Theater of the Czech Republic
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The theatre of the
Czech Republic The Czech Republic, or simply Czechia, is a landlocked country in Central Europe. Historically known as Bohemia, it is bordered by Austria to the south, Germany to the west, Poland to the northeast, and Slovakia to the southeast. The ...
has a rich tradition in all genres, including
drama Drama is the specific mode of fiction represented in performance: a play, opera, mime, ballet, etc., performed in a theatre, or on radio or television.Elam (1980, 98). Considered as a genre of poetry in general, the dramatic mode has been ...
,
opera Opera is a form of theatre in which music is a fundamental component and dramatic roles are taken by singers. Such a "work" (the literal translation of the Italian word "opera") is typically a collaboration between a composer and a librett ...
,
ballet Ballet () is a type of performance dance that originated during the Italian Renaissance in the fifteenth century and later developed into a concert dance form in France and Russia. It has since become a widespread and highly technical form of ...
and
dance Dance is a performing art form consisting of sequences of movement, either improvised or purposefully selected. This movement has aesthetic and often symbolic value. Dance can be categorized and described by its choreography, by its repertoir ...
,
puppet theatre Puppetry is a form of theatre or performance that involves the manipulation of puppets – inanimate objects, often resembling some type of human or animal figure, that are animated or manipulated by a human called a puppeteer. Such a performa ...
, black light theatre etc.


History

The Czech theatre played an important role in the history of theatre since the Middle Ages. In the 19th century, the theatre was an integral part of the Czech National Revival. Later, in the 20th century, many notable theatre makers influenced the European theatre art. Between 1739 and 1783 the
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 from 1739-1783 as the second public opera theatre in Prague. Spoken plays ...
(English: Kotzen Theatre), a theatre and opera venue on v Kotcích street in Prague, enjoyed its heyday as the second public opera theatre in Prague. The opera theatre of
Franz Anton von Sporck Franz Anton von Sporck, Count (german: Franz Anton Reichsgraf von Sporck, cs, František Antonín hrabě Špork) (9 March 1662 in Lysá nad Labem or Heřmanův Městec – 30 March 1738 in Lysá nad Labem) was a German-speaking literatus and p ...
was also a notable public theatre in the city at this time. The
Estates Theatre The Estates Theatre or Stavovské divadlo is a historic theater in Prague, Czech Republic. The Estates Theatre was annexed to the National Theatre in 1948 and currently draws on three artistic ensembles, opera, ballet, and drama, which perform a ...
was initially built with the intention of producing German dramas and Italian operas, but 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. Tyl. Many of the founding Czech dramatists were involved in the Estates Theatre, such as the brothers Thám (
Karel Karel may refer to: People * Karel (given name) * Karel (surname) * Charles Karel Bouley, talk radio personality known on air as Karel * Christiaan Karel Appel, Dutch painter Business * Karel Electronics, a Turkish electronics manufacturer * Gr ...
and
Václav Václav () is a Czech male first name of Slavic origin, sometimes translated into English as Wenceslaus or Wenceslas. These forms are derived from the old Slavic/Czech form of this name: Venceslav. Nicknames are: Vašek, Vašík, Venca, Venda For ...
), J.K. Tyl, Ján Kollár, and so on. Before the early 1860s almost all cultural institutions in Prague, including theatre and opera, was in Austrian hands.
Bohemia Bohemia ( ; cs, Čechy ; ; hsb, Čěska; szl, Czechy) is the westernmost and largest historical region of the Czech Republic. Bohemia can also refer to a wider area consisting of the historical Lands of the Bohemian Crown ruled by the Bohem ...
was a province of the Habsburg Empire, and under that regime's absolutist rule most aspects of Czech culture and national life had been discouraged or suppressed. Absolutism was formally abolished by a decree of the
Emperor Franz Josef Franz Joseph I or Francis Joseph I (german: Franz Joseph Karl, hu, Ferenc József Károly, 18 August 1830 – 21 November 1916) was Emperor of Austria, King of Hungary, and the other states of the Habsburg monarchy from 2 December 1848 until his ...
on 20 October 1860, which led to a Czech cultural revival.Large, pp. 114–15 The Bohemian ''Diet'' (parliament) had acquired a site in Prague on the banks of the Vltava, and in 1861 announced a public subscription, which raised a sum of 106,000
florins The Florentine florin was a gold coin struck from 1252 to 1533 with no significant change in its design or metal content standard during that time. It had 54 grains (3.499 grams, 0.113 troy ounce) of nominally pure or 'fine' gold with a purcha ...
. This covered the costs of building a small 800-seat theatre, which would act as a home for production of Czech drama and opera while longer-term plans for a permanent National Theatre could be implemented. The Provisional Theatre opened on 18 November 1862, with a performance of Vítězslav Hálek's tragic drama ''King Vukašín''.Large, pp. 124–25 The drama of the First Czechoslovak Republic followed the same stylistic evolution as poetry and prose — expressionism, followed by a return to realistic, civilian theatre (František Langer, Karel Čapek). Avantgarde theatre also flourished, focusing on removing the barriers between actors and audience, breaking the illusion of the unity of a theatrical work (
Osvobozené divadlo Osvobozené divadlo (1926–1938) (''Liberated Theatre'' or ''Prague Free Theatre'') was a Prague avant-garde theatre scene founded as the theatre section of an association of Czech avant-garde artists Devětsil (''Butterbur'') in 1926. The theatr ...
, Jiří Voskovec and Jan Werich). In the 1930s, Karel Čapek wrote his most politically charged (and well-known) plays in response to the rise of fascist dictators. Václav Havel found employment in Prague's theatre world as a stagehand at Prague's Theatre ABC – ''Divadlo ABC'', and then at the Theatre On Balustrade – ''Divadlo Na zábradlí''. Simultaneously, he was a student of dramatic arts by correspondence at the Theatre Faculty of the
Academy of Performing Arts in Prague The Academy of Performing Arts in Prague ( cs, Akademie múzických umění v Praze, AMU) is a university in the centre of Prague, Czech Republic, specialising in the study of music, dance, drama, film, television and multi-media. It is the larg ...
(DAMU). His first own full-length play performed in public, besides various vaudeville collaborations, was '' The Garden Party'' (1963). Presented in a series of Theatre of the Absurd, at the Theatre on Balustrade, this play won him international acclaim. The play was soon followed by '' The Memorandum'', one of his best known plays, and ''
The Increased Difficulty of Concentration ''The Increased Difficulty of Concentration'' is the fourth studio album by Air Liquide, independently released on October 25, 1994 by Sm:)e Communications. Track listing Personnel Adapted from ''The Increased Difficulty of Concentration'' ...
'', all at the Theatre on Balustrade. In 1968, '' The Memorandum'' was also brought to The Public Theater in New York, which helped to establish Havel's reputation in the United States. The Public Theater continued to produce his plays in the following years. After 1968, Havel's plays were banned from the theatre world in his own country, and he was unable to leave Czechoslovakia to see any foreign performances of his works.Václav Havel Obituary
Telegraph. 18 December 2011. Retrieved on 19 December 2011.


List of notable Czech theatre directors

*
Alfréd Radok Alfréd Radok (17 December 1914 in – 22 April 1976) was a distinguished Czech stage director and film director. Radok's work belongs with the top Czech stage direction of the 20th century. He is often cited as a ''formalist'' in his work. Bio ...
*
Otomar Krejča Otomar Krejča (23 November 1921 – 6 November 2009) was a Czech theatre director and dissident. Krejča was born in Skrýšov (now part of Pelhřimov), Czechoslovakia, on 23 November 1921. In 1956, he became a member of the Prague National Th ...
* Jan Kačer *
Petr Lébl Petr Lébl (16 May 1965, Prague – 12 December 1999, Prague) was a Czech theatre director, scenographer, actor, designer and artistic director of the Theatre on the Balustrade. Lébl is considered one of the most significant personalities of the ...
* Jan Antonín Pitínský * Jan Nebeský * Jiří Chlup


List of notable Czech scenic designers

*
Josef Svoboda Josef Svoboda (10 May 1920 – 8 April 2002) was a Czech artist and scenic designer. He was a production designer and director, known for Amadey (1984), Laterna Magika: Puzzles (1996) and Laterna Magika: Trap (1999). Education Svoboda was ...
* Jaroslav Malina


List of notable Czech theatre actors

* Jan Tříska *
David Prachař David (; , "beloved one") (traditional spelling), , ''Dāwūd''; grc-koi, Δαυΐδ, Dauíd; la, Davidus, David; gez , ዳዊት, ''Dawit''; xcl, Դաւիթ, ''Dawitʿ''; cu, Давíдъ, ''Davidŭ''; possibly meaning "beloved one". w ...
* Karel Roden *
Miroslav Táborský Miroslav Táborský (born 9 November 1959 in Prague, Czechoslovakia) is a Czech actor who has appeared on Czech television series, as well as in American movies. Táborský studied physics at the University of Hradec Králové, and then graduate ...
*
Jiří Ornest Jiří (; ''YI-RZHEE''), the Czech is a masculine given name, equivalent to English George, may refer to: Given name B *Jiří Antonín Benda *Jiří Baborovský * Jiří Barta * Jiří Bartoška *Jiří Bicek *Jiří Bobok *Jiří Bubla * Jiř ...
*
Tomáš Töpfer Tomáš Töpfer (born 10 January 1951) is a Czech film and television actor and politician. He was named Best Actor at the 1995 Alfréd Radok Awards. At the 2006 Thalia Awards he won the category of Best Actor in an Operetta or Musical. Selected ...
* Daniela Kolářová *
Marie Málková Marie Málková (born April 14, 1941 in Vysoké Mýto, Protectorate of Bohemia and Moravia) is a Czech actress. Interested in music, theater and literature from a young age, she participated in a drama club and national recital competitions. She ...
* Iva Janžurová * Karel-Romana Dutkovski


List of important Czech theatres and theatre companies

*
Národní divadlo The National Theatre ( cs, Národní divadlo) 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 ri ...
*
Prague State Opera The State Opera (Czech: Státní opera) is an opera house in Prague, Czech Republic. It is part of the National Theatre of the Czech Republic, founded by Ministry of Culture of the Czech Republic in 1992. The theatre itself originally opened in ...
*
National Marionette Theatre The National Marionette Theatre (Czech: ''Národní divadlo marionet'', NDM) is a theatre company devoted to puppetry performances, located in the Old Town neighborhood of Prague, Czech Republic. The company has been active since June 1991,
(''Národní divadlo marionet'') * Spejbl and Hurvínek Theater – country's first professional puppet theater


List of important Czech theatre festivals

* Theatre of European regions *
Theatre Plzeň Theatre or theater is a collaborative form of performing art that uses live performers, usually actors or actresses, to present the experience of a real or imagined event before a live audience in a specific place, often a stage. The perform ...
*
Mateřinka Mateřinka (a special Czech term, which means a play for children at the pre-school age) is a biennial festival of professional puppet theatre for children of the pre-school age organized by the '' Naivní divadlo'' theatre in Liberec, Czech Repu ...
*
Summer Shakespeare Holiday Summer is the hottest of the four temperate seasons, occurring after spring and before autumn. At or centred on the summer solstice, the earliest sunrise and latest sunset occurs, daylight hours are longest and dark hours are shortest, wi ...
* International Festival Zero Point


Czech theatre awards

*
Alfréd Radok Awards The Alfréd Radok Awards (''Ceny Alfréda Radoka'') were presented annually by the Endowment for the Alfréd Radok Awards in collaboration with the theatre and literary agency Aura-Pont and the magazine ''Svět a Divadlo'' (The World and Theat ...
*
Thalia Awards The Czech ''Actors' Association'' has presented its annual Thalia Awards (Czech: Ceny Thálie) since 1993. The award is named after Thalia, the muse of comedy. The 2016 ceremony was broadcast by Česká televize and radio station . Thalia Awards a ...


Czech theatre schools

*
Academy of Performing Arts in Prague The Academy of Performing Arts in Prague ( cs, Akademie múzických umění v Praze, AMU) is a university in the centre of Prague, Czech Republic, specialising in the study of music, dance, drama, film, television and multi-media. It is the larg ...
*
Janáček Academy of Music and Performing Arts The Janáček Academy of Music and Performing Arts ( cs, Janáčkova akademie múzických umění v Brně; abbreviation in Czech: JAMU) is a public university with an artistic focus in Brno, Czech Republic. It was established in 1947 and consi ...


See also

* Czech literature


References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Theatre Of The Czech Republic