegra), Bellini’s Norma, Strauss’ Elektra and Salome, Leonora (Beethoven’s Fidelio), Elettra (Mozart’s Idomeneo), Donna Elvira (Mozart’s Don Giovanni), Renata (Prokofiev’s The Fiery Angel), Judith (Bartók’s Bluebeard’s Castle), or Ortrud (Wagner’s Lohengrin). As Desdemona, she has previously sung opposite José Cura in the role of Otello, among others (see photo).

(Clicking on the thumbnail will open photo in new window)

The coming season, which will open on August 18 with a fresh edition of the Verdi Festival, is associated for the artistic ensemble of the opera company with the arrival on July 1 of a new head, the opera stage director and set designer, Rocc. Rocc studied opera stage direction with Alena Vaňáková at the Janáček Academy of Music and Drama in Brno, then furthered his training by postgraduate studies of stage design in Zurich, and in Offenbach am Main. He was granted scholarship by the Ministry of Culture of the Republic of Slovenia, and received support from the Slovenian Academy of Sciences and Arts. During the 2007/2008 season, he was engaged as dramaturge with the Opera of the Slovenian National Theatre in Maribor, and in the 2008/2009 season he was deputy Artistic Director of the Janáček Opera of the National Theatre in Brno, where he then held the post of Artistic Director in the seasons 2009/10 and 2010/11.

A major new production of the 2011/2012 season will be this company’s staging of the opera Die drei Pintos, whose first night is being prepared for January 12, 2012 by the experienced creative tandem of Jiří Nekvasil (stage direction) and Daniel Dvořák (set design). The operatic repertoire will moreover be enriched aby two celebrated Verismo one act stories of passionate love and deadly jealousy leading to murder: Pietro Mascagni’s Cavalleria rusticana, and Ruggiero Leoncavallo’s I pagliacci (June 14, 2012). The Prague State Opera’s twentieth anniversary as an independent company will be marked by a gala concert on April 1, 2012.

The ballet repertoire will take on yet another classic title, Ludwig Minkus’ Don Quijote, which is certain to join the company of such box-office hits as Swan Lake, Giselle, Cinderella, or The Sleeping Beauty – The Czar’s Last Daughter. Its first performance is planned for February 16, 2012. The company’s ballet ensemble is also going to revive its production of The Phantom of the Opera, the widely popular horror love story in ballet setting, choreographed here by Libor Vaculík. Its first night is set for October 13, 2011.

It’s the news his millions of fans across the world have been hoping for. This summer George Michael makes his eagerly awaited return to the stage with Symphonica: The Orchestral Tour, his fi rst European dates since the widely acclaimed 25Live tour concluded in Copenhagen in August 2008.

One of British music’s greatest singer-songwriters and most loved artists, George Michael has never toured like this; he will perform not only a carefully chosen selection of his own songs, spanning all his remarkable, near 30-year career, but he will cover some of his favourite songs from other artists. The music will be re-worked and re-arranged for the orchestra which will accompany George at each location. This new classical setting will give each song added layers and new nuances. It’s unmistakeably George Michael, but not as we’ve ever known him.

• Tickets on sale from June 6 via Bohemia Ticket and Ticketpro
• Ticket prices: 2500 – 4500,- CZK
• Further information

We regret having to announce that the show Limelight: Homage to Barrandov has had to be shifted to a later date, namely, October 10, 2011. The venue remains the Prague State Opera. Tickets issued for the original date, May 16, may be returned at the outlets of Bohemia Ticket. The show’s postponement to autumn is due to the anticipated appearances of several international artists whose names will be made public shortly.

Thanking you for understanding, we apologize for any inconvenience this may have caused you.

The artists of the Prague State Opera have prepared for Monday, June 6, 2011, at 7:00 p.m., a gala concert intended as a token of gratitude to all the company’s friends and faithful members of audience for their encouragement and support all through the 2010/2011 season.

• Further information

Saturday, November 26 will witness a live television broadcast of the official announcement of the results of the Czech Nightingale Mattoni 2011 poll. The ceremony will feature the handing over of Gold, Silver and Bronze Nightingale awards, as well as of the Achiever of the Year, Discovery of the Year, Absolute Nightingale, and the Czech Republic’s Best-loved Slovak Artist awards. The official ceremony programme will include performances by some of the Czech Republic’s top pop stars.

On Thursday, March 31, Prague State Opera acting director Ondřej Černý made known the preliminary programme for the company’s 2011/2012 season. “In view of the anticipated reconstruction project, we are planning to limit the duration of the coming season, bringing it to its close by April. Reconstruction work may then take its course from early May through late August,” said Ondřej Černý.

The coming season will open with a new edition of the already traditional Verdi Festival, taking place from August 18 – 31, 2011.

The PSO operatic repertoire will expand on February 16, 2012 by the famous double bill of Verismo stories of passionate love and fatal jealousy ending with murder: the one-acters, Cavalleria rusticana, and I pagliacci, by Pietro Mascagni and Ruggiero Leoncavallo, respectively. On April 1, 2012, a gala concert will mark the 20th anniversary of the Prague State Opera’s independent status.

The company’s ballet repertoire will be enriched by another classic, namely, Minkus’s Don Quijote, a title which is certain to rank alongside such box-office hits as Swan Lake, Giselle, Cinderella, or The Sleeping Beauty – The Czar’s Last Daughter. The new production’s first night is planned for January 12, 2012.

The ballet ensemble is to reincorporate into its repertoire after some time of absence its production of The Phantom of the Opera, a popular horror story in ballet form, set in the world of ballet, choreographed by Libor Vaculík. The premiere of the revival will take place on October 13, 2011.

(Clicking on the thumbnail will open photo in new window)

We have prepared for you a total of nine subscription series which are structured so as to offer the truly best pick to everyone, including senior citizens, students, and families with children. All options guarantee price reduction on standard box-office admission tickets, and each covers an attractive combine programme of opera and ballet.

Subscribers get value back in special bonuses, including:

• A permanent reserved auditorium seat of your own for all performances of your subscription series.
• Fixed timetable of your opera nights for the whole season in advance.
• Last but not least, you save time that would otherwise be lost obtaining tickets.

Some of the subscription series offer bookings of family box sets of tickets.

The sale of the widely popular Christmas gift subscription, offering four subscription series of ballet and opera performances, will open in November 2011.

The first night of the revived PSO production of Lucia di Lammermoor on March 10, 2011, will benefit by the appearance in the title role of a very special guest: the Slovak soprano Ľubica Vargicová. An artist active on the stages of some of the world’s most prestigious opera houses, including New York’s Metropolitan Opera, the Bavarian State Opera in Munich, the Deutsche Oper Berlin, or the opera companies of Los Angeles and San Diego. Memorably, she sang opposite Juan Diego Flórez in Donizetti’s La Fille du régiment. Ms Vargicová is looking forward enormously to her visit at the Prague State Opera, not just for this opera house’s unique appeal, but also as Donizetti’s Lucia happens to be her favourite opera creation. Here then is an opera night not to be missed!

(Clicking on the thumbnail will open photo in new window)

Preparations for the first night, on March 10, 2011, of the revival of the PSO production of Donizetti’s opera Lucia di Lammermoor, are in full swing. The revival’s new conductor is PSO’s own maestro Richard Hein. Alternating in the title role will be the renowned Slovak soprano Ľubica Vargicová, Mary-Jean O’Doherty from Australia, and two PSO soloists, Jana Sibera and Anna Todorova. Edgardo will be sung by visiting Canadian tenor Mario Zhang, and Nikolai Vishnyakov; Miguelangelo Cavalcanti and guest soloist Jakub Kettner will alternate as Enrico; and Miloš Horák and Oleg Korotkov as Raimondo. Photos from rehearsals by Jan Kačír.

(Clicking on the thumbnail will open photo in new window)

On Saturday, February 26, the title role in the Verdi opera will be once again sung by the outstanding Turkish tenor, Efe Kişlali. He made his debut on the PSO’s stage in December, 2006, as Radames (Aida), to which he added his creation of Otello on May 28, 2009. This time out, he will be appearing opposite no less brilliant soloists, Pavla Vykopalová (Desdemona) and Ivan Kusnjer (Iago). The conductor will be Tomáš Brauner, laureate of one of the world’s most prestigious conducting contests, the Dimitris Mitropoulos Competition in Athens in 2010.

Make sure not to miss one of the current season’s last performances of Otello.

Efe Kişlali in Otello on February 26
(Clicking on the thumbnail will open photo in new window)

On Thursday, February 24, the title role in the PSO’s production of Puccini’s Turandot will be created by the internationally renowned soprano, Elizabeth Connell. She added this part to her extensive repertoire in December 2008, scoring a major triumph on the first night of the opera’s new production at London’s Covent Garden. Elizabeth Connell has guest appeared at the festivals of Bayreuth, Salzburg, Orange, Verona, and Glyndebourne, as well as on some of the most prestigious operatic stages in Europe and the USA, including Milan’s La Scala and New York’s Metropolitan Opera. She made her first appearance at the Prague State Opera in May 2010, as a brilliant Isolde.

Turandot on February 24 with Elizabeth Connell
(Clicking on the thumbnail will open photo in new window)

Prague State Opera soloist Anda-Louise Bogza sang the title part in Puccini’s Manon Lescaut at the Teatro Filarmonico Verona, on January 23 and 27. The conductor of the company’s production staged by Graham Vick and choreographed by Ron Howell was Riccardo Frizza.

(Clicking on the thumbnail will open photo in new window)

The international public may not yet be informed about the plans being hatched for a brutal transformation of Prague’s existing opera houses, or more specifically, a merger of the National Theatre (with its opera, ballet, and drama ensembles) with the Prague State Opera (opera and ballet ensembles). The exact structural makeup of the anticipated new model of Prague’s opera theatre is at this point total enigma to the Czech music public and, as all indications appear to suggest, to the Ministry of Culture itself as well. The culture minister, Jiří Besser, and his deputy for the arts and libraries, Radek Zdráhal, have so far persisted in changing their statements on the issue for the media on the spur of the moment, with the variant solutions often contradicting one another.

• Further information

(Clicking on the thumbnail will open photo in new window)

On Thursday, February 3, the Prague State Opera will be hosting again, a half-year from his previous visit, the internationally renowned conductor, Ondrej Lenárd. He will conduct a performance of Puccini’s La bohème, a Prague State Opera production mounted under his direction (premiere on October 23, 2008). Making her debut as Mimi here on the same night will be the outstanding Slovak soprano, Adriana Kohútková. Still prior to that, on January 26, she will appear at the PSO in the title role of Puccini’s Madama Butterfly.

(Clicking on the thumbnail will open photo in new window)

The performance of Puccini’s Tosca on Jan. 25 is dedicated by the Prague State Opera to the prominent Czech baritone, René Tuček, who celebrated his 75th birthday on January 8, 2011. From 1971, René Tuček ranked among leading members of the Prague National Theatre opera company which he joined after accumulating a wealth of experience at Brno. During his Prague career, he created an impressive gallery of opera characters, including King Vladislav, Scarpia, Eugene Onegin, Figaro in Il barbiere di Siviglia, Rigoletto, Andrey Bolkonsky in War and Peace, and many others. He toured extensively, guest appearing among other venues at Reggio Emilia, Italy, as Don Pizarro. His account of Rigoletto earned him a gold medal of the Giuseppe Verdi Society in Parma. At the close of his career, he stood out for his exemplary discipline and modesty as an artist, appearing in smaller parts at the Prague State Opera. For many years, he coupled his work on the stage with teaching members of the youngest generation of singers at the Academy of Music in Prague, his students were for example Richard Haan and Martin Bárta.

January 25 Tosca night dedicated to René Tuček
(Clicking on the thumbnail will open photo in new window)

Let us offer here just a few figures recalling the year 2010 at the Prague State Opera in terms of statistics. The company’s home stage saw a total of 246 performances (including 181 opera and 62 ballet shows, plus three concert productions), which were attended by an aggregate of 182,963 spectators. The overall box-office proceeds (also in the company’s home venue) amounted to the sum of 77,412,196 CZK, more by 4,003,287 than in the previous year. The average box-office receipt was 314,684 CZK, by 2,306 more than in 2009. There, it might be interesting to know that the average box-office receipt for a PSO opera performance exceeded by 67,000 CZK the median receipt for an opera night at the Prague National Theatre, while the same comparison between the PSO and National Theatre ballet performances puts the PSO ahead by 72,000 CZK.

The overall average attendance on the PSO’s home premises attained the rate of 71.7 percent (with 71.6, 71.8, and 76.9 percent for opera, ballet, and concert productions, respectively). In terms of attendance, the company’s most successful productions (apart from Die Fledermaus) were Carmen, with 17 repeat performances at an average attendance of 81.5 percent, and Tristan und Isolde, which scored an average attendance of 78.7 percent in five repeat performances, plus the ballet production of Smetana’s Má vlast, with two repeats averaging an attendance of 80.2 percent. There too, comparison with the Prague National Theatre may be interesting: an average 743 seats were sold for a PSO opera performance, exceeding by 82 admission tickets sold by the National, while for ballet the PSO sold an average 745 tickets per show, more by 229 than the National.

The Prague State Opera will take part in this year’s Smetana Litomyšl International Opera Festival, presenting a concert production on June 18 with a programme featuring scenes from Smetana’s Dalibor and Wagner’s Lohengrin. The PSO orchestra, chorus, soloists and guests will be conducted by the renowned German conductor Gerd Albrecht, a noted enthusiastic champion of Czech music. He has to his credit numerous triumphs in this field, including the recent reconstruction and production of the original version of Dvořák’s opera The King and the Charcoal Burner, whose recording won the 2008 MIDEM Classical Award as the year’s best opera set.

Gerd Albrecht has previously held the posts of chief conductor at the Hamburg State Opera (1988 – 1997), and principal conductor of the Yomiuri Nippon Symphony Orchestra in Tokyo (1997 – 2007) and the Danish Radio Orchestra (1998 – 2004). He has earned formidable repute in this country, most notably as the principal conductor of the Czech Philharmonic Orchestra between 1993 and 1996, and subsequently as a guest conductor of both the Czech Philharmonic and the Prague Symphony Orchestras. In the domain of opera, he directed a production of Dvořák’s Vanda at the National Theatre in Prague, in 2004. His forthcoming first collaboration with the Prague State Opera is the outcome of a contact initiated by the PSO’s acting director, Radim Dolanský, who met with the Maestro in his Berlin home on January 8.

Gerd Albrecht with a bust of Antonín Dvořák.
(Clicking on the thumbnail will open photo in new window)

December 31 marks an important anniversary in the life of the conductor Rudolf Krečmer. He will be celebrating the occasion with baton in hand, conducting a performance of Strauss’ Die Fledermaus at the Prague State Opera.

• Interview with R. Krečmer

In the second half of the 2010/2011 season, the Prague State Opera will be presenting two new opera titles. Considerations of economy, however, have obliged the company to focus there on reviving some of its previous productions, a practice that has been common on the international circuit. Therefore, we are going to reintroduce the previously successful and popular stagings of Donizetti’s Lucia di Lammermoor. The premiere of the revival of Lucia di Lammermoor, staged by Anton Nekovar and conducted by Richard Hein, will take place on March 10, 2011. The second new opera title will be Verdi’s Il trovatore, staged by Lubor Cukr, with sets and costumes designed by Josef Jelínek. Its premiere is envisaged for May 26, 2011. 

The Director of the Prague State Opera, conductor Oliver Dohnányi handed in his resignation on the company’s top executive post on December 20, 2010. Jiří Besser, the Czech Culture Minister, has appointed to the opera company’s head the current manager of the PSO’s opera ensemble, Radim Dolanský. On December 21, Deputy Culture Minister Radek Zdráhal informed all members of the PSO about, among other issues, the theatre’s anticipated reconstruction. The photo shows Mr Dolanský, left, and Mr Zdráhal during their meeting with the PSO staff.

Radim Dolanský appointed acting Prague State Opera director
(Clicking on the thumbnail will open photo in new window)

On Thursday December 16, 2010, the Prague State Opera staged three special functions in remembrance of 100 years from the death of Angelo Neumann (August 18, 1838 – December 20, 1910), the first director of the New German Theatre (today’s Prague State Opera). The events included a solemn act of commemoration at Angelo Neumann’s tomb at the Protestant Cemetery in Prague-Strašnice (161, Vinohradská Str.), at 2 p.m., during which the personality of Angelo Neumann and his contribution to Prague theatre life between 1885 and 1910 were assessed by the current director of the Prague State Opera, Oliver Dohnányi. The ceremony was complemented by the performance of the Prague Trumpeters College brass ensemble (members of the Prague State Opera orchestra František Bílek, Miroslav Laštovka and Lukáš Čermák, and member of the Czech Philharmonic Orchestra Karel Kučera). This was followed later on, at 5 p.m., by a lecture delivered by Vlasta Reittererová, as the prologue to the official opening of the exhibition A Tribute to Angelo Neumann in the dress-circle foyer of the Prague State Opera building, a display of materials from the archives of the PSO Documentation Centre. Finally, an exceptionally warm response was met by that evening’s gala concert, to which the audience were welcomed by Andrea Kalivodová and Martin Bárta. The programme, an assortment of numbers from the operatic repertoire of Neumann’s era at the New German Theatre, featured PSO soloists Anda-Louise Bogza, Christina Vasileva, Svatopluk Sem, and the Prague State Opera orchestra and chorus under the baton of Oliver Dohnányi. The photo-gallery here contains pictures from the act of remembrance at Angelo Neumann’s tomb, and from the gala concert.

(Clicking on the thumbnail will open photo in new window)

Prague State Opera guest artist, baritone Vladimír Chmelo had a very successful debut in Teatro Colón, Buenos Aires. He created the role of Ford in the house’s new production of Verdi’s Falstaff (stage director Robert Oswald, conductor Marco Guidarini). The premiere took place on November 27, 2010 with the additional performances on November 30, December 3 and 5. Pablo Bardin wrote in his review in Buenos Aires Herold: „I liked very much Czech baritone Vladimir Chmelo as Ford; his dark timbre is managed with impressive skill and he gives much character to the maniacally jealous husband of Alice.“

(Clicking on the thumbnail will open photo in new window)

A brand new feature in our pursuit of extended scope of audience services and benefits is now coming in the form of a Gift Voucher on Prague State Opera admission tickets. It applies to all performances staged by the Prague State Opera, i.e., not only those produced by the PSO opera and ballet ensembles, but including guest performances by visiting companies.

Gift Vouchers at face values of CZK 400.-, 800.-, 1,000.- and 2,000.- are available at the theatre’s box office (Wilsonova 1, Prague 1), and at Bohemia Ticket outlets (Na Příkopě 16, Prague 1; and Malé náměstí 13, Prague 1).

Gift Vouchers can be exchanged for tickets at the theatre’s box office, and at Bohemia Ticket outlets. In case of ticket price exceeding that of the nominal value of Voucher the buyer is requested to pay the difference. In case of ticket price lower than that of the nominal value of Voucher, the difference is not paid back. Gift Vouchers cannot be exchanged for cash.

On Thursday, December 16, 2010, the Prague State Opera is mounting three commemorative events marking the 100th anniversary of the death of the first director of the New German Theatre (today’s Prague State Opera), Angelo Neumann (August 18, 1838 – December 20, 1910). To start with, a solemn act of remembrance will be held at 2:00 p.m., at Angelo Neumann’s grave, at the Protestant Cemetery in Prague’s quarter of Strašnice (161, Vinohradská Street); this will be followed at 5:00 p.m. by the official inauguration, in the dress-circle foyer of the PSO building, of an exhibition entitled A tribute to Angelo Neumann, showing materials from the archives of the PSO Documentation Centre (portraits, theatre billboards, stage design, manuscripts, etc.). Finally, a gala concert will begin at 7:00 p.m., featuring music from the operatic repertoire of Neumann’s era at the New German Theatre (1888 – 1910). A programme of arias and overtures by Richard Wagner (Die Meistersinger von Nürnberg; Tannhäuser; Rienzi; Lohengrin; Tristan und Isolde), Ruggiero Leoncavallo (I pagliacci), Gioacchino Rossini (Guillaume Tell), Giuseppe Verdi (Il trovatore), and Arrigo Boito (Mefistofele) will be performed by PSO soloists Anda-Louise Bogza, Christina Vasileva and Svatopluk Sem, and the orchestra and chorus of the Prague State Opera. The conductor will be Oliver Dohnányi.

Conductor Tomáš Brauner won third prize in one of the world’s most prestigious conducting contests, the Dimitris Mitropoulos Competition in Athens (October 29 – November 3, 2010). The award benefits include concerts in Vienna’s Konzerthaus with the Vienna Chamber Orchestra, and in Athens with the Orchestra of Colours. This year’s edition of the contest, whose jury was chaired by the conductor Claus Peter Flor, gathered together 217 young entrants. The competition is named after the world-famous Greek conductor, Dimitris Mitropoulos (1896 – 1960). Its past winners whose international careers were sparked off by the competition, included the likes of Zdeněk Košler or Claudio Abbado. Tomáš Brauner has been based since 2008 in the opera company of the J.K. Tyl Theatre in Plzeň, and since 2009 he has guest appeared at the Prague State Opera, conducting its productions of Verdi’s Nabucco and Rossini’s Il barbiere di Siviglia. He was likewise part of the production teams in the company’s stagings of Verdi’s Otello and Massenet’s Don Quichotte. For the 2010/2011 season, he was made chief guest conductor of the Plzeň Philharmonic Orchestra, and still during the same season he will start working with the Prague Radio Symphony Orchestra.

Conductor Tomáš Brauner wins prestigious award
(Clicking on the thumbnail will open photo in new window)

The story of the Parisian courtesan’s ill-starred love conveyed by the romantic novel of Alexandre Dumas, fils, entered the history of music in the operatic treatment of Giuseppe Verdi. Apart from it, though, there exist a good many ballet versions of the famed literary work. The Prague State Opera currently presents a spectacular ballet production of La Dame aux camélias, choreographed by Libor Vaculík. A musical collage of various sequences from Verdi’s opera score, it was arranged by Sergey Onsoff. The production premiered in the autumn of 2003, since when it has been applauded by audiences on the company’s home turf as well as during its many tours in this country and abroad. Now La Dame aux camélias is being reintroduced to the PSO stage after a fairly long pause on November 15, 2010.

The gala performance on Saturday, October 30, of Puccini’s La bohème, is featuring two major guest artists. The role of the poet, Rodolfo, will be performed by tenor Pavel Černoch, who has to his credit appearances in some of the most prestigious opera houses (Bavarian State Opera, Finnish National Opera in Helsinki, Vienna’s Volksoper, Stuttgart State Opera, and others) and concert halls (working there with, among others, the City of Birmingham Symphony Orchestra conducted by Andris Nelsons). During the current season, Pavel Černoch has been making guest appearances at Paris’ Opéra Bastille, the Hamburg State Opera, the Deutsche Oper Berlin, the Latvian National Opera in Riga, and other venues. The gala performance of La bohème will be conducted by Bulgarian maestro Ivan Kozhuharov.

An exceptionally warm reception was given to the performance of Carmen on Tuesday, October 5, 2010 with a cast of soloists from the Beseto Opera of Seoul: mezzo Seung-Hyun Choi (Carmen), sopranos Jee-Hyun Kim (Micaela), Hyun-Jung Kim (Frasquita) and Maria Hee-Sun Kim (Mercedes), tenor Wan Kim Joo (Don José), and bass-baritone Kwan-Hyun Kim (Escamillo). The audience in a nearly sold out auditorium gave a huge ovation to the guests from Korea as well as to the artists from the house. The performance which took place under the auspices of the Ambassador of the Republic of Korea to the Czech Republic, His Excellency Gabriel Oh, was conducted by Jiří Mikula.

Photos: Daniel Jäger

(Clicking on the thumbnail will open photo in new window)

The PSO’s new staging of the classic version of the ballet Giselle (first night April 7, 2011) was commissioned to the former solo dancer of the Latvian National Opera ballet ensemble and experienced teacher at the Riga school of choreography, Zane Lieldidža-Kolbina.

Do you recall your first encounter with Giselle, both as a spectator and as a dancer?

Giselle has been one of my best-loved ballets ever since I was a young girl. I first danced in it while still a student. In fact, I’d always wished I would dance the title part, but instead I got the role of Myrthe after joining the company. As time passed, I realized Myrthe was better suited for me, that the part was more in line with my nature.

What in your view is the reason for the undying popularity of Adam’s Romantic ballet?

It’s the flawless harmony between the original choreography and music, embedded already in the work’s subject matter, which is dance. Giselle lives for dance, she dances even as she dies, and dance eventually brings her to a new life as a fairy. She experiences her whole existence through dance.

To what extent do you intend to remain faithful to Perrot’s, Coralli’s and Petipa’s version?

I’ve seen more than a few various versions in different parts of the world, having danced in two myself, but I still regard as perfect the original one, which I wish to remain true to as much as I can. My ambition is to preserve the charm of Romantic ballet. The Czech audience may perhaps find certain partial alterations somewhat unusual. Thus for instance, I wish to replace the better known version with the Bridal Couple’s pas de deux in the first act by a pas de troix of two country girls and a lad.

What’s your impression of the State Opera ballet ensemble?

My initial impressions from the ballet hall exercise have been constantly positive, I like their dedication, and I’ve been particularly and pleasantly surprised by the ladies’ form. I have so far managed to see two repeat showings of Swan Lake, where I was impressed by the young soloist Michal Krčmář as the Prince, as regards both dancing technique, expression, and appearance. Zuzana Hvízdalová is a very fine dancer, Rebecca King is exceptionally well endowed technically. On the whole, I am very much looking forward to working with the Prague State Opera ballet ensemble.

On the Forthcoming Production of Giselle with Zane Lieldidža-Kolbina
(Clicking on the thumbnail will open photo in new window)

The performance of Carmen on Tuesday, October 5, 2010 will be featuring a cast of soloists from the Beseto Opera of Seoul: mezzo Seung-Hyun Choi (Carmen), sopranos Jee-Hyun Kim (Micaela), Hyun-Jung Kim (Frasquita) and Maria Hee-Sun Kim (Mercedes), tenor Wan Kim Joo (Don José), and bass-baritone Kwan-Hyun Kim (Escamillo). In 2004, on the occasion of guest appearances of Korean soloists in the Prague State Opera’s production of Carmen in October of that year, the Prague State Opera signed an accord on co-operation with the Beseto Opera and its President, Ms Wha-Ja Kang. At the invitation of Ms Wha-Ja Kang, PSO soloists have since paid already four visits to Seoul. In 2005 they appeared in the Korean production of Mozart’s Die Zauberflöte, and in May 2006, August 2007 and August 2010 in Bizet’s Carmen, alongside the Korean company’s chorus and soloists. This October’s visit of Beseto Opera soloists in Prague is falling within the framework of the programme marking the 20th anniversary of the establishment of diplomatic relations between the Republic of Korea and the Czech Republic.

This performance is taking place under the auspices of the Ambassador of the Republic of Korea to the Czech Republic, His Excellency Gabriel Oh.

• Further information

The new season’s first performance of the ballet The Sleeping Beauty – the Czar’s Last Daughter will be embellished by the presence of the outstanding Czech ballerina Andrea Kramešová, currently a member of the Royal Swedish Ballet. On Friday, September 24, the audience will once again have the chance to admire the art of a dancer whose first night appearance in Yuri Vámos’ production of The Sleeping Beauty received high critical acclaim. In the words of one reviewer, “Andrea Kramešová’s technical assurance comes as a quality that needs no special mention, something she makes no effort to exhibit, a sense of confidence which she inhabits with natural ease. What is truly remarkable are her hands and arms. Her control of them is graceful and free from mannerisms, charmingly old-style as it were, and yet, the stylization notwithstanding, each movement comes out as naturally, and indeed credibly, as one would hardly expect to get from a ballet dancer.” Andrea Kramešová’s partner in the role of the Stranger will be the Prague State Opera ballet’s new soloist, Filip Veverka.

At the official opening of the season on September 7, 2010, MgA. Oliver Dohnányi, the Prague State Opera director, in the presence of MgA. Radek Zdráhal, the Deputy Minister of Culture, and PaedDr. František Zborník, the Head of the Culture and Library Department, informed the Prague State Opera ensemble about the new schedule of premieres in 2010/2011 season.

The scheduled opera Die drei Pintos by Carl Maria von Weber and Gustav Mahler shall be on March 10, 2010 replaced by the new production of Verdi’s Rigoletto (music director: Oliver Dohnányi, stage director: Lorenzo Mariani, the art director of Teatro Massimo in Palermo, set and costume designer: William Orlandi).

The ballet Giselle by Adolphe Charles Adam (premiere on April 7, 2011) in its classic Coralli-Petipa choreography shall be staged by Zane Lieldidža-Kolbina, the former ballet soloist of the Latvian National Opera and experienced teacher of the Riga Choreography School.

Instead of the scheduled opera Der Rosenkavalier by Richard Strauss, on May 26, 2011 the one-acters Cavalleria rusticana (Rustic Chivalry) by Pietro Mascagni and I Pagliacci (Clowns) by Ruggiero Leoncavallo (stage director and set designer: Thaddeus Strassberger, the first prize winner of the 2005 European Opera Directing Prize, costume designer: Mattie Ullrich), the most popular operas of Italian verismo, will return to the Prague State Opera building.

The first event of the season shall be the gala concert on December 16, 2010 to pay homage to Angelo Neumann conducted by Alexander Vedernikov, the music director and chief conductor of the Bolshoi Theatre in Moscow in the period from 2001 to 2009.

• For more information

Oliver Dohnányi, General Director of the Prague State Opera, awarded honorary membership of the house to Soňa Červená, a distinguished mezzosoprano, on Saturday, September 4, 2010, before the performance of Bizet’s Carmen, on the occasion of the singer’s birthday.

“Soňa Červená made her mark in a number of leading opera houses all over the world as Carmen, and it is this opera that we are playing this Saturday to celebrate the singer’s birthday. Ms Červená has worked with great personalities – singers, conductors, and directors – always supporting modern theatre, living by the highest professional standards, and continues to be active in singing and acting despite her age," said Oliver Dohnányi, General Director of the Prague State Opera, on this unique occasion. He went on to wish Ms Červená the best of luck in her new role she is currently rehearsing in Robert Wilson’s production of The Makropulos Case by Karel Čapek at the National Theatre. “I am positive that Ms Červená will agree to co-operate with the Prague State Opera, too,” said Mr Dohnányi.

• Further information on Soňa Červená

(Clicking on the thumbnail will open photo in new window)

Prague State Opera soloist Anda-Louise Bogza guest appeared twice (August 25 and 28, 2010) in Arena di Verona in the role of Leonora (Il trovatore). The production was staged by Franco Zeffirelli and conducted by Marco Armiliato.

Anda-Louise Bogza in Verona
(Clicking on the thumbnail will open photo in new window)

Slovak baritone Zoltán Vongrey will create the role of Scarpia on September 2, 2010. His repertoire is centered around Italian opera roles. In the 2010/2011 season, he will create the role of Francesco Foscari in the Slovak National Theatre’s new production of Verdi’s opera I due Foscari, conducted by Friedrich Haider.

Zoltán Vongrey in Puccini’s Tosca September 2
(Clicking on the thumbnail will open photo in new window)

The Prague State Opera ballet is opening the new season on Sunday, September 5, with two performances, at 2:00 p.m. and 7:00 p.m., of its production of Tchaikovsky’s Swan Lake. Pavel Ďumbala’s and Hana Vláčilová’s classically inspired choreography draws consistently on the original concept of Lev Ivanov and Marius Petipa. In the afternoon showing, the double-role of Odette/Odile will be danced by Zuzana Hvízdalová, and the ensemble’s new soloist, Michal Krčmář, will create the part of the Prince. The evening performance will feature for the first time as Odette/Odile Prague State Opera soloist Rebecca King, known to regular visitors as Cinderella from Sergei Prokofiev’s eponymous ballet, or as Anastasia from Tchaikovsky’s The Sleeping Beauty. Dancing opposite her as the Prince will be another new asset to the company’s forces, Filip Veverka, a dancer with a wealth of experience from European and overseas ballet stages.

On Thursday, August 19, 2010, the Prague State Opera entered into the new season with the already traditional Italian opera series. In this years edition of the event, its eighteenth, the audience will be offered the company’s productions of Verdi’s Aida, Nabucco, Rigoletto, Otello, and La traviata, featuring Prague State Opera soloists and guests.

• More information

The Prague State Opera announces a new date of audition which takes place on August 25 (time will be specified later). In case you are interested to audition, please, send your CV + photo + CD or DVD recording to the following address: Prague State Opera, Mr. Radim Dolansky, Legerova 75, 110 00 Praha 1, or by e-mail dolansky@opera.cz

The audition will be confirmed to you within next few days.

On Thursday July 1, 2010 the Oliver Dohnányi was inaugurated as the new director of the Prague State Opera.

Oliver Dohnányi studied conducting with Václav Neumann at the Academy of Performing Arts in Prague and the University of Music and Performing Arts Vienna. He was the conductor of the Radio Symphony Orchestra in Bratislava, the principal conductor of the Slovak National Theatre Opera Orchestra and the conductor of the Slovak Philharmonic Orchestra. Between 1993 and 1996 and in 2004-2007 period he was engaged as the principal conductor of the National Theatre Opera Orchestra in Prague. Recently he also served as the head of opera of the National Moravian-Silesian Theatre in Ostrava and the director of opera of the Slovak National Theatre in Bratislava. He has been a guest conductor with the outstanding opera houses (Buenos Aires, Zurich, Copenhagen, Vienna, Amsterdam, Basel, Düsseldorf, Naples, London, Leeds etc). In the period from 2001 to 2004 he was the permanent guest conductor with the Bavarian State Opera in Munich. He conducted prominent orchestras from all over the world, such as Yomiuri Nippon Symphony Orchestra (Tokyo), Royal Liverpool Philharmonic Orchestra, the Czech Philharmonic Orchestra, the Hungarian State Philharmonic Orchestra, the Portuguese Philharmonic Orchestra, the English Chamber Orchestra, London Mozart Players and the BBC Orchestra.

The 2010/2011 season will yet witness the Prague State Opera ballet’s augmentation by several outstanding new members coming from this country and abroad. The corps de ballet will welcome in its ranks young artists from France, the United States and Japan. Most importantly, the company’s forces will also receive a boost in the persons of several major solo dancers whose complete roster will be made public immediately after the summer holidays. At this point we are already in a position to announce that the ensemble will benefit by the arrival of Filip Veverka, an eminent Czech dancer and the winner of the prestigious Thalia Award for 2004. He has built up his career on an impressive body of experience from work at the Prague National Theatre, Tulsa Ballet company in Tulsa, Oklahoma, the Deutsche Oper am Rhein in Düsseldorf, and most recently, the Royal Swedish Ballet. Prague State Opera audiences had previous chances of seeing this elegant soloist, equally assured in displays of the classical and modern dancing techniques, during his guest appearance in our production of Tchaikovsky’s Swan Lake, and while witnessing his brilliant account of the role of the Stranger on the first night of the ballet The Sleeping Beauty – the Czar’s Last Daughter.

Filip Veverka nods to State Opera Ballet engagement
(Clicking on the thumbnail will open photo in new window)

A new production of Richard Wagner’s Tristan and Isolde was opened at the Prague State Opera on May 20, 2010, attracting interest from the audiences and the media. A milestone in opera history, often called a drama of the human heart, Tristan was last staged in what was then the New German Theatre and now the Prague State Opera in 1934. Returning to our opera house after 76 years, Wagner’s opera was musically prepared by renowned British conductor Jan Latham-Koenig, staged by an international production team (director Marcelo Lombardero, stage designer Diego Siliano, costume designer Luciana Gutman), with an international cast starring Marion Ammann (Isolde), Leonid Zakhozhaev (Tristan), Amber Wagner (Brangäne), Tomasz Konieczny (Kurwenal), Richard Wiegold (King Marke). The first-night audience gave a huge ovation to the conductor and the Prague State Opera orchestra, spontaneously applauding the singers in the lead roles as well as Amber Wagner, a young American soprano singing Brangäne.

Earlier on the opening day of Tristan and Isolde, a bust in memory of Richard Wagner was unveiled in the dress-circle foyer of the PSO historic building in what is a joint initiative of the Prague State Opera and the Richard Wagner Society, funded equally by both institutions and related to the 2012 Wagner Congress to be held in Prague, with the Prague State Opera acting as one of the major hosts. The bust was created by Václav Krčál, a young artist who became the undisputed winner of the bid.

(Clicking on the thumbnail will open photo in new window)

On Thursday, May 20, 2010, the Prague State Opera will open a new production of Richard Wagner’s Tristan and Isolde. Isolde will be sung by Marion Ammann, a renowned Wagnerian artist. World-renowned soprano Elizabeth Connell will take over Isolde for two nights (May 27, and June 1). The second premiere (May 23) will see the Prague State Opera debut of French soprano Catherine Hunold, also scheduled to sing in this year’s last performance (June 17).

For me, Isolde – and perhaps Tosca – is the most exciting role I have sung. It is always a great challenge for me. I really look forward to the moment I can sing Isolde in this beautiful opera house in beautiful Prague! Marion Ammann

Tristan and Isolde brings me a deep feeling of perfect physical and mental satisfaction. As Isolde I always die a happy woman! I am looking forward to coming back to Prague. I sang Lady Macbeth and performed several concerts of Beethoven’s Ninth Symphony here years ago. When I studied in London in the 1970s, I was taught by Czech baritone Otakar Kraus, and my debut role in 1972 was Janáček’s Varvara. So I do have a special attachment to the Czech Republic. Elizabeth Connell

To me, studying this new character means plunging fully into Wagner’s score which accompanies me twenty-four hours a day. Everything is there! Isolde is a fascinating role, I am now at the beginning of never-ending work, and my task is mainly to create room for the character in which she can develop. Catherine Hunold

(Clicking on the thumbnail will open photo in new window)

Preparations are in full swing for an exceptional operatic event: the first night, on March 18, 2010, of a new production of Jules Massenet’s Don Quichotte. It is being staged by Jiří Nekvasil, for whom the occasion marks a comeback to the State Opera after eight years. Alternating in the title role will be Rubén Amoretti, a bass of Italian-Spanish extraction, and Serbian bass Ivan Tomašev; Sancho Panza will be performed by Mexican baritone Noé Colín, alternating with Jakub Kettner; and the two ladies cast as Dulcinée are Galia Ibragimova and Andrea Kalivodová. The staging is conducted by Heiko Mathias Förster of Germany, who made a successful debut at the Prague State Opera with the revived premiere of Verdi’s Otello in May 2009. The coming premiere is dedicated to the memory of an outstanding Czech interpreter of Don Quichotte, the bass Eduard Haken, the centenary of whose birth will be marked this coming March. He created the part in the last previous production of the Massenet opera in Prague, on the stage of the then Smetana Theatre (today’s Prague State Opera), between the years 1965 and 1967. Rehearsal photos: Luděk Novák.

(Clicking on the thumbnail will open photo in new window)

One hundred and twenty years after its first performance, on January 23, 2010, Pyotr Ilyich Tchaikovsky’s ballet The Sleeping Beauty will reach the stage of the Prague State Opera, in the premiere of a new production choreographed by Youri Vàmos, subtitled eloquently The Czar’s Last Daughter. The leading role of Anastasia will be created by the company’s guest, Andrea Kramešová (alternating with State Opera soloist Rebecca King). Andrea Kramešová, who formerly worked with the National Theatre in Prague, Tulsa Ballet in Tulsa, Oklahoma, and the Deutsche Oper am Rhein, is currently engaged with the Swedish Royal Ballet. Commenting on her new role in Prague, she said:

“The Sleeping Beauty has been with me ever since my school days, when I did it as my degree performance. I do like Petipa’s classic version, but I’ve found Youri Vàmos’ original adaptation even closer to my heart. I am fascinated by the story of the royal Romanov family, as well as by the choreographer’s approach to his staging. In terms of dancing technique, the character of Anastasia is on a par with, say, Odette/Odile in Swan Lake, but what I believe is an even tougher nut to crack there is one’s having to convey some truly complex emotions in such a manner as to bring across to the audience the production’s message on all its planes of meaning. To me, this is a major challenge, and one I’m ever so keen to take up.”

(Clicking on the thumbnail will open photo in new window)

Preparations for the first night of the ballet, The Sleeping Beauty – the Czar’s Last Daughter, have made another important step forward. Rehearsals progressing under the supervision of the choreographer Youri Vámos and his assistants, Joyce Cuoco and Alexey Afanassiev (who will also dance the principal male part), have now been moved from ballet studios to the stage. The production poses great demands both on the artists cast for the many solo roles, and on the work of the corps de ballet. The Prague State Opera orchestra is conducted by Pavel Šnajdr. The premiere takes place on January 23, 2010.

(Clicking on the thumbnail will open photo in new window)

Preparations are already progressing at full speed for an exceptional ballet event: the first night of Youri Vamos’ staging of The Sleeping Beauty – The Czar’s Last Daughter. This highly individual adaptation of Pyotr Ilyich Tchaikovsky’s famous fairy-tale ballet will be first performed on the stage of the Prague State Opera in a gala opening, on January 23, 2010. As shown in the first series of photos related to the production, the demanding process of rehearsals, in the presence of the choreographer and his assistants, has in these days fully absorbed the company’s entire ballet ensemble.

(Clicking on the thumbnail will open photo in new window)

The Prague State Opera ensemble recently returned to its home turf from an exceptionally successful Japanese tour. This autumn marked already the ninth visit paid by the State Opera to Japan, this time out bringing a new production of Verdi’s Aida, staged by Massimo Gasparón. In the course of the four-week tour, from October 19 through November 15, 2009, the PSO visitors made eighteen appearances in fifteen cities (Tokyo, Fuchu, Omiya, Yokosuka, Musashino, Toyama, Ina, Sasebo, Nagoya, Osaka, Kobe, Mito, Obihiro, Sapporo, and Nerima). All of the tour venues, including halls seating 2 700, were hopelessly sold out, including Tokyo’s famed Bunka Kaikan, where the Prague State Opera has appeared four times during this year alone.

The performances were conducted by Giorgio Croci, plus a special guest of the organizing agency, Konzerthaus Japan, the acclaimed Japanese woman conductor, Tomomi Nishimoto. Alternating in the title role were Anda-Louise Bogza and Jitka Svobodová, the rest of the cast included Efe Kişlali and Gianluca Zampieri (Radames); Galia Ibragimova, Daniela Diakova and Jolana Forgašová (Amneris); Miguelangelo Cavalcanti and Jakub Kettner (Amonasro); Oleg Korotkov and Miloš Horák (Ramphis); Lukáš Hynek-Krämer (King); Dagmar Vaňkátová and Lubomíra Popova-Alabozova (Priestess); and Jiří Hruška (Messenger). Several showings featured, as guests of the Japanese agency, sopranos Michèle Crider and Dimitra Theodossiou (in the title part), and tenor Mario Malagnini (Radames).

The Japanese audiences, forthcoming and receptive, rewarded the Prague State Opera ensemble by copious attendance of all its performances. The atmosphere in Japan’s huge concert halls was fascinating, with bursts of applause for the soloists in the course of each night. Many of the visitors have already been Prague State Opera fans for many seasons, invariably looking forward to its visits, and more than a few of them not hesitating to travel along with the company to repeat their experience away from their home cities.

(Clicking on the thumbnail will open photo in new window)

The Prague State Opera Ballet Ensemble is holding an audition to complete vacant posts in its ensemble on Saturday, January 30, 2010, at 3:00 p.m. The address: Legerova 75, 110 00 Praha 1, 1st floor, the operation (glass) building of the Prague State Opera – entrance for employees, dance hall no. 1. Connection: Metro line A / C – Muzeum station.

More detailed information is available from Pavel Ďumbala, Art Director of the Prague State Opera Ballet Ensemble.

• Phone: +420 296 117 315, mobile: +420 724 215 964
• E-mail: dumbala@opera.cz, aujezdska@opera.cz

The Prague State Opera has in stock for you a family Christmas season packed with fairy-tale spectacles where good invariably triumphs over evil, a programme that’s sure to bring delight to grownup and junior audiences alike.

You may therefore look forward to our versions of the immortal story of the kind and unselfish Cinderella who eventually finds and gets her prince charming, or the one about the Princess Odette turned to a swan by the evil Redbeard, in a classic account of the ballet, Swan Lake. Opera-lovers are invited to come and see the enchanting story of love conquering all trials and tribulations with the aid of The Magic Flute.

The offer comprises the following roster of performances:

• Cinderella, December 20, 2:00 p.m. and 5:00 p.m.; December 22, 7:00 p.m.
• Swan Lake, December 26 and 29, 2:00 p.m. and 7:00 p.m.
• The Magic Flute, December 25, 7:00 p.m.

The story of the Parisian courtesan’s ill-starred love conveyed by the romantic novel of Alexandre Dumas, fils, entered the history of music in the operatic treatment of Giuseppe Verdi. Apart from it, though, there exist a good many ballet versions of the famed literary work. The Prague State Opera currently presents a spectacular ballet production of La Dame aux camélias, choreographed by Libor Vaculík. A musical collage of various sequences from Verdi’s opera score, it was arranged by Sergey Onsoff. The production premiered in the autumn of 2003, since when it has been applauded by audiences on the company’s home turf as well as during its many tours in this country and abroad. Now La Dame aux camélias is being reintroduced to the PSO stage after a fairly long pause, for a single performance taking place on November 23, 2009. This will be followed by a series of four showings in the northern Italian cities of Trieste, Trento, and Modena, on a tour scheduled for late November and early December 2009.

La Dame aux camélias is back
(Clicking on the thumbnail will open photo in new window)