National Theatre Ballet (Prague)

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National Theatre Ballet (Prague)
General information
NameNational Theatre Ballet (Prague)
Year founded1883
Principal venue National Theatre (Prague)
Website Official Website
Senior staff
Chief ExecutiveMartin Rypan
Artistic staff
Artistic DirectorFilip Barankiewicz [1]
Other
Orchestra Prague National Theatre Orchestra
Official schoolNational Theatre Ballet Preparatory School
FormationPrincipal
Soloist
Corps de Ballet

The National Theatre Ballet in Prague, Czech Republic was founded in 1883. It is based in Prague's National Theatre, which is also home to a drama company and an opera company. The company has a long history of performing Czech works in addition to international classics. In recent decades, more Western works have also been added to the repertoire.

Czech Republic Country in Central Europe

The Czech Republic, also known by its short-form name, Czechia, is a country in Central Europe bordered by Germany to the west, Austria to the south, Slovakia to the east, and Poland to the northeast. The Czech Republic is a landlocked country with a hilly landscape that covers an area of 78,866 square kilometers (30,450 sq mi) with a mostly temperate continental climate and oceanic climate. It is a unitary parliamentary republic, with 10.6 million inhabitants. Its capital and largest city is Prague, with 1.3 million residents; other major cities are Brno, Ostrava, Olomouc and Pilsen.

Prague Capital of the Czech Republic

Prague is the capital and largest city in the Czech Republic, the 14th largest city in the European Union and the historical capital of Bohemia. Situated on the Vltava river, Prague is home to about 1.3 million people, while its metropolitan area is estimated to have a population of 2.6 million. The city has a temperate oceanic climate, with relatively warm summers and chilly winters.

National Theatre (Prague) Czech theatre institution in Prague

The National Theatre in Prague is known as the alma mater of Czech opera, and as the national monument of Czech history and art.

Contents

History

The National Theatre's first ballet master was Václav Reisinger. He worked with a group of more than 20 dancers, and staged a new ballet production in 1884, Hashish . Reisinger was succeeded by Augustin Berger, who held the post twice, from 1884 to 1900, and 1912 to 1923. Berger's contribution was to expand the company, adding a chorus of figurants (auxiliary dancers) and giving the company a more professional standard. The ballet company was successful in staging popular classics of the era, such as Swan Lake (Act II), Giselle , Coppélia and Excelsior . The National Theatre Ballet was the first company to stage Swan Lake outside of Russia, and Tchaikovsky himself was at the premiere of the Prague production. [2]

Julius Reisinger Russian ballet choreographer

Vaclav (Wentsel), or Jules or Julius Wentsel Reisinger was a Czech ballet choreographer. He created more than twenty works on various European stages and directed the Moscow company of the Bolshoi Theatre. Reisinger choreographed the first stage production of Swan Lake as well as the production of the first ballet performance for the opening of the Prague National Theatre in 1884. His work on Swan Lake was considered unsuccessful by contemporary critics, although the ballet was popular enough among the general public that it was kept in the active repertoire of the Bolshoi Theatre for seven years and was performed over thirty times. In fact, the production was not pulled until the scenery and costumes were worn and threadbare. Much of its popularity was assumably due to its beautiful musical score which was critically acclaimed even though the choreography was not.

<i>Swan Lake</i> Ballet by Pyotr Ilyich Tchaikovsky

Swan Lake, Op. 20, is a ballet composed by Pyotr Ilyich Tchaikovsky in 1875–76. Despite its initial failure, it is now one of the most popular of all ballets.

<i>Giselle</i> Romantic ballet in two acts

Giselle is a romantic ballet in two acts, and is considered a masterwork in the classical ballet performance canon. It was first performed by the Ballet du Théâtre de l'Académie Royale de Musique at the Salle Le Peletier in Paris, France on 28 June 1841, with Italian ballerina Carlotta Grisi as Giselle. The ballet was an unqualified triumph. Giselle became hugely popular and was staged at once across Europe, Russia, and the United States.

During its first decades, the company was also a significant performer of local creations, such as Štědrovečerní sen (A Christmas Eve Dream, 1886), Kovařovic’s Pohádka o nalezeném štěstí (A Fairy Tale About Happiness Found) (1889), Janáček's Rákos Rákoczy (1891), Bajaja (1897), Jindřich Kàan z Albestů), and many works of children's entertainment. [3]

Karel Kovařovic Czech conductor and composer

Karel Kovařovic was a Czech composer and conductor.

Leoš Janáček Czech composer

Leoš Janáček was a Czech composer, musical theorist, folklorist, publicist and teacher. He was inspired by Moravian and other Slavic folk music to create an original, modern musical style.

Achille Viscusi was ballet master from 1902 to 1912, bringing an Italian influence to the company's training and performance style. Polish dancer and choreographer Remislav Remislavsky became ballet master in 1922, introducing a Russian influence, which became dominant for the company throughout the 20th century. Czech works staged in this period include Istar (1924), Doctor Faust (1926) and Who Is the Most Powerful in the World? (1927). [4] Avant garde influences, even American Jazz music, added to the creative mixture at the National Theatre Ballet during this period. Bohuslav Martinů wrote a jazz score for Checkmating the King (1930), and Jaroslav Ježek added jazz influences to the score for Nerves (1928). [5]

Bohuslav Martinů Czech composer

Bohuslav Jan Martinů was a Czech composer of modern classical music. Martinů wrote 6 symphonies, 15 operas, 14 ballet scores and a large body of orchestral, chamber, vocal and instrumental works. He became a violinist in the Czech Philharmonic Orchestra, and briefly studied under Czech composer and violinist Josef Suk. After leaving Czechoslovakia in 1923 for Paris, Martinů deliberately withdrew from the Romantic style in which he had been trained. In the 1930s he experimented with expressionism and constructivism, and became an admirer of current European technical developments, exemplified by his orchestral works Half-time and La Bagarre. He also adopted jazz idioms, for instance in his Kitchen Revue.

Jaroslav Ježek (composer) Czech conductor, Esperantist, composer and jazz musician

Jaroslav Ježek was a Czechoslovakian composer, pianist and conductor, author of jazz, classical, incidental, and film music.

During the post-World War II era, the company grew in technical achievement. Saša Machov (1946–1951) and Jiří Němeček (1952–1969) were the artistic directors of this period. A new departure for the repertoire began in the 1960s, with the addition of modern, shorter pieces. Emerich Gabzdyl and Miroslav Kůra were artistic directors during the 1970s. Kůra's choreography for Romeo and Juliet proved to be immensely popular, and the ballet was filmed for cinema release. [6]

World War II 1939–1945, between Axis and Allies

World War II, also known as the Second World War, was a global war that lasted from 1939 to 1945. The vast majority of the world's countries—including all the great powers—eventually formed two opposing military alliances: the Allies and the Axis. A state of total war emerged, directly involving more than 100 million people from more than 30 countries. The major participants threw their entire economic, industrial, and scientific capabilities behind the war effort, blurring the distinction between civilian and military resources. World War II was the deadliest conflict in human history, marked by 70 to 85 million fatalities, most of whom were civilians in the Soviet Union and China. It included massacres, the genocide of the Holocaust, strategic bombing, premeditated death from starvation and disease, and the only use of nuclear weapons in war.

Miroslav Kůra is a Czech ballet dancer.

Vlastimil Harapes became artistic director in 1990, and since that time, the company has expanded its repertoire to include "a modern type of full-length epic ballet", for example, Little Mr. Friedeman and Psycho (1993, 2000), Tchaikovsky (1994), Coppélia (1995), Isadora Duncan (1998), Some Like It… (1994, 2001) and Mowgli for Children (1996). [7] The company's choreographer, Vladimir Lípor, has been key to these new productions.

During the early 20th century, the company has staged works choreographed by Jiří Kylián, John Cranko and Glen Tetley.

National Theatre Ballet Preparatory School

Formal ballet education for children in Prague began in 1835, when a school was established at the Estates Theatre. A school was established at the National Theatre in 1883, and existed sporadically until the 1950s. The school was re-established in 1953, with a curriculum developed by Olga Ilyina Alexandrovna, which is still in use. Many professional dancers have trained at the school. Pupils often progress to the Prague Dance Conservatory. [8]

See also

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References

  1. ↑ National Theater. "Ballet/contacts". Národní divadlo. Národní divadlo Praha. Retrieved 17 October 2019.
  2. ↑ Pask, Edward H. (1982). Ballet in Australia: the second act, 1940-1980. Oxford University Press. p. 22. ISBN   9780195542943.
  3. ↑ "The National Theatre Ballet - History". National Theatre (Prague). Retrieved March 13, 2012.
  4. ↑ "The National Theatre Ballet - History". National Theatre (Prague). Retrieved March 13, 2012.
  5. ↑ Burton, Richard D.E. (2003). Prague: a Cultural and Literary History (Vol. 14, Cities of the Imagination). Signal Books. p. 126. ISBN   9781902669632.
  6. ↑ "The National Theatre Ballet - History". National Theatre (Prague). Retrieved March 13, 2012.
  7. ↑ "The National Theatre Ballet - History". National Theatre (Prague). Retrieved March 13, 2012.
  8. ↑ "The National Theatre - Ballet Preparatory School". National Theatre (Prague). Retrieved March 13, 2012.
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