- South Bohemian Theatre
- Opera
- The Secret
Bedřich Smetana
Comic opera
Premiere 6. 3. 2020
A lyrical comedy about big and small secrets and searching for genuine treasures. The production has been transferred from the National Moravian-Silesian Theatre Ostrava.
Composed by Bedřich Smetana when he was gravely ill (with a libretto by Eliška Krásnohorská), this was Smetana’s penultimate completed opera and is often regarded as his best stage work. Its power lies in its invincible temper, emotionality and extraordinary musicality. Smetana proved his ability to identify with every character and situation with an extraordinary understanding, and, by way of his music, to render the greatest internal sadness and pleasure, conflicts and passions. In this respect, he found a kindred spirit in Eliška Krásnohorská: “In the comicality, I always look for the deeper humour that is rooted in the enigmas of the emotion and in the human heart …“
The Secret is an opera about a rancorous man who is not able to face up to his grievance that results from his humiliation and bitterness due to unfulfilled love. And twenty years later, the way to reconciliation is overgrown will all kinds of thorns. There are old wrongs, accusations and spitefulness. It is only this descent into the darkness of the underground that forces Kalina to see the light and come to understand what his real and most valuable treasure is.
The production premiered at the National Moravian-Silesian Theatre in Ostrava on 27 April and was successfully staged at Smetana’s Litomyšl festival on 24 June 2017.
- Musical direction
- Martin Peschík
- Director
- Tomáš Studený
- Sets
- David Janošek
- Costume design
- Eva Jiřikovská
- Choreographic supervision
- Laďka Košíková
- Sergej Škalikov
- Dramaturgy
- František Řihout
- Chorus master
- Martin Veselý
- Rehearsal
- Mikoláš Troup
- Arkadiy Agyejev
- Assistant of conductor
- Vojtěch Adamčík
- Stage manager
- Michaela Freudenschussová
- Assistant of director and
- Aneta Pokorná
Performing
Trailer
The production is no longer in the repertoire
Feedback from viewers
This production has not received any reviews.