Opera - by Igor Stravinsky and Pyotr Ilyich Tchaikovsky - The National Theatre in Prague
Igor Stravinsky’s first and Pyotr Ilyich Tchaikovsky’s final opera hail from two totally different musical worlds –
Le rossignol or The Nightingale - the first part, written 20 years later thank Iolnata, blends the magic of Impressionism and the tumultuous Impressionist idiom.
The omnipotent Chinese Emperor lives amidst excessive luxury, which binds, suffocates and poisons him by its affectation, and has no inkling as to the beauty of Nature and its creatures.
< Stanislava Jirků, Roman Janál, Olga Jelínková
on the picture - actor Luděk Vele
Václava Krejčí Housková
His eyes are only opened by a song of an ordinary nightingale.
< Aleš Jenis, corps de ballet of the National Theatre
Aleš Jenis, Stanislava Jirků
Aleš Jenis, Stanislava Jirků
Yet the two works, so distant from one another at first glance, have much in common – not only their being based on fairy tales, but also the theme and, if you will, message, which is inherent to the genre.
< Stanislava Jirků
Konstantin Andrijev, Roman Janál, Josef Moravec, Jevhen Šokalo
Princess Iolanta has been blind since birth and her father meticulously sees to her never learning of her affliction. She lives in a beautiful, enclosed garden and no one is ever allowed to mention light, colours or human vision in her presence.
< in the middle: Dana Burešová, Jiří Hájek
One day, the garden is entered by the knight Vaudémont, who falls in love with Iolanta and arouses in the blind Princess the desire to see.
< Aljaž Farasin, Dana Burešová
Václava Krejčí Housková,
Dana Burešová, Yukiko Šrejmová Kinjo
Aljaž Farasin, Aleš Jenis
Aljaž Farasin, Dana Burešová
Although works by two great masters of global music, neither of the fairy-tale operas has to date been staged at the National Theatre, with Stravinsky’s Le rossignol only having been presented twice in a concert performance, in 2010. Our new production is musically prepared by the renowned British conductor Jan Latham-Koenig, who worked in Prague some five years ago. On the other hand, the gifted Czech stage director Dominik Beneš makes his debut at the National Theatre.
< Aljaž Farasin, Dana Burešová
Musical preparation: Jan Latham-Koenig
Conductor: Jan Latham-Koenig, Zbyněk Müller
Stage director: Dominik Beneš
Sets: Martin Černý
Costumes: Zuzana Přidalová
Motion cooperation: Dana Pala
Light-design: Martin Špetlík
Chorus master: Martin Buchta
Dramaturgy: Ondřej Hučín
The Nightingale
Libretto: Igor Stravinsky, Stěpan Mitusov
Iolanta
Libretto: Modest Iljič Čajkovskij