Opera by Bedřich Smetana
The National Theatre in Prague | Opera and Ballet
200 minutes | Not available
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Czech original version, English and German surtitles
Although Bedřich Smetana completed the opera in 1872, the work was only staged nine years later, to mark the first opening of the National Theatre. The opera is primarily intended for celebratory occasions and even nowadays the National Theatre only performs it on special occasions and state holidays. In opera Libuše, Smetana masterfully treated the legend of the mythical Czech Princess and the feud between two brothers resulting in conciliation and the picture of a prophecy of the joyful future of the Czech nation.
Libuše is inseparably connected with modern Czech history and the history of Prague National Theatre, where it was staged many times in the past as a work exceptional owing to its humanistic and social message.
Soloists of the National Theatre Opera National Theatre Orchestra National Theatre Chorus
In the National Theatre you can visit the top opera and ballet performances in Prague.
The Prague National Theatre was built from the desire of the Czech people for national independence. Its building was financed from the collections on which participated broad masses of people as well as important donators (including the nobility and the emperor himself). The theatre foundation ceremonial on 16th May 1868 became a national celebration.
The theatre was opened in 1881. In the same year the theatre burned down, and this tragic event caused a huge wave of new collections to support the restoration of the theatre. The Prague National Theatre was re-opened in 1883 by the opera Libuše by Bedřich Smetana and since then it has been serving as a place of Czech national identity and as a flagship of the Czech culture to these days.