JAKOBÍN

National Theater

October 8

High jinks with high chairs: Briscein, Vele and Kněžíková.

 

Bigger isn’t always better, especially when the subject matter is a light comedy set in a small Czech village. But the National Theater’s new production of Dvořák’s Jakobín manages to upsize the dimensions of the story and turn it into a fast-paced romp without losing any of its charm.

The sets are straight out of Gulliver's Travels, dominated by Brobdingnagian chairs, books and doors that dwarf the performers, reinforcing their roles as schoolchildren. Director Jiří Heřman opens up the production even more by dissolving the fourth wall, starting the action onstage before the music begins, putting singers and actors in the audience, even turning the conductor into a performer at one point. The overall effect is a beguiling mix of awe and intimacy, a classic child’s view of the world.

This would seem an odd choice for a politically charged story of a prodigal son returning home, and the travails he faces trying to reunite with his estranged father. Bohuš brings a wife, Julie, and two children with him. But his father, Count Vilém, thinking that Bohuš joined the Jacobin movement in Paris, has chosen a new heir – his nefarious nephew, Adolf. Meanwhile, two young lovers, Jiří and Terinka, face their own political problems as the village Burgrave, Filip, pursues Terinka. Her father, schoolmaster Benda, thinks the May-December match is a great idea, and does his best to keep Jiří and Terinka apart while preparing a choral serenade for the count.

This Jakobín, however, is not about politics. The title is crossed off (in blackboard chalk) on the program cover and replaced with Matčina píseň (Mother’s song), a key plot point that also shifts the focus to children and family, lending the production a light-hearted buoyancy and emotional warmth.

What makes all this work is the pacing. The production moves at a rapid clip – a departure for Heřman, who usually prefers slow-motion – with plenty of sight gags and peripheral action to help create the atmosphere of a happy melee. Even more impressive is the nonstop run of big production numbers, with mobs of singers and dancers wheeling around oversized props and doing some very fancy choreography with a riot of wooden chairs. Coupled with Dvořák’s vibrant, melodious music, it’s an engaging whirl of sight and sound.

Unfortunately, the staging runs out of gas in the third act. The sets have lost their novelty, making a giant chair a poor substitute for a throne. The long-awaited family reunion is a bit of a letdown; for all the finesse he shows with upbeat comedy, Heřman seems unsure how to handle an emotional climax. And while Adolf and Filip certainly deserve their comeuppance, this one is particularly unimaginative; by the final curtain, they literally have no place to go.

The music stays strong, however, under the capable baton of Tomáš Netopil. After a fine run of Mozart comedies at the Estates Theater, Netopil shows the same sure hand with Dvořák, invoking the broad range of emotions in his score without sacrificing any of its intelligence. The orchestra gives a nuanced performance throughout, with crisp solo lines, vivid colors and quick turns that punctuate the action onstage.

The Oct. 8 premiere featured all house singers in the cast, which is exactly right for a Dvořák opera. Both Roman Jánal (Bohuš) and Maria Kobielska (Julie) started out tentatively, but picked up convincing strength and volume by the final act. Kateřina Kněžíková, who has a gift for light comedy, sparkled as Terinka. Aleš Briscein (Jiří) and Vladimír Doležal (Benda) got nice hands at curtain call, but for this critic, Luděk Vele (Filip) was the most interesting male performer of the evening, wooing Terinka with just the right combination of lechery and foppishness.

And one day, the National Theater chorus will get the credit it deserves. The Kühn Children’s Choir has the spotlight in this production, scampering around the stage in school uniforms while contributing bright, spirited vocals. But the adult chorus once again turned in a fine performance that anchored the entire production. In particular, the scene in which the women dash into the classroom to warn Benda that strangers are in the village was as sharp as anything in recent memory.

This is the thirteenth production of Jakobín at the National Theater since it premiered there in February 1889, and it would have been easy to just go through the motions. Instead, Heřman and Netopil have breathed new life into it with a lively production that stays true to the material while developing fresh ideas. For an evening of light entertainment in Prague this season, you won’t do better.

For more on the production and future performance dates: http://www.narodni-divadlo.cz/Default.aspx?jz=en&dk=predstaveni.aspx&sb=1&ic=5690&pr=86280

PREVIEW: RADIO AUTUMN

Rudolfinum, Divadlo Archa, Hluboká Chateau

October 4 – November 1

Paavo Jarvi adds some gravitas to a lightweight program.

More a patchwork of concerts than a true festival, Radio Autumn is not what its founders envisioned when they launched it in 2009. The idea was to fill the gap created by the demise of Prague Autumn by bringing Europeʼs finest radio ensembles to Prague – not just symphony orchestras, but choirs, traditional folk groups and jazz big bands sponsored by members of the European Broadcasting Union. The Prague Radio Symphony Orchestra would anchor the festival, and Czech Radio would record and broadcast all the concerts through the EBU network.

The key to making this happen was picking up Prague Autumnʼs principal sponsor, Zentiva. But the pharmaceutical company got out of the cultural sponsorship business when it joined the Sanofi group in 2010. Then Dvořákʼs Prague muscled onto the fall calendar with major sponsors, large grants from the city and state, and star performers. That left the Radio Autumn organizers with great ideas, but no money to realize them.

“Itʼs quite a difficult situation,” says Jakub Čížek, head of International Relations at Czech Radio. “You need a long-term sponsor to plan content and programming, which is normally done two or three years in advance. But weʼve never been able to get one. So every year, we decide at the last minute whether to do the festival or not.”

As a result, Čížek and his team have to schedule orchestras already on tour, and pick up whatever else they can locally. Which is not to say that Radio Autumn is without merit; despite the difficulties, this yearʼs schedule includes some worthwhile concerts and performers.

The festival opens tonight (Oct. 4) with a wild card: Babel Prague, a new two-day excursion in “improvisation and sound adventures.” The headliner, Pauline Oliveros, is a longtime avant-garde composer and improvisational musician from the U.S. At 79, Oliveros hardly looks the part; but when she plugs her accordion into her laptop, sheʼs a master of imaginative soundscapes. Czech Radio will be doing a live broadcast of tonightʼs concert, which also includes a performance of Steve Reichʼs Pendulum Music and an improvisational set by an “electro-acoustic” quartet.

“The organizers approached us with this project, which fits into a genre we have at the station for new works called Ars Acustica,” Čížek says. “I donʼt know how many stations will pick up the broadcast. But our intention was always to present a wide spectrum of music, so itʼs good for the festival.”

Buniathashvili

The centerpiece of Radio Autumn is two concerts by the Hessischer Rundfunk Sinfonieorchester, better-known outside Germany as the Frankfurt Radio Symphony Orchestra. (Oct. 8 & 9). Led by Estonian conductor Paavo Järvi, the orchestra is noted for its broad repertoire and recordings of Bruckner and Mahler symphonies. Its first evening will be devoted entirely to Brucknerʼs Symphony No. 8 (Oct. 8). The following night, the orchestra will play Weber, Mozart and Schubert, with Georgian pianist Khatia Buniathashvili soloing on Mozartʼs Piano concerto No. 23 in A major.

The other three concerts offer mainstream favorites. The Pilsen Philharmonic will be in town to provide accompaniment for the winners of the Concertino Praga competition (Oct. 17). Held annually by Czech Radio for musicians 18 and younger, this yearʼs competition produced three laureates: trumpeter Walter Hofbauer, flutist Veronika Blachuta and violinist Jan Mráček.

“The concert gives these young players a chance to perform on a big stage with a full orchestra,” Čížek says. “Itʼs always been quite popular, and judging by ticket sales, it will be again this year too.”

The festival then moves to Hluboká Chateau in southern Bohemia for a chamber music concert by a clarinet quartet from Bratislava (Oct. 18). And it concludes with a performance by the Prague Radio Symphony Orchestra of a Saint-Saëns concerto, with Jan Simon on piano, and a set of Dvořák favorites: Slavonic Dances Nos. 9 & 10 and Symphony No. 9 “From the New World.”

“The program is not as inventive as we would like,” Čížek admits. “But weʼre recording and broadcasting the concerts, which was one of our original goals. And the basic idea is good – there are many high-quality radio ensembles that we would like to bring to Prague. So we hope to find a general sponsor someday.”

For a complete Radio Autumn schedule and ticket information: www.radioautumn.cz