She Rises to Conquer Gloriana, the 3+ hour opera about Queen Elizabeth I, premiered this past weekend at The National Theatre. This is not a light opera. Chances are you won’t leave the theatre whistling the themes from the major arias. But you might find yourself mulling over the story, characters, sets, and most of all the incredibly bold, dramatic singing, still days later. Benjamin Britten wrote the work, with…
Tag: National Theatre Prague
Monday, February 6, 2012: Enchanting Opera
Enchanting Opera At first they wouldn’t let any of us into the National Theater through the front door. The front door is for sissies apparently, which we certainly were not. So we stood outside in the cold on the piazza in groups led by pretty young women wearing funny hats and holding sign posts. Then the Frogmen came. They yelled at us through loudspeakers in languages that can only be…
Thurs, June 23, 2011: Opera-What’s Up?
Summer Solstice Series! Opus Osm continues our week-long Solstice Series of “backgrounder” articles. If you’ve ever wondered the who, why, what, or why not about opera, here are the answers to your questions. Zuzana Sklenková is on hand to anticipate everything you’ve always wanted to know about this glorious but confusing art form. Part 4 Some Opera Highlights for the New 2011-12 Season A “premiere” is, strictly speaking, the first-ever…
Tuesday, March 1, 2011: Best Seat in the House
The National Theatre in Prague is one of the best known theatres in the Czech Republic. Its origins have more to do with social structures of the day than modern acoustic and visual demands. It has a large pit to accommodate an orchestra and an impressive stage for the extensive use of scenery. Its auditorium is traditionally U-shaped with balconies and galleries extending above the ground floor seats. Finding the…
