He wrote one opera, Kolotoč (Carousel), for children young and old, as the secondary title indicates. The owner of a merry-go-round invites children to climb aboard: “If you want to see Indians, a kangaroo and gorillas, take a seat on the carousel!” And indeed: in the scenes that follow children are taken on dreamy trips to an African rainforest, the Australian Outback, an Indian jungle, as well as to the world of American film. Characterised by bounteous instrumentation and exquisite melody, Trojan’s music co-creates a colourful fantasy story.
The National Theatre production will be conducted by Zbyněk Müller and directed by Magdalena Švecová. A key role in the performance will be played by the Czech Philharmonic Children’s Choir, whose founder, Jan Kühn, was among those who in the mid-1930s urged Trojan to write an opera for children. Following a series of setbacks, Carousel would only receive its world premiere decades later, in 1960 in Ostrava.
