Pending translation

Celebration of the 200th anniversary of Bedřich Smetana’s birth, taking place in the lodge he lived and composed his greatest works in.

Doubravka Součková was born in Hodonín. She graduated from the Brno Conservatoire and later from the Janáček Academy of Performing Arts (JAMU), where she was tutored by Helena Kaupová, a soprano. Součková received her Master of Arts Degree there in 2020. She owns many awards from a plethora of competitions, such as award from the Conservatoire Competition in Pardubice, Singing Competition in Olomouc or Antonín Dvořák’s International Singing Competition in Karlovy Vary, where she received a number of smaller awards as well.

She had already gained her first experience on the stage during her studies. She rehearsed many roles for the JAMU Opera – The Queen of the Night in Mozart’s The Magic Flute, The Wise Woman from the opera of the same name by Carl Orff or Susanna in Mozart’s The Marriage of Figaro.

Her debut in professional theater took place on the stage of the National Theater in Prague in Jenůfa by Leoš Janáček. She rehearsed many other roles in this theater, such as Oscar in Verdi’s A Masked Ball, the Young Waiter at Bar in Janáček’s The Excursions of Mr. Brouček, the First Wood Sprite in Dvořák’s Rusalka, The Queen of the Night in The Magic Flute, Zerlina in Mozart’s Don Giovanni, Frasquita in Bizet’s Carmen, Mařenka in Smetana The Bartered Bride, Lauretta in Puccini’s comedy Gianni Schicchi, Madeleine in Abraham’s operetta Ball at the Savoy and the Siren in Dvořák’s Armida.

Moreover, she also played Ophelia from Thomas’ Hamlet in The J. K. Tyl Theatre in Pilsen, for which she was nominated for the Thalia Award (a yearly award given by The Czech Actors’ Association). She also appeared as a guest in this role in the German city Krefeld. Her other roles in Pilsen include Ilia from Mozart’s Idomeneo, Micaela in Bizet’s Carmen and Cunegonde in Bernstein’s opera Candide. Doubravka Součková is also a regular guest of the National Theater in Brno. Her roles in this theater include Musetta in Puccini’s La bohème, Morgana from Händel’s Alcina, Nannetta from Verdi’s Falstaff and Valencies in Lehár’s The Merry Widow. She also performed in the South Bohemian Theatre as Helen of Troy from Boito’s opera Mefistofele or in the role of Terinka from Dvořák’s The Jacobin. She performed the role of Juliette in Martinů’s opera of the same name and Elinor in The Lord in White in The National Moravian-Silesian Theatre. She received the Jantar (Amber) Award for both of these roles.

She is a musician as well. Performing with the Musica Florea ensemble, she played the role of Bärbchen in the introduction to the singspiel Jahrsmarkt by Jiří Antonín Benda. Together with the Volantes orchestra ensemble she performed in Karl Ditters von Dittersdorf’s oratorio Il Davide nella Valle di Terebintho. She also received a Thalia nomination for the role of Morgana in the staging of Georg Friedrich Händel’s opera Alcina which was created by Collegium 1704 in collaboration with the National Theater in Brno.

The Kukal Quartet was founded in autumn 2020 by four young and talented musicians, who have great respect for the legacy of the Czech quartet school. The ensemble’s goal is to weave together this tradition and the subject of their studies at prestigious universities in Vienna, Salzburg, Berlin, Dresden and Prague – the modern approach to music. The ensemble is named after Ondřej Kukal, a prominent contemporary Czech composer.

Despite the quartet’s relatively short existence, it has already received three prizes and the Laureate title at the Prague Spring International Music Competition in May 2021. The Quartet were mentored by leading figures of the Czech music scene Peter Jarůšek (Pavel Haas Quartet), Jakub Fišer (Bennewitz Quartet) and Tomáš Jamník. The ensemble also took masterclasses with renowned personalities such as Yo-Yo Ma, Alfred Brendel, Noah Bendix-Balgley, Allan Nilles, Josef Špaček, Jan Fišer and Lukáš Vondráček. The Kukal Quartet was the opening act on many concerts during festivals such as The Prague Spring, Dvořák Prague, Smetana’s Litomyšl or Styriarte Graz. They also performed in Atrium Žižkov together with J. P. Maintz, a renowned violoncellist. Dozens of concerts around Czechia await the quartet in 2024. They will also perform at international festivals in Great Britain, Spain, Belgium or Bulgaria.

Presenting a quartet of cellists and promoters of classical music, who will perform unique arrangements of their music on the highest of levels with a dose of humour.

The quartet consisting of Petr Špaček, Jan Zemen, Matěj Štěpánek and Ivan Vokáč has not only become famous in Czechia but also in the world and even on YouTube, leaving behind sold out concert halls, once-in-a-lifetime concert experiences and many views. 

Not only will you experience classical music but also swing, jazz or musical and movie scores adapted for four cellos. 

The famous cycle of symphonic poems My Country, this time for piano duo, performed by prominent Czech pianists Miroslav Sekera and Jaroslava Vernerová Pěchočová. The concert, being one of the parts of the concert cycle Rok na 4 Doby, takes place on 24 September 2024 — a few days before Czech Statehood Day. The general partner of the concert cycle is the SKODA AUTO Endowment fund.

The famous musical piece of Czech composer Bedřich Smetana — Má Vlast — is inspired by Czech history, myths and landscapes. This masterpiece consisting of six symphonic poems (Vyšehrad, Vltava, Šárka, Z českých luhů a hájů, Tábor, Blaník) was composed between 1874 and 1879 when Smetana was already deaf. The composer lived near Mladá Boleslav at the time — in a lodge nearby a village called Jabkenice.

Smetana decided to compose this piece for the piano as well, perhaps in an effort to popularize this work or maybe even in order to make it accessible to everyone, even when an orchestra would not be able to play there. This symphonic poem is a masterful and emotionally captivating work of art, which will carry you into a piano wonderland. 

Miroslav Sekera (born 1975) is one of Czechia’s most renowned pianists because of the uniqueness of his performances and his understanding of timbre. He has been playing the piano and the violin ever since he was 3 years old. Thanks to his extraordinary musical talent, he was chosen to play the role of young W. A. Mozart in the film Amadeus (1984) directed by Miloš Forman. He later devoted himself to the piano entirely and studied at the Prague Conservatory and HAMU (The Music and Dance Faculty of The Academy of Performing Arts in Prague), where, under the guidance of professor Miroslav Langer, he finished his studies in 1999. He has taken part in many interpretation competitions where he received a number of awards, including a prize from the competition of F. Chopin in Mariánské Lázně, another from the international competition in Gaillard, France, as well as from the international competition of J. Brahms in Pörtschach, Austria, in 2002. He has published a number of CDs, works with Czech Radio and performs in his homeland as well as abroad. In 2011, he performed at the Prague Spring Festival. He has visited many prestigious stages such as Vienna, Washington D.C., Tokyo and many others, both solo as well as with an orchestra.

Rozálie Havelková is a talented singer, accordionist, actor and dancer.

Rozálie has been dancing and playing the accordion since her early childhood. She later left her homeland to perform abroad in a circus for several years. Another 9 years of her life were also dedicated to practicing the Flamenco dance. In 2012 she participated in Elite Model Look, a model competition, and managed to reach the finale. Nowadays her interests lie mainly in acting and music.

In 2022 her album called Korzetiér was released. Earlier this summer she also released a single – Underground ze sametu. Rozálie and her band plan to christen her new album in December of this year.

Rozálie comes from a famous family of actors – her father is actor Ondřej Havelka and her grandmother is actor and TV host Libuše Havelková.

Her authenticity, frankness and gift of the gab will immediately pull you into her stories. A special kind of emotion that no other instrument could replicate is added to her songs thanks to the accordion.