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La Traviata

La Traviata
theater tickets
Státní opery Praha (Prague State Opera)
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Státní opery Praha (Prague State Opera)
Legerova 75
New Town
Prague  1
Czech Republic
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Price
£20.68 - £31.03
Prices shown are a guide to standard adult prices generally available, including any applicable per ticket fees - other concessions may also be available.
Booking from
Sun, 14th December 2008
Booking to
Fri, 5th June 2009
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This item is supplied by Bohemia Ticket and is subject to their terms & conditions. Terms & Conditions
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Verdi’s La traviata has figured on the repertoire of this opera house ever since its foundation, when the new company co-opted the production of Prague’s German Estates Theatre. It then served chiefly as a vehicle for guest-appearances by illustrious international singers, including among others the legendary Australian soprano, Nellie Melby (April 18, 1900). The first authentic new staging was mounted by the New German Theatre (today’s Prague State Opera) on November 9, 1919, under the baton of Georg Széll, followed by a string of further productions, in 1930, 1934, 1945, 1959, 1979, and most recently, on October 7, 1982, which was directed by Ladislav Štros, with sets designed by Vladimír Nývlt and costumes by Josef Jelínek. That production has since ranked alongside the Prague State Opera’s most successful titles, by the end of the 2005/2006 season reaching a total of 487 performances. The new staging will be taken care of by an international creative team headed by the French director, Arnaud Bernard, whose projects in recent years have included productions of, among others, the operas, Roméo et Juliette at Chicago, with Roberto Alagna and Angela Gheorghiu (1999); L’elisir d’amore at the Théâtre du Capitole de Toulouse, with Marcelo Alvarez (2001); Lakmé at the Teatro Massimo in Palermo; and Roméo et Juliette in Tokyo (2003); Luisa Miller at the Nationale Reise Opera in the Netherlands; Roméo et Juliette in Beijing; and Le Roi de Lahore in Venice (2004); and most recently, during the current season, La Bohème at the Arena of Verona. The production’s music direction was commissioned to the Italian conductor, Enrico Dovico, a permanent guest conductor of the Prague State Opera.

In La traviata, to the libretto from the novel by Alexandre Dumas the Younger, La Dame aux camélias, telling the story of Marie Duplessis, a noted courtesan and idol of the 1840s’ Parisian society, Verdi in fact created history’s first major opera dealing with a contemporary social theme. This was only one of the work’s several aspects that proved unpalatable for the audience at its premiere in Venice, in 1853: beyond that, they were similarly shocked by the principal part there being assigned to a courtesan, and that moreover she was portrayed as a heroine. Consequently, the premiere ended by a fiasco. Soon thereafter, nonetheless, Verdi’s La traviata scored its first triumphs, and ever since then has remained a hugely loved repertoire staple.

Premiere: Oct 5, 2006

Running time: 2 hours 45 minutes with 2 intermissions

Performed in Italian with Czech captions

Staging team
Conductor: E. Dovico, R. Hein, M. Keprt, F. Drs
Stage director: A. Bernard
Set designer: A. Camera
Costume designer: C. Ricotti
Choreography: G. Santucci
Lighting designer: P. Méeüs
Chorus master: T. Karlovič
Assistant director: O. Kyndlová

Cast
Violetta Valery: M. Vyskvorkina, M. Strauss Evrard, S. Procházková, A. Todorova, M. Fajtová
Flora Bervoix: S. Čmugrová, A. Miro, J. Levicová
Annina: E. Jarkovská, D. Koklesová, J. Maříková
Alfredo Germont: A. Briscein, T. Černý, P. Do, L. Mastro, M. Šrejma
Giorgio Germont: M. Cavalcanti, V. Chmelo, M. Bárta, S. Sem
Gaston: J. Moravec, L. Havlák, J. Hruška
Baron Douphol: R. Vocel, F. Zahradníček, O. Kříž
Marquis d‘Obigny: I. Hrachovec, M. Horák, L. Mlejnek
Doctor Grenvil: M. Bürger, O. Korotkov, L. Hynek-Krämer


The Prague State Opera resides in the building which on January 5, 1888 was opened as a Prague German stage with the performance of Wagner’s opera, The Mastersingers of Nürnberg. In the 19th century, Prague Germans performed in the Estate’s Theater in alternation with a Czech company. Desire for their own theater led to negotiations in 1883 for the construction of a new theater building for the German Theater Association. Over the next three years, a blueprint was drawn up and handed over to the Vienna atelier of Fellner and Hellmer. Also sharing in the design was the architect of the Vienna Municipal Theater, Karl Hasenauer, while Prague architect Alfons Wertmüller took part in the construction. Financing came from private collections. With its spacious auditorium and neo-Rococo decoration, this theater building is among the most beautiful in Europe. The first director of the new German theater was Angelo Neumann, who acquired well known performers and soon brought the new theater to a high artistic level of international significance. Major figures which worked here included directors Carl Muck, Franz Schalk, and Leo Blech, or singers such as alto V. Nigrini and tenor A. Wallnhöfer.

After Neumann’s death in 1910, Alexander Zemlinsky became the director of the opera from 1911–1927. A great director and composer, Zemlinsky enriched Prague’s cultural life with his unrivalled interpretations of Mozart’s works and significant stagings of works by E. Krenek, P. Hindemith, E. W. Korngold, F. Schreker, as well as his own works. During his era, first-rate artists appeared here such as M. Müller, M. Huss, F. Schorr, L. Slezak, R. Tauber, L. Lehmann and others. Under his successor, Georg Szell, works by modern composers were also performed. The theater featured a remarkably wide repertoire, even including works from Prague German composers (F. Finke, T. Veidl, H. Krása). The company also had excellent singers at its disposal (R. Pauly, R. Stevens, K. Baum, H. Hotter etc.). The final performance in the theater took place on September 25, 1938, when the Theater Association terminated all contracts and sold the theater building to the Czechoslovak state. During the occupation, the theater did not have any regular performances under the name of The Prague German Opera. There were only occasional guest performances by a few German companies.

Among the exceptional artistic figures who performed here were directors Gustav Mahler, Richard Strauss, Felix Mottl, Arthur Nikisch and Felix Weingartner, as well as soloists Anna Bahr-Mildenburg, Berta Lauterer-Foerster, Maria Jeritza, Nellie Melba, Karl Burian, Enrico Caruso, Benjamino Gigli, Jan Kiepura, Richard Kubla, and Tino Pattiera. After liberation, the building was handed over to the May 5th Theater, which later became part of the National Theater. Since its inception in 1992, the Prague State Opera has celebrated the tradition of the New German Theater, not only through the space in which it plays, but above all through the dramaturgy and establishment of its own documentation center, which would like to archive the activities of the NDT (New German Theater), since the archive of this theater has unfortunately been irretrievably lost.

Travel



From the Airport
Take Bus No. 119 to the stop “Dejvická”, from which you enter the metro station of the same name (on the A line) and ride in the direction toward “Skalka” to the station “Museum”. Leave the vestibule via the stairs leading to Washington Street. At the intersection with Politických vězňů Street turn right and, via the pedestrian underpass under Wilson Street, approach the main entrance into the Prague State Opera.

From the main train station
Leave the lower lobby of the station in the direction toward Washington Street. At the intersection with Politických vězňů Street turn left and, via the pedestrian underpass under Wilson Street, approach the main entrance into the Prague State Opera.

From the old town square
Pass through Franz Kafka Square and along Kaprova Street to the metro station “Staroměstská” (on the A line), from which you ride in the direction toward “Skalka” to the station “Museum”. Leave the vestibule via the stairs leading to Washington Street. At the intersection with Politických vězňů Street turn right and, via the pedestrian underpass under Wilson Street, approach the main entrance into the Prague State Opera.

From the Pargue Castle
Pass through the complex of the Prague Castle and along adjacent streets following tourist signs to the metro station “Hradčanská” (on the A line), from which you ride in the direction toward “Skalka” to the station “Museum”. Leave the vestibule via the stairs leading to Washington Street. At the intersection with Politických vězňů Street turn right and, via the pedestrian underpass under Wilson Street, approach the main entrance into the Prague State Opera.