THE EXCURSIONS OF MR. BROUČEK Janáček – National Theatre Brno

We are off on an excursion, two excursions in fact, in the company of a landlord from Prague, who is, let us say, a little rough around the edges. The first journey of Mr Brouček is to the Moon where our beer-drinking hero (literally ‘Mr Beetle’) meets the oh-so sophisticated Moon-dwellers. In the second, we travel through time to the early 15th century to a heroic period in Czech history when the Czechs fought off armies of crusaders from the rest of Europe. Will Mr Brouček fare any better in Prague circa 1420, when Czechs are on the eve of a famous victory defending their Hussite faith?

The Excursions of Mr. Brouček is Janáček’s most overtly comic opera, the comedy essentially deriving from the confrontation of Mr Brouček with worlds beyond his limited imagination. The effect, however, is rather different in the two halves. In the first excursion Mr Brouček, in comparison with the rarefied moon-artists, offers the voice of sturdy common sense. In the second, Mr Brouček’s 'reasonableness' makes a poor showing against the sacrifices of the patriotic Hussites. Janáček’s motive for setting this second excursion was a moral appeal to the citizens of the future Czechoslovak Republic. The opera was not easy to create, Janáček went through several librettists; it took him nine years to reach a successful conclusion. But the result is a delightfully experimental piece notably with music of great charm in the first half and rousing Hussite chorales in the second. For this new production from the heart of the composer’s home country, Janáček Festival Brno has entrusted the staging to the famous Canadian director, Robert Carsen who thus opens the 2024 Festival with this, his sixth production of a Janáček opera.

This is the post-produced version of The Excursions of Mr. Brouček, which was first streamed LIVE on OperaVision on 4 December 2024 at 19:00 CET and available until 4 June 2025 at 12:00 CET: https://operavision.eu/performance/excursions-mr-broucek

CAST

Matěj Brouček
Nicky Spence

Mazal / Blankytný / Petřík
Daniel Matoušek

Sacristan / Lunobor / Domšík
David Szendiuch

Málinka / Etherea / Kunka
Doubravka Novotná

Würfl / Čaroskvoucí / Councillor
Jan Šťáva

Číšníček / Child prodigy / Student
Andrea Široká

Kedruta
Jana Horáková Levicová

Svatopluk Čech
Daniel Kfelíř

Básník / Other voice / Oblačný / Vacek Bradatý
Tadeáš Hoza

Malíř / Professor’s voice / Duhoslav / Vojta
Vít Nosek

Skladatel / Harfoboj / Miroslav Zlatník
Ondřej Koplík

I. Taborite
Petr Karas

Poet
Martin Pavlíček

Other Poet / II. Taborite
Pavel Valenta

Orchestra
Janáček Opera NdB Orchestra

Chorus
Janáček Opera NdB Chorus

Music
Leoš Janáček

Text
František Gellner
Viktor Dyk
František Sarafínský Procházka
F. S. Procházka

Director
Robert Carsen

Conductor
Marko Ivanović

Sets
Radu Boruzescu

Costumes
Annemarie Woods

Lights
Robert Carsen
Peter van Praet

Choreography
Rebecca Howell

Dramaturgy
Robert Carsen
Patricie Částková

Chorus Masters
Martin Buchta
Pavel Koňárek

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