NdB January Highlights: Italian Opera, NdB Ballet’s 100th Birthday Take Center Stage

La Gioconda provides cutting insight into all of the classic operatic themes, including passionate and unrequited love, hatred, betrayal and revenge. Photo credit: NdB.

Brno, Jan 2 (BD) – Local opera will kick off the new decade with the complicated machinations of classical Italian opera.

Political intrigue, religion, forbidden love, emotion, death — it’s all in there and it will all be performed on stage at Janáček Theater.

• Giuseppe Verdi’s work will be the focus in January with Don Carlos on Jan. 12 and 19, and Aida on Jan. 29 and 31.

• Giacomo Puccini and his famous Madame Butterfly is set for Feb. 22 and 24 and his Tosca will be performed on March 11 and 14.

• And, Amilcare Ponchielli’s La Gioconda will be staged on March 24. Ponchielli has been described as the only composer able to follow Verdi in the genre of grand opera and La Gioconda is truly a grand opera. It is a tragic affair about passionate and unrequited love, hatred, betrayal and revenge. Luciano Maestro, Linda Ballová, Federico Sacchi and Svatopluk Sem are in the main roles.

Click here for the full schedule and ticket information, in English.

Here are some January highlights for the National Theatre of Brno:

BALLET

The “Nutcracker” continues for a few more performances — with one this Friday and two this Saturday. “Petite Mort” will bring dance to some of the best music in the world, including Mozart, Schubert and Beethoven, on Jan. 9 and 10. And “4 Elements” will again analyze women and men, order and spontaneity, with performances on Jan. 21, 22 and 23.

But the biggest event of the month will be on Saturday, Jan. 25 when NdB Ballet will celebrate 100 years of being on the cultural map of Europe.

The gala will bring stars from around Europe to Janáček Theater. The program includes stars from the Bolshoi Theater in Moscow, the Mariinsky Theater in St. Petersburg, the Vienna State Ballet, the Royal Ballet in London and the Dutch National Ballet in Amsterdam. There will also be soloists from the national theaters of Prague, Bratislava and Brno for both classical and contemporary performances.

DRAMA

There are three performances that will include English subtitles this month at Mahen Theater: Kerosene Lamps (Petrolejové lampy) on Jan. 11; The King’s Speech on Jan. 17; and Night of Fools (Così) on Jan. 23.

However, if you know a little bit of Czech, it might be worth looking into Lucerna. It is a magical play that mixes an on-stage mini-orchestra, creative scenery, lively costumes and excellent acting into an entertaining package. There is physical comedy, class tension and even a touch of save-the-trees environmentalism. Spoiler alert: It is a fairy tale, so it has a feel-good ending.

There are six performances of Lucerna in January. Four more in February and three more in March.

For more information about the productions can be found at www.ndbrno.cz/drama/mahen-theatre.

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