Live Opera tonight on slippedisc – Czech it out

It is music that has the leading role; that is one way to sum up Dvořák’s opera The Jacobin, as it is music that changes the fate of all the characters in the opera. At the same time, Dvořák has created a charming picture of a Czech town from the Enlightenment era populated with the peculiar figures of the music-loving teacher Benda (Petr Levíček), his stubborn daughter Terinka (Lucie Kaňková)  who is in love with the young teacher Jiří  (Aleš Briscein) or the Count’s conceited steward Filip. Perhaps it was fond recollection of the of his own youth learning music that brought so many charming, rich melodies, both exuberant and melancholic, into Dvořák’s music, whether it be the famous school cantata scene, the duet ‘We have wandered in foreign lands’ or Juliet’s Lullaby. National Theatre Brno offers the opening night of The Jacobin live on Slippedisc, courtesy of  OperaVision at the start of the Year of Czech Music; Dvořák’s fitting tribute to Czech music and the people who love it above all else.

The Plot: We are from Bohemia and you ask if we can sing?’ An unknown couple arrives in a small Czech village from abroad and most of the locals watch them with suspicion. Only the old teacher Benda, a lover of music, opens his door to them, only to find that the strangers are closer to them than one might think.

Subtitles in Czech, English and German

Live on  8 October 2023 at 1900 CET / 1800 London / 1300 NY