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Janacek Day - 4 July 2004 |
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Janacek in Prague The Czech capital didn't play a huge role in Janacek's life, except symbolically. It was the scene of his great breakthrough, at the age of 59 in 1916, when after 12 years of pleading the National Theatre staged his opera Jenufa - albeit in a version hacked about the theatre's music director, the composer Karel Kovarovic. Janacek wouldn't be overjoyed to hear that his original version hasn't been performed since then anywhere in the Czech Republic - until earlier this year!   1/3The Obecni Dum ( Municipal House). An Art Nouveau masterpiece, it opened in 1912, and houses a concert hall and several cafes and restaurants, including Janacek's Favourite Prague watering-hole. Recently restored, it features stunning decoration by, amongst others, Alfons Mucha, famous as the Paris poster-man. He knew Janacek from Brno. Even so, Jenufa 's triumph in Prague helped inspire the amazing outburst of creativity in the last 10 or 12 years of Janacek's life: not least because among the audience was Max Brod, who began to translate all Janacek's operas into German and thereby gave them a headstart outside the Czech lands. The establishment of the Czechoslovak Republic in 1918, with Prague as its capital, was another great inspiration to Janacek. But when the city appears in Janacek's music, it's the past he seems to be more interested in: behind the opera The Makropulos Case is the shadow of the 16th century when the Habsburg Emperor Rudolf moved his court to Prague; and the satirical Excursions of Mr Broucek pokes fun at 20th century bourgeois Prague in contrast to the 14th century glories of independent Bohemia. Map of Bohemia/Moravia Full schedule for Janacek day |
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Schedule Map of Bohemia/Moravia Bratislava Brno Hukvaldy Luhacovice Ostrava Pisek Prague Pribor Stramberk Strbske Pleso Velka Vienna Janacek Day: full playlist Related Links on radio 3 on bbc.co.uk on the web www.janacek.co.uk Janacek Archive & Museum Classical Music Pages Museum in Janacek's house, Hukvaldy The BBC is not responsible for the content of external websites. |
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The Lord's Day begins' from The Excursions of Mr Broucek
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