World City Guide

Culture

Prague is alive with culture at all levels, from buskers wafting the tourists across Charles Bridge with a whirl of the violin through to full blown classical performances by world-renowned ensembles in some of Europe’s most spectacular venues. Music has always been regarded as an important part of education, both through the schools and through town musicians, whose jobs included teaching as well as performing. From its formation in the late 18th century, the Prague Conservatoire has been a world-class training ground for musicians and composers. In the 1780s, Dr Charles Burney described Bohemia as ‘a nation of musicians’ adding: ‘It is said by travellers, that the Bohemian nobility keep musicians in their houses; but in keeping servants it is impossible to do otherwise.’ Behind the big four Czech composers (Smetana, Dvořk, Jnacek and Martin) lie literally hundreds of others, whose talents ranged from good to near great. Virtuoso instrumentalists and conductors have always been manifold. Surprisingly few were actually born in Prague, but almost all of them were residents at one time or another.

With the eclipse of Prague by Vienna, under the Hapsburgs, attention shifted from the political sphere to the artistic. Mozart was more highly regarded in Prague than he was in Vienna and every famous composer and virtuoso was welcomed with open arms, with conductors of the Prague opera including Weber, Mahler and Zemlinsk. One of the downsides of the fall of Communism was the substantial cutback of state funding and the entire arts scene is experiencing financial difficulties in the shift to a market economy. Artists are still regarded as respected members of the community and every possible effort is made to further their careers. Performance standards have, if anything, risen still higher.

Prague is unquestionably a musical city. Prague Spring Festival is one of the major world-class festivals but concerts abound throughout the year. And this is not the end of the matter – buskers are found everywhere and the streets, squares and bridges echo to everything from talented students from the Conservatoire, to Dixieland jazz, folk and world music and pop.

Tickets can be purchased at Cedok (see Tourist Information) and Ticketpro, Rytřsk 31, Prague 1 (tel: 29632 9999; e-mail: ticket@ticketpro.cz; website: www.ticketpro.cz). Ticketpro accepts credit cards but does not book for the bigger classical venues. Bohemia Ticket International (BTI), Na přikop 16, Prague 1, is the only ticket agency that will accept ticket purchases from abroad (tel: (2) 2422 7832; e-mail: order@bohemiaticket.cz; website: www.ticketsbti.cz), although those who choose to do this can expect a substantial booking fee. Ticket agencies tend to mark up ticket prices, especially for foreigners. Purchasing tickets from the relevant box office usually saves quite a bit of money. Unsold tickets costing more than Kč30 can often be purchased 30 minutes before performances. This is especially good value at the National Theatre. Visitors should purchase Spring Festival tickets from the festival office to avoid the hefty mark up.

Weekly listings for all musical events can be found in The Prague Post (website: www.praguepost.cz) and fortnightly in The Prague Pill (website: http://prague.tv/pill/). Do Msta gives monthly cultural listings in Czech.

Music: Prague boasts two world-class orchestras. The Czech Philharmonic (tel: (tickets) 22705 9227; website: www.ceskafilharmonie.cz) is based at the neo-classical Rudolfinum, Alaovo nbře~ 12, Prague 1 (tel: (2) 2489 3111). The Prague Symphony Orchestra (tel: (tickets) 22200 2336; website: www.fok.cz) has now returned to its restored home at the Smetana Hall of the Obecn Dm, Nmst Republiky 5, Prague 1 (tel: 22200 2101; fax: 22200 2100; e-mail: info@obecni-dum.cz; website: www.obecni-dum.cz). Various other orchestras also turn in high-quality performances and important venues for chamber music concerts include the Church of St Nicolas (Kostel sv Mikulse), Staromstsk nmst, Prague 1, the Nostic Palace, Maltzsk nmst 1, Prague 1 (tel: 22451 0131), St Agnes’ Convent (Klater sv. Ane~ky cesk), U milosrdnch 17, Prague 1 (tel: 22481 0835), and the exquisite Baroque Chapel of Mirrors (Zrcadlov kaple of the Klementinum), Marinsk nmst, Prague 1 (tel: 22166 3111 ext. 331).

The standard opera repertoire is offered at the State Opera, Legerova 75, Prague 2 (tel: 22422 7266; website: www.sop.cz). The Estates Theatre, Ovocn trh, Prague 1 (tel: 22422 7981; website: www.estatestheatre.cz), where Don Giovanni was first performed, still presents occasional Mozart operas. Czech repertoire is principally presented at the National Theatre (Nrodn Divadlo), Nrodn 2, Prague 1 (tel: 22490 1111 or 22490 1668; website: www.nationaltheatre.cz). Performances here tend to be more innovative and ticket prices are lower.

Unusual music shows are presented in the summer at the Kři~kova Fontana (Krizik’s Fountain), in Luna Park, Prague 7, with shows linking music, lights, fountains and water features.

Theatre: Misery Loves Company, Celetn 17, Prague 1 (tel: 22480 9168), presents consistently high-quality productions of international plays and Czech works in English translations. They are active in the summer at the reconstructed Globe Theatre, Vstaviat, Holoaovice, Prague 7 (tel: 22271 1515).

There are currently several companies presenting shows combining music, dance and 3D effects with black (ultraviolet) light features, known as Black Light Theatre. Performances run from classical to rock and all the companies are excellent. They include The Black Light Theatre, Jiř Grossmann Theatre, Vclavsk nmst 43 (tel: 22421 9812; e-mail: tickets@wow-show.com; website: www.wow-show.com), The Black Theatre Prague, Na přikop 10 (tel: 22224 4358; e-mail: black.theatre@volny.cz; website: www.volny.cz/black.theatre), Image, Image Theatre, Pař~sk 4, Prague 1 (tel: 22231 4448), Black Light Theatre of Frantisek Kratochvl, Nrodn 25, Prague 1 (tel: 22108 5287), Ta Fantastika, Palc Unitaria, Karlova 8, Prague 1 (tel: 22222 1367), and The Black Light Theatre of Prague of Jiř Srnec, Divadlo Reduta, Nrodn třda 20, Prague 1 (tel: 22493 3487).

Dance: Classical ballet is prevalent at the major theatres but modern dance companies, with their experimental and multimedia techniques, offer a far more exciting evening. Ponec, Husitsk 24A, Prague 3 (tel: 22272 1531; e-mail: divadlo@divadloponec.cz; website: www.divadloponec.cz), a new performance space owned by the dance company, Tanec Praha (website: www.tanecpha.cz), presents a constantly varied and challenging programme of Czech and international companies. Folklore shows combining energetic dancing and music with colourful costumes have not lost their exuberance or high standards under the demands of tourists. Restaurace U Marcanu, Veleslannsk 14, Prague 6 (tel: 23536 0623), offers a year-round show with a traditional Czech dinner for a reasonable fixed price. Excellent summer shows are presented at the theatres Divadlo na Klrove, Nbre~ Edvarda Beneae 3, Prague 1 (tel: 22171 1611), and Divadlo u hasicu, Řmsk 45, Prague 2 (tel: 22422 7693).

Film: The majority of foreign films in Prague are screened in their original language – subtitled films are billed as titulek and films dubbed into Czech are dabovat. The best cinema for feature films, as well as experimental and late-night programmes, is 64 U Hradeb, Mosteck 21, Prague 1 (tel: 25753 1158). Lucerna, Vodickova 36 (tel: 22421 6972; website: www.lucerna.cz) for all its faded glory, remains an atmospheric Art Deco movie palace. Cinema Broadway, Na přikop 31, Prague 1 (tel: 22161 3278), is the best venue for epic films. MAT Studio at Karlovo nmst 19, Prague 1 (tel: 22491 5765), shows Czech films with English subtitles at 2200 – with a capacity of 24, advance purchase of tickets is essential.

South of Smchov is the Barrandov Studio. Built by Vclav Havel’s grandfather, after World War I, it soon became the centre of the Czech film industry. Czech directors, camera operators and technicians were soon in demand across Europe. The earliest important silent films set in Prague, however, were German. Paul Wegener’s The Golem (1920) vividly brought to life the medieval legend of the Jewish clay automaton (with studio expressionist sets that recreated the claustrophobic ghetto) and Henrik Galeen’s The Student of Prague (1926), a tale of the Doppelgnger (evil double) recreated the early 19th-century city. Gustave Machat’s Erotikon (1929) reveals Art Deco Prague in all its glory, while his Extase (1933), winner at the Venice Biennial in 1934, created a sensation with its daring nude scene by Austrian actress Hedy Kiesler (later, in Hollywood, Hedy Lamarr). Czech animation came to prominence in the 1930s and remains influential in the genre.

The implementation of Stalinist doctrine under the Communists largely isolated the industry from the West. However, innovations were still possible and in 1947, Jiř Trnka created the first puppet film, establishing a new genre that helped maintain a Czech presence in world cinema. The 1950s also saw the training of a new generation of filmmakers who, with the relaxation of restrictions in the 1960s, gave rise to the superb Czech New Wave. The finest films of this period were undoubtedly Closely Observed Trains (1966) and The Shop on Main Street (1965). Since the Velvet Revolution, Czech filmmakers seem to have lost their way, remaining in awe of the New Wave and attempting to maintain an identity in the wake of the influx of Hollywood values. Ironically, those values that threaten to swamp Czech films have also served to revive the industry – low costs and quality technicians have made Prague a major location for filming. Amadeus (1984), Mission Impossible (1996), Les Miserables (1998), From Hell (2001) and Frankenstein (2003) are just a few of the feature films filmed there.

Cultural Events: The Czechs have always been known for their musical ability, as well as their love of music. One of the world’s largest festivals, now entering its 60th year, the Prague Spring International Music Festival (website: www.festival.cz) continues this fine musical tradition. Every year, the festival starts on 12 May (the day Smetana died in 1884) and the opening concert always features his great cycle of symphonic poems, My Country. Prague Autumn (website: www.pragueautumn.cz), in September, is a slightly shorter and less intense music festival, which still features many Czech and international performers. Standing outside the main tourist season, it can be a slightly more relaxed event for visitors.

Literary Notes: The German poet, Edward Mrike, wrote a novella called Mozart’s Journey to Prague (1855), which is a delightful, if fanciful, account of the composer’s trip in 1787 to conduct the premiere of Don Giovanni. Jan Neruda (the ‘Czech Dickens’) provides fascinating 19th-century vignettes in Lesser Town Tales (1878), while Gustav Meyrik’s The Golem (1969) remains the classic version of the story concerning the medieval Jewish automaton. Although also Gothic in character, F Marion Crawford’s occult novel, The Witch of Prague (1891), provides a wealth of description of the city in the late 1880s. Prague’s most famous writer, Franz Kafka, generally took a more jaundiced view of the city, filtered through the bewildering and menacing absurdities of Hapsburg bureaucracy. His masterpieces include The Trial (1925), The Castle (1926) and The Transformation and Other Stories (1915). Just as Kafka has spawned an industry of souvenirs, so too has the anti-hero of Jaroslav Hasek’s comic masterpiece of World War I, The Good Soldier Svejk (1921). Karel Capek’s anti-utopian play, R.U.R. (1921), added the word ‘robot’ to the international vocabulary. Bohumil Hrabal’s deservedly famous Closely Observed Trains (1965) offers a thoroughly unromantic picture of the final days of World War II. For the Stalinist period, Milan Kundera’s The Joke (1967) is a far superior work to his better known The Unbearable Lightness of Being (1984). Since the Velvet Revolution, literature (often experimental) has flourished in the Czech Republic. Michael Viewegh’s Bringing Up Girls in Bohemia (1994) offers a wry look at rampant capitalism and sex in modern suburban Prague. Peter Demetz’s Prague in Black and Gold: The History of a City (1998) is richly textured historical work that delves beneath the smooth tourist veneer of the city today to vividly reveal more barbarous and brutal times.