One of the ensembles performing at the 45th year of the prestigious international Hong Kong Arts festival (Feb 16 – Mar 18) was the ensemble of the National Theatre Brno. HK Cultural Centre’s Concert Hall, which can host nearly 1,600 visitors, saw them perform four times altogether – twice it was Janáček’s opera The Makropulos Case, then his Sinfonietta, Eternal Gospel and Glagolitic Mass and also Antonín Dvořák’s Stabat Mater.
Led by Marko Ivanović, the opera on immortality got performed on 23th and 25th February in the 2014 production by David Radok. Swedish soprano Annalena Persson was starring in the title role, with the other cast including Petr Levíček (Vítek), Eva Štěrbová (Kristina), Svatopluk Sem (Jaroslav Prus), Aleš Briscein (Albert Gregor) or Jana Hrochová (The Maid). The last two mentioned performed on 26th February, too, as soloists in Dvořák’s Stabat Mater together with Pavla Vykopalová and Jiří Sulženko. Here, Ivanović was replaced by Jaroslav Kyzlink on the conductor’s platform. Kyzlink conducted the concert on 28th February, too. Its program consisted of the three popular works by Janáček mentioned above. Peter Berger took over the tenor role in the ensemble of soloists; the instrumental solo parts were played by Petr Kolař (organ) and Lenka Koplová (violin). The choirmaster was Pavel Koňárek.
Hong Kong Arts Festival
23 and 25 Feb: The Makropulos Case (director: Alfréd Radok, music director: Marko Ivanović)
26 Feb: Stabat Mater (cond. Jaroslav Kyzlink)
28 Feb: Sinfonietta, Eternal Gospel, Glagolitic Mass (cond. Jaroslav Kyzlink)
Opera ensemble, orchestra and choir of the National Theatre Brno