| Content | This is a review of the premieres of Bohuslav Martinů's ARIADNA and Igor Stravinsky's Oedipus Rex. The operas are linked by an ancient theme and both composers applied the anti-romantic poetics of 20th century musical theatre. The focus of director Ewald Schorm was on emphasizing moral values. The EC performers perfectly revealed the ideological values of the works and the individual characters, and the acting was convincing and intrinsically experienced. In the case of ARIADNE, the performances of Jaroslav Souček and Karel Berman are highlighted. The members of the artistic board thought that the dilemma between duty and love was not convincingly expressed. They also concluded that the number of singers who are capable of creating a great stage character continues to decline. There were some reserves in the area of general intelligibility and understanding. Therefore, the audience was more impressed by the performance of Oedipus Rex, in which EC used eloquent acting gestures and the audience understood the work better. Nevertheless, the artistic council requests a modification of the ending. In general, EC's work is evaluated as very rewarding and inspiring, similar to the work of Václav Neumann. At the premiere of ARIADNE the orchestra gave a top performance. It is just a pity that there was not more time to work with the soloists, especially the alternate soloists. Care should have been taken to include more reprises after the premiere and to ensure the regular presence of a guest conductor. In Oedipus Rex the male chorus gave an excellent performance, reinforced by members of the Prague FOK Male Chorus. Choirmaster Milan Malý worked out all the choral parts to the smallest detail, which supported the excellent performance of the choir. Josef Svoboda's set, which respected the acoustic conditions of the environment, was also positively evaluated. The main shortcoming is the lack of artistic development of the first interlude, a closed curtain was chosen, which is not ideal and needs to be resolved. Šárka Hejnová prepared costumes inspired by the realities of Greek antiquity, which should have helped the audience's understanding. The costumes used in ARIADNE were less hilarious than in Stravinsky's work. Next, the performances of the main performers are briefly evaluated. Regarding the evaluation of the process of the realization of the two premieres, the costumes, the hair and the final part of the decoration production were complicated in terms of time. The planned economic result should have been 325 246,- and in reality it was 328 016,13,-. The total production capacity consumed in hours was 12 667,-. The response of the press was also appreciated, as the mere inclusion of the operas was taken with appreciation. The work of the VN conductor and the EC director was very positively received. The work of the stage designer JS was also appreciated. Among the soloists, JS and Jana Jonášová in ARIADNE and Miroslav Šveja and Věra Soukupová in Oedipus Rex were the most appreciated. KB also impressed. Attached is the cast. |