Prague
National Theater
Czech Opera and Ballet |
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National Theatre in Prague, apart from the Czech Philharmonic
and National Gallery, belongs to the most important Czech
cultural institutions with a rich artistic tradition which was
created and maintained by the most distinguished personalities
in Czech society. This tradition helped to preserve and develop
the most important features of the nation – the Czech language
and a sense for a Czech musical and dramatic way of thinking. |
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Today
the National Theatre consists of three artistic ensembles –
opera, ballet and drama – which alternate in their
performances in the historic building of the National Theatre,
in the Theatre of the Estates and in the Theatre Kolowrat. All
three artistic ensembles select their repertoire not only from
the rich classical heritage, but in addition to local authors
they focus their attention on modern world output.
The National Theatre is the embodiment of the will of the Czech
nation for its national identity and independence. Collections
of money among the broad masses of the people facilitated its
construction and so the ceremonious laying of the foundation
stone on May 16, 1868 was tantamount to an all-state political
demonstration.
The idea of building a dignified edifice to serve as a theatre
matured in the autumn of 1844 at the gatherings of patriots in
Prague and began to by implement by an application submitted by
František Palacký to the Provincial Committee of the Czech
Assembly on January 29, 1845 having requested ’the privilege
of constructing, furnishing, maintaining and managing’ of an
independent Czech theatre. The privilege was granted already in
April 1845. But it was not until six years later – in April
1851 – that the founding Society for the Establishment of a
Czech National Theatre in Prague made the first public appeal to
start a collection. A year later the proceeds went toward the
purchase of land belonging to a former salt works covering an
area of not quite 28 are which, fair enough, determined the
magnificent site of the theatre on the banks of the river Vltava
facing the panorama of Prague Castle, but at the same time the
cramped area and trapezium shape posed challenging problems for
the designers of the building.
The era of Bach absolutism brought to a halt preparations for
the envisaged theatre and supported the concept of a modest
provisional building which was erected on the south side of the
theatre parcel by architect Ignac Ullmann and opened on November
18, 1862. The building of the Provisional Theatre then became a
constituent part of the final version of the National Theatre;
its outside cladding is visible to this day in the elevated
section of the rear part of the building and the interior layout
was only obliterated following the latest reconstruction of the
National Theatre in 1977 - 1983.
Simultaneously with the realization of this minimal program
asserted by F.L. Rieger and the Provincial Committee the young
progressive advocates of the original ambitious concept of the
building (Sladkovský, Tyrš, Neruda, Hálek) launched an
offensive. In 1865 these men attained leading positions on the
Society and requested the thirty-three-year old professor of
civil engineering at the Prague Technical College, architect
Josef Zítek to draft a design for the National Theatre. He then
came out on top in a later declared open competition and in 1867
actual construction work began. On May 16, 1868 the foundation
stone was ceremoniously laid, and in November the foundations
were completed, In 1875 the new building reached the full height
and in 1877 the theatre was roofed over. As of 1873 there was an
on-going competition for the interior decoration of the building
whose scenario had been elaborated by a special commission under
the leadership of Sladkovský: the themes were on the one hand
in the spirit of the Neo-Renaissance concept of a classic
building, on the other hand they were inspired by the current
enthusiasm for Slavonic mythology and the stories of the
Manuscripts – both these concepts were based on Mánes’s
paintings and connected with the contemporary style of romantic
landscape painting (also thematically linked to Czech history),
providing the fundamental ideology guiding artistic expression
which today is described as the art of the generation of the
National Theatre.
The National Theatre was opened for the first time on June 11,
1881 to honor the visit of crown prince Rudolf. Another 11
performances were presented after that. Then the theatre was
closed down to enable the completion of the finishing touches.
While this work was under way a fire broke out on August 12,
1881 which destroyed the copper dome, the auditorium and stage
of the theatre. The fire was seen as a national catastrophe and
met with a might wave of determination to set up a new
collection: within 47 days a million guldens were collected.
This national enthusiasm, however, did not correspond to the
behind-the-scenes battles that flared up following the
catastrophe. Architect Josef Zítek was no longer in the running
and his pupil architect Josef Schulz was summoned to work on the
reconstruction. He was the one to assert the expansion of the
edifice to include the block of flats belonging to Dr Polák
which was situated behind the building of the Provisional
Theatre. He made this building a part of the National Theatre
and simultaneously changed somewhat the area of the auditorium
to improve visibility. He did, however, take into account with
the utmost sensitivity the style of Zítek’s design and so he
managed to merge three buildings by various architects to form
an absolute unity of style.
The building of the National Theatre was inaugurated on November
18, 1883 with a performance of Smetana’s festive opera Libuše
composed for this occasion. The building, technically perfectly
equipped (electric illumination, a steel constructed stage),
served without any extensive modifications for almost one
hundred years. It was only on April 1, 1977, following a
performance of the Lantern by Jirásek, that the theatre was
closed down for six years. Architect Zdeněk Vávra was
appointed to take charge of the overall reconstruction work.
This extensive project was combined with the completion of work
on the entire setting of the theatre. The work was completed to
meet an important deadline which was the date of the 100th
anniversary of the opening of the National Theatre: November 18,
1983. On that day the theatre was handed over to the public
again with a performance of Smetana’s Libuše. Now this
historic, extremely prestigious and beautiful building together
with the annex of a modern office building which also includes
the main box office, represents the main stage of the three
artistic ensembles of the National Theatre: the drama, opera and
ballet. |
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