British Coloratura Finds A Home At Prague State Opera House

"Opera singer Christina Johnston says she would love to be based in her home country but there is simply much more opportunity in Prague. 'Prague has a lot more cultural enthusiasm for opera than England,' she told the Prague Post. 'In England you have this stereotype it’s for people who have money, and here it is young people, old people, no matter where they are from,' she said, adding that London with a population of more than 8 million has two opera houses, while Prague with a population of 1.25 million has three opera houses. 'The whole culture is a little more available,' she said. Her favorite venue in Prague is the State Opera. 'As a little girl it is what I dreamed an opera house would look like,' she said. She also finds the atmosphere in Prague less competitive. 'So many wonderful opera singers here are so wonderful and so down to earth, really the opposite of [the stereotype]. It has always been a pleasure to work with people in the Czech Republic It has always been a team effort,' she said. 'In England I think there is a lot more competition.' She also said she is probably treated a bit better since she is a foreigner here. 'I feel very lucky to come here and be accepted by these people,’ she added. Between July and August, she will be appearing in a production of Mozart’s Don Giovanni at the Estates Theater. This is a different one than is put on in the regular season. 'We are doing it the way Mozart did it,' she said, adding that this production is intended to be a re-creation of the premiere in Prague in 1787 at the same theater where Mozart conducted it." [Source] Read more of the article here and watch a performance of Christina Johnston singing, after the jump.

José Carreras Leads Holiday Celebrations For Voice in Prague

"Like the fragrance of mulled wine, holiday music fills the air in Prague during December. The city’s usual bounty of classical and traditional music becomes a rich feast during the Christmas season, when perennial favorites return to the halls and churches, and the opera houses, orchestras and chamber ensembles stage special holiday programs...For star power, there’s world-famous tenor José Carreras, who will be singing a program of classics and Christmas music with support from soprano Mi-Hae Park, the Prague Philharmonic Children’s Choir and the Prague Radio Symphony Orchestra (O2 Arena, Dec. 10). Fans of another singing star,

Mezzo-soprano Dagmar Pecková

Czech mezzo Dagmar Pecková, will have a chance to hear her in a much more intimate setting with a fine chamber group, Vojtěch Spurnýʼs Ensemble 18+ (Sts. Simon and Jude Church, Dec. 20)...The Prague Philharmonia is moving to Žofín for its Christmas concert, which will feature a program of popular opera arias by Verdi, Puccini and Donizetti sung by soprano Tereza Mátlová and tenor Aleš Briscein, who will also lead the audience in a closing set of Christmas carols (Žofín main hall, Dec. 21)....The Prague Radio Symphony Orchestra will serve up a confection of two seasonal J.S. Bach works, the Christmas Oratorio and Cantata No. 1 for the First Holiday of Christmas, with a strong cast of local singers that includes alto Markéta Cukrová, tenor Jaroslav Březina and the Prague Philharmonic Choir (Rudolfinum, Dec. 19). And the indefatigable Libor Pešek will lead the Czech National Symphony Orchestra and a large cast of local singers in a program of Pachelbel, J.S. Bach and Rybaʼs Czech Christmas Mass (Obecní dům, Dec. 20)...One could go no further

Soprano Eva Štruplová

than the State Opera and have a very enjoyable holiday season. With its storied history and fabulous rococo interior, it offers the most charming atmosphere in the city. On Christmas day, a brass quintet and the Kühn Children’s Choir will perform Czech composer Jan Seidelʼs popular program of “Bethlehem Songs.” And on New Year’s Eve, the State Opera offers an ideal setting for a lively production of Straussʼ Die Fledermaus...Organist extraordinaire Irena Chřibková will be at the giant console at St. James for two programs of light classics, the day after Christmas with soprano Eva Štruplová and flutist Mario Mesany, and on New Year’s Day with a brass quartet (St. Jamesʼ Basilica, Dec. 26 & Jan. 1)...And a delightful segue back to the serious season comes from the Talich Chamber Orchestra, which will be backing two very good singers, Chinese soprano Lily Zhang and American baritone Richard Zeller, in a program of opera arias (Sts. Simon and Jude Church, Jan. 2). [Source]

George Michael Begins Symphonica Tour in Opera Venues

"International pop star George Michael launches his first European tour in three years at Prague’s State Opera House on Monday night facing some technical hurdles to his new orchestral format. The British pop idol’s Symphonica tour has some of Michael’s biggest hits over the last 30 years and favorites from other artists adapted to the orchestra. But the new orchestral version has apparently caused some headaches for the 700-seat Czech theater, which in the past hosted the likes of Gustav Mahler, Richard Strauss and Enrico Caruso. ‘Most of the whole shebang I’ve put together for you doesn’t fit on the tiny [Prague] stage.’ Former Wham! star Michael complains in a Twitter post that “most of the whole shebang I’ve put together for you doesn’t fit on the tiny stage.” “But hopefully what we lose in terms of staging we’ll gain in terms of intimacy,” he adds. Other venues include the massive O2 World hall in Berlin, Florence’s large Piazza Santa Croce, and London’s Royal Albert Hall. Whatever the technical problems, Michael’s one-night Prague debut to a four-month tour finishing in London on December 17, with a last gasp one-off concert at the Palais Garnier, Paris, on April 29, 2012, is already a sell-out in spite of ticket prices starting at Kč 2,500 — around a tenth of the average Czech monthly wage." [Source]