On October 14, J. K. Tyl Theatre in Plzeň presented with great success a world premiere of Jakub Jan Ryba, first and as yet last opera by composer Miroslav Kubička (*1951). The piece is based on Josef Bouček’s successful 80s play The Shepherds’ Night about the cruel fate of the composer and schoolmaster who is today known often only as the … Read more
In co-production with Opéra de Montréal, Pacific Opera Victoria in the capital of British Columbia, Canada, presented a new production of Janáček’s Jenůfa. It was directed by the internationally acclaimed film director of psychological dramas Atom Egoyan, famed, among others, for Academy Award-nominated The Sweet Hereafter, Exotica (awarded a Golden Palm of Cannes) or the erotic thriller Chloe. Egoyan set the story … Read more
The penultimate concert of this year’s MusicOlomouc contemporary music festival belonged to the Phace Ensemble (Austria). On October 9 in the Corpus Christi Chapel of the Art Centre of Palacký University, they performed five pieces including a premiere by Petr Bakla. Last Piece (Mostly stepwise) for clarinet/bass clarinet, violoncello and piano was written on the festival’s commission. The programme … Read more
The fourth concert of this year’s MusicOlomouc festival took place on October 8 in the Corpus Christi Chapel of the Art Centre of Palacký University. It introduced Lichtzwang, Olomouc-based chamber ensemble founded last year, joined by Hungarian pianist Nóra Füzi. The concert presented the premiere of a new piece by Ostrava-based “classical” cimbalom player and composer Daniel … Read more
The second day of MusicOlomouc festival offered a concert of German chamber vocal ensemble AuditivVokal Dresden. Its members, in the Atrium of Art Centre of Palacký University, performed a program consisting exclusively of 21st-century music, including the world premiere of Hláskopelní a špitocudní by pianist, composer and the festival’s director Marek Keprt (*1974). Keprt wrote it especially for this ensemble. During … Read more
The 9th year of Olomouc-based international contemporary music festival MusicOlomouc was started on October 2. Its second concert, held at the theatre hall of the Art Centre of Palacký University, introduced Aleph Gitarrenquartett, which is a guitar quartet specializing in new music. The ensemble performed, among others, the world premiere of František Chaloupka’s (*1981) Guitar Quartet No. 1 “The … Read more
The BERG orchestra gave world premiere to a new piece by one of the most successful Czech composers of the young generation, Jan Ryant Dřízal. Lekce Váchal for countertenor and orchestra was performed on September 25 at the hall of the Masaryk Dormitory in Dejvice, Prague. The title refers to the composition’s two main sources of inspiration: Lekce Faust, … Read more
On September 13, the South Czech Philharmonic opened its 37th season with a concert at the Theatre Hall of Metropol, České Budějovice. A part of it was a world premiere of a new piece by composer and accordionist Jiří Lukeš. As the title suggest, Bukolika was inspired chiefly by commonly occurring natural phenomena (rain, wind, fog…). The author argues, however, … Read more
National Theatre Brno opened this year’s season by releasing Rules for Good Manners in the Modern World, an original Czech opera by composer Michal Nejtek and librettist Jiří Adámek, who is also the director. The piece is based on Jean-Luc Lagarce’s (1957-1995) drama for a solo actress, which introduces the spectators to the etiquette rules, as established in the … Read more
Next commission for the internationally acclaimed Ondřej Adámek came from BCMG, Birmingham Contemporary Music Group. They invited him to join their Canal Serenade on Narrow Boats project, a celebration of Birmingham canals and their busy trade history. On September 10 then, what was being exchanged on those boats were not goods but musical ideas… Three composers … Read more
