Nationale Theatre and river Vltava - Prague, Czech Republic
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N 50° 04.864 E 014° 24.632
33U E 457825 N 5547809
Nationale Theatre and river Vltava - Prague
Waymark Code: WM17XF8
Location: Hlavní město Praha, Czechia
Date Posted: 04/16/2023
Views: 4
The most famous Czech theater was built from nationwide collections and first opened in 1881. The design was created by architect Josef Zítek. Prominent Czech artists of the 19th century, such as Mikoláš Aleš, František Ženíšek, Josef Václav Myslbek, Bohuslav Schnirch, and others, contributed to the artistic decoration. The Neo-Renaissance building stands out with its magnificent exterior and interior decorations, particularly rich gilding.
"The National Theatre (Czech: Národní divadlo) in Prague is known as the alma mater of Czech opera, and as the national monument of Czech history and art.
The National Theatre belongs to the most important Czech cultural institutions, with a rich artistic tradition, which helped to preserve and develop the most important features of the nation–the Czech language and a sense for a Czech musical and dramatic way of thinking.
Today the National Theatre consists of three artistic ensembles: opera, ballet and drama.
The National Theatre was opened for the first time on 11 June 1881, to honour the visit of Crown Prince Rudolf of Austria. Bedrich Smetana's opera Libuše was given its world premiere, conducted by Adolf Cech. Another 11 performances were presented after that. Then the theatre was closed down to enable the completion of the finishing touches. While this work was under way a fire broke out on 12 August 1881, which destroyed the copper dome, the auditorium and the stage of the theatre.[5]
The fire was seen as a national catastrophe and was met with a mighty wave of determination to take up a new collection: Within 47 days a million florins were collected. This national enthusiasm, however, did not correspond to the behind-the-scenes battles that flared up following the catastrophe. Architect Josef Zítek was no longer in the running, and his pupil architect Josef Schulz was summoned to work on the reconstruction. He was the one to assert the expansion of the edifice to include the block of flats belonging to Dr. Polák that was situated behind the building of the Provisional Theatre. He made this building a part of the National Theatre and simultaneously changed somewhat the area of the auditorium to improve visibility. He did, however, take into account with utmost sensitivity the style of Zítek's design, and so he managed to merge three buildings by various architects to form an absolute unity of style."
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