Estates Theatre
Encyclopedia
Theatre
Theatre is a collaborative form of fine art that uses live performers to present the experience of a real or imagined event before a live audience in a specific place. The performers may communicate this experience to the audience through combinations of gesture, speech, song, music or dance...
in Prague
Prague
Prague is the capital and largest city of the Czech Republic. Situated in the north-west of the country on the Vltava river, the city is home to about 1.3 million people, while its metropolitan area is estimated to have a population of over 2.3 million...
, Czech Republic
Czech Republic
The Czech Republic is a landlocked country in Central Europe. The country is bordered by Poland to the northeast, Slovakia to the east, Austria to the south, and Germany to the west and northwest....
. The Estates Theatre was annexed to the National Theatre
National Theatre (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.The National Theatre belongs to the most important Czech cultural institutions, with a rich artistic tradition which was created and maintained by the most distinguished...
in 1948 and currently draws on three artistic ensembles, opera, ballet, and drama, which perform at the Estates Theatre, the National Theatre (Národní divadlo), and the Kolowrat Theatre (Divadlo Kolowrat).
History
The Estates Theatre was built during the late 18th century in response to EnlightenmentAge of Enlightenment
The Age of Enlightenment was an elite cultural movement of intellectuals in 18th century Europe that sought to mobilize the power of reason in order to reform society and advance knowledge. It promoted intellectual interchange and opposed intolerance and abuses in church and state...
thought regarding general access to the theatre, and theatres themselves demonstrating the cultural standards of a nation. The Estates Theatre was designed by Anton Haffenecker and built in a little less than two years for the aristocrat František Antonín Count Nostitz Rieneck.
Divadlo v Kotcích
The Divadlo v Kotcích, German Theater an der Kotzen, in English more usually Kotzen Theatre, was a Prague theatre and opera venue on v Kotcích street, which had its heyday 1739-1783 as the first public theatre in Prague and a home of Italian opera...
, ran from 1739-1783 under a series of Italian impresarios. The final closure of the "Kotzentheater" coincided with the opening of Count Nostitz’s "Nostitzsches Nationaltheater." The theatre opened in 1783 with a performance of the tragedy
Tragedy
Tragedy is a form of art based on human suffering that offers its audience pleasure. While most cultures have developed forms that provoke this paradoxical response, tragedy refers to a specific tradition of drama that has played a unique and important role historically in the self-definition of...
Emilia Galotti
Emilia Galotti
Emilia Galotti is a play in five acts by Gotthold Ephraim Lessing , which premiered on 8 March 1772 in Brunswick . The work is a classic example of German bürgerliches Trauerspiel . Other works in this category include Schiller's Kabale und Liebe and Hebbel's Maria Magdalene...
by the German playwright Gotthold Lessing
Gotthold Ephraim Lessing
Gotthold Ephraim Lessing was a German writer, philosopher, dramatist, publicist, and art critic, and one of the most outstanding representatives of the Enlightenment era. His plays and theoretical writings substantially influenced the development of German literature...
. The building itself was constructed in a Neoclassical
Neoclassical architecture
Neoclassical architecture was an architectural style produced by the neoclassical movement that began in the mid-18th century, manifested both in its details as a reaction against the Rococo style of naturalistic ornament, and in its architectural formulas as an outgrowth of some classicizing...
style and remains one of the few European theatres to be preserved in its almost original state to the present day. Its motto, Patriae et Musis "To the Native Land and the Muses"), which is inscribed above the portal, should also be noted as reflecting the original intentions of its creator.
The Estates Theatre has undergone several changes in its history. It first acquired the name Royal Theatre of the Estates in 1798 when it was purchased by the Czech Estates. With the opening of the Provisional Theatre in 1862, the Theatre of the Estates was dedicated to a German ensemble and renamed the Royal Provincial German Theatre. During the period between 1920 and 1948 the theatre regained the name Theatre of the Estates and became affiliated with the National Theatre. In 1948 the theatre was renamed the Tyl Theatre (after dramatist J.K. Tyl
Josef Kajetán Tyl
Josef Kajetán Tyl was a significant Czech dramatist, writer and actor. He was a notable figure of the Czech National Revival movement and is best known as the author of the current national anthem of the Czech Republic titled Kde domov můj.-Life:Josef Kajetán Tyl was the first-born son of Jiří...
) and would be known as such until 1990 when, at the end of an eight year reconstruction project, it became known again as the Estates Theatre.
Productions and artists
While the theatre was initially built with the intention of producing German dramas and Italian operas, works in other languages were also staged. Czech productions were first staged in 1785 in order to reach a broader Czech audience but by 1812 they became a regular feature of Sunday and holiday matinees. The somewhat political nature of these performances later led to idea of founding a National Theatre after 1848 with the defeat of the revolution and the departure of J.K. TylJosef Kajetán Tyl
Josef Kajetán Tyl was a significant Czech dramatist, writer and actor. He was a notable figure of the Czech National Revival movement and is best known as the author of the current national anthem of the Czech Republic titled Kde domov můj.-Life:Josef Kajetán Tyl was the first-born son of Jiří...
. Many of the founding Czech dramatists were involved in the Estates Theatre, such as the brothers Thám (Karel and Václav), J.K. Tyl, Ján Kollár
Ján Kollár
Ján Kollár was a Slovak writer , archaeologist, scientist, politician, and main ideologist of Pan-Slavism.- Life :...
, and so on. The first Czech modern opera, František Škroup
František Škroup
František Jan Škroup was a Czech composer and conductor. His brother Jan Nepomuk Škroup was also a successful composer and his father, Dominik Škroup, and other brother Ignác Škroup were lesser known composers.- Biography :At the age of eleven he moved to Prague where he supported himself as a...
’s The Tinker, was staged here in 1826 and in 1834
1834 in music
- Events :* Statue of Jean-Jacques Rousseau is erected in his birthplace of Geneva.*Ballerina Fanny Elssler makes her debut at the Paris Opéra's Salle Le Peletier.-Classical music:*Hector Berlioz – Harold in Italy...
the premiere of the song “Where is my Home?” (Kde domov můj
Kde domov muj
Kde domov můj? is a piece of music written by the composer František Škroup and the playwright Josef Kajetán Tyl.The piece was written as a part of the incidental music to the comedy Fidlovačka aneb Žádný hněv a žádná rvačka . It was first performed by Karel Strakatý at the Estates Theatre in...
) was performed by bass Karel Strakatý
Karel Strakatý
Karel Strakatý was a Czech operatic bass who had a lengthy career at the Estates Theatre in Prague from 1827 until his retirement in 1858. While there he portrayed more than 253 roles in over 3,230 performances...
(words by Tyl, music by Škroup), which would later become the Czech national anthem.
The Estates Theatre was not limited to native participants; many famous European artists were also active. Individuals such as Carl Maria von Weber
Carl Maria von Weber
Carl Maria Friedrich Ernst von Weber was a German composer, conductor, pianist, guitarist and critic, one of the first significant composers of the Romantic school....
, Anton Rubinstein
Anton Rubinstein
Anton Grigorevich Rubinstein was a Russian-Jewish pianist, composer and conductor. As a pianist he was regarded as a rival of Franz Liszt, and he ranks amongst the great keyboard virtuosos...
, Karl Goldmark
Karl Goldmark
Karl Goldmark, also known originally as Károly Goldmark and later sometimes as Carl Goldmark; May 18, 1830, Keszthely – January 2, 1915, Vienna) was a Hungarian composer.- Life and career :...
, and Gustav Mahler
Gustav Mahler
Gustav Mahler was a late-Romantic Austrian composer and one of the leading conductors of his generation. He was born in the village of Kalischt, Bohemia, in what was then Austria-Hungary, now Kaliště in the Czech Republic...
conducted at the Estates Theatre. Other famous names include the actors A.W. Iffland
August Wilhelm Iffland
August Wilhelm Iffland was a German actor and dramatic author. His father intended him to be a clergyman, but Iffland preferred the stage, and at eighteen ran away to Gotha in order to prepare himself for a theatrical career.He was fortunate enough to receive instruction from Hans Ekhof, and made...
, F. Raimund
Ferdinand Raimund
Ferdinand Raimund was an Austrian actor and dramatist.- Life and work :...
, J.N. Nestroy
Johann Nestroy
Johann Nepomuk Eduard Ambrosius Nestroy was a singer, actor and playwright in the popular Austrian tradition of the Biedermeier period and its immediate aftermath...
, along with opera singer Angelica Catalani
Angelica Catalani
Angelica Catalani was an Italian opera singer, the daughter of a tradesman.At Sinigaglia, she was educated at the convent of Santa Lucia at Gubbio, where her soprano voice soon became famous....
and violin
Violin
The violin is a string instrument, usually with four strings tuned in perfect fifths. It is the smallest, highest-pitched member of the violin family of string instruments, which includes the viola and cello....
virtuoso
Virtuoso
A virtuoso is an individual who possesses outstanding technical ability in the fine arts, at singing or playing a musical instrument. The plural form is either virtuosi or the Anglicisation, virtuosos, and the feminine form sometimes used is virtuosa...
Niccolò Paganini
Niccolò Paganini
Niccolò Paganini was an Italian violinist, violist, guitarist, and composer. He was one of the most celebrated violin virtuosi of his time, and left his mark as one of the pillars of modern violin technique...
. One of the Estates Theatre’s many claims to glory is its strong link with Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart
Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart
Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart , baptismal name Johannes Chrysostomus Wolfgangus Theophilus Mozart , was a prolific and influential composer of the Classical era. He composed over 600 works, many acknowledged as pinnacles of symphonic, concertante, chamber, piano, operatic, and choral music...
, who conducted the world premiere of his opera
Opera
Opera is an art form in which singers and musicians perform a dramatic work combining text and musical score, usually in a theatrical setting. Opera incorporates many of the elements of spoken theatre, such as acting, scenery, and costumes and sometimes includes dance...
Don Giovanni
Don Giovanni
Don Giovanni is an opera in two acts with music by Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart and with an Italian libretto by Lorenzo Da Ponte. It was premiered by the Prague Italian opera at the Teatro di Praga on October 29, 1787...
here in October 1787
1787 in music
-Events:*February 1 – A posthumous performance of Antonio Sacchini's Œdipe à Colone at the Paris Opéra results in the previously unsuccessful opera becoming one of the most popular pieces in the repertoire for several decades....
. Also, in 1791
1791 in music
-Classical music:*Franz Anton Hoffmeister – String Quartet in F*Joseph Haydn – Symphony No. 96 in D "Miracle"*Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart – Requiem*Franz Xaver Süssmayr – Concerto Movement in D major for Basset Horn-Opera:...
, Mozart’s La Clemenza di Tito
La clemenza di Tito
La clemenza di Tito , K. 621, is an opera seria in two acts composed by Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart to an Italian libretto by Caterino Mazzolà, after Metastasio...
was staged in public here for the first time in celebration of the coronation of Emperor Leopold II. It is the only theatre left standing where Mozart performed.
Recent history
The Estates Theatre currently offers performances of dramas, ballets and operas with the focus of the opera company on the work of Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart. A more contemporary claim to fame originates from the Oscar-winning film AmadeusAmadeus (film)
Amadeus is a 1984 period drama film directed by Miloš Forman and written by Peter Shaffer. Adapted from Shaffer's stage play Amadeus, the story is based loosely on the lives of Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart and Antonio Salieri, two composers who lived in Vienna, Austria, during the latter half of the...
, directed by Czech director Milos Forman
Miloš Forman
Jan Tomáš Forman , better known as Miloš Forman , is a Czech-American director, screenwriter, professor, and an emigrant from Czechoslovakia. Two of his films, One Flew Over the Cuckoo's Nest and Amadeus, are among the most celebrated in the history of film, both gaining him the Academy Award for...
. The scenes of Mozart in Prague were shot at the Estates Theatre for authenticity.
External links
- Estates Theatre web site
- 360 degree panoramic photo of Estates Theater
- TACE – entry in TACE database