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INTERNET ECHO OF THE PRAGUE SPRING 2010
BOHUSLAV MARTINŮ: BOUQUET OF FLOWERS
This year's festival commemorates the anniversary of Bohuslav Martinů.
Bouquet of Flowers, Martinů's cantata composed of folk texts,
was performed twice in the National Theater.
Martinů's Bouquet of Flowers was not intended to be staged in a theater,
what does that mean for you as a director, what kind of problems did you have to deal with?
Yes, you are right, Bouquet of Flowers was originally written as a cantata
but because of its contents, its message and the nature of its music
it almost directly invites to be staged.
So it is really very inspiring.
And because there is no tradition in scenic staging of this cantata,
it opens the possibility to choose specific expressive means
which correspond to the music and the contents.
The problems you mentioned were more of organizational kind,
but the work itself is very inspiring, wise, profound, human and philosophical
and it does not set up any difficult obstacles.
We are now in the office of the General Director of the National Theatre Ondřej Černý.
How do you view your cooperation with the Prague Spring festival?
Our cooperation is very important and long-lasting.
For me, the Prague Spring is a very inspiring venture,
not only in terms of the musical quality,
but I think Roman Bělor is doing a great job in joining together
the tradition of a positively conservative model of an outstanding music festival
and the dynamics he is adding to it.
So we always enjoy cooperation with the Prague Spring
and we are glad that our collaboration is very intensive.
The outstanding example for that is the scenic staging of the Bouquet of Flowers,
but I am also very pleased that the audience of the Prague Spring
will have the opportunity to see our top opera performances in the National Theatre
for instance The Miracles of Mary by Bohuslav Martinů,
Les Contes d'Hoffmann or our newest production of Mozart's Idomeneo.