Friday 19 May 2023 | 19:00 |
Sunday 21 May 2023 | 19:00 |
Friday 26 May 2023 | 19:00 |
Saturday 10 June 2023 | 19:00 |
Friday 16 June 2023 | 19:00 |
Sunday 25 June 2023 | 19:00 |
Dvořák, Antonín (1841-1904) | Armida |
Prague National Theatre Opera | ||
Robert Jindra | Conductor | |
Jiří Heřman | Director | |
Dragan Stojčevski | Set Designer | |
Zuzana Štefunková-Rusínová | Costume Designer | |
Prague National Theatre Orchestra | ||
Prague National Theatre Chorus | ||
Beno Blachut | Dramaturgy | |
František Zahradníček | Bass | King Hydraot of Damascus |
Alžběta Poláčková | Soprano | Armida |
Aleš Briscein | Tenor | Rinald |
Svatopluk Sem | Baritone | Ismen |
Štefan Kocán | Bass | Petr |
Martin Bárta | Baritone | Bohumir |
Václav Sibera | Tenor | Roger |
Martin Šrejma | Tenor | Sven |
Miloš Horák | Bass-baritone | Gernand |
Jan Šťáva | Bass | Ubald |
Doubravka Součková | Soprano | Siren |
Prague State Opera | ||
Pavel Vaněk | Choirmaster / chorus director |
Jaroslav Vrchlický, still the only poet to have translated Tasso‘s gargantuan work into Czech in its entirety, based his libretto on the episode depicting the love story of Armida, the daughter of King Hydraot of Damascus, and Rinald, a knight participating in a Crusade. Despite possessing extraordinary qualities and beauty, in comparison with other Dvořák operas Armida has always been somewhat shunned by theatre-makers. Following the world premiere in 1904, at the National Theatre in Prague, its first production was only given seven performances. The next time the opera was staged was in 1928, by Otakar Ostrčil. In 1941, Armida was undertaken by Václav Talich, with the production revived by František Škvor after World War II. It was most recently performed under the conductor František Vajnar in 1987. More than three decades later, the time has come to bring back on stage Dvořák’s brilliant work in its entirety, not just selected arias, which opera singers have gladly included in their recitals.