The Brno National Theatre (NdB) has a full schedule of opera, ballet and theatrical performances for June. Photo credit: Ctibor Bachratý
Brno, June 2 (BD) – Perhaps you have seen the scowling face on posters and advertisements around Brno, glaring at you with dark eyes, and leaning forward aggressively, with his tattooed body and black clothing looking every bit of a man who means business.
This is not the classic image of an opera.
Yet, Othello is very much the protagonist of a famous tragedy by William Shakespeare, and a famous operatic adaptation by Giuseppe Verdi. The four-act opera returns to the Brno stage after more than three decades to explore the differences and prejudices of society, centering around Othello, his wife Desdemona, and the treacherous Iago.
The work premiered in Milan in 1887. It is being staged at the Janáček Theatre by director Martin Glaser, with a score by Robert Kružík. It will premiere on June 17, sung in the original Italian with Czech, English and German subtitles.
Additional performances are June 19, 21, and 28.
Click here for more information.
Opera Under the Heavens Full of Stars
Opera is great inside beautiful theatres, but it might be even better outside with Central Europe and a summer evening as the venue. As NdB Opera describes their annual summer series: it is the best of opera under the heavens full of stars.
This summer the courtyard of Spilberk will host four operas: The Elixir of Love / L’elisir d’amore (Napoj Lasky on June 30, La Bohème on July 2, Tosca on August 27 and The Barber of Seville (Lazebnik sevillsky) on August 28. The Mikulov Amphitheatre will host La Traviata on August 30 and Carmen on August 31.
BALLET
For almost 50 years and just about 350 performances, Snow White (Snehurka)— that oh-so-famous fairy tale about the beautiful Snow White, her evil stepmother and seven dwarfs — has been performed as a ballet in Brno.
It returns in June, with performances appropriate for children, on June 10, 11, 20 and 27. The performance on June 20 will be the 350th in Brno.
Click here for more information.
This fairy tale ballet will be performed four times at the Janáček Theater and the third performance will be the 350th in Brno. Photo credit: Ctibor Bachratý
PLAYS
There are no English-friendly plays from NdB in June, but, if you understand a bit of Czech and have a penchant for scandal (and sadism), then Quills (Pera Markyze de Sade) could be a thought-provoking night of culture.
This version of the story, which digs deep into the themes of freedom, censorship and human invincibility, follows the final phase of the life of the Marquis de Sade, when he is confined to the Charenton Asylum, yet continues to write obsessively. It is based upon the movie of the same name.
The play will be shown once a month, starting this Saturday, June 4, at the Mahen Theatre.
Click here to see the English-version NdB website for the complete schedule, ticket information and more details.
