An opera performance of Two Widows took place in Divoká Šárka PRAGUE 6 | News
when the organizers of the event, with the traditional support of the Municipal District of Prague 6, prepared Bedřich Smetana’s comic opera Two Widows. Chosen by práDivoka Šárka, opera melodies and songs have been flowing regularly in September for 17 years. It was no different this year, the choice of this work was not accidental.
“We directed it towards the Czech presidency of the European Union. The reason is that Bedřich Smetana had contact with Sweden, to which we are handing over the presidency. He lived and composed there. And at the same time with France, from which we took over the presidency. And that was also the reason why the capital added to it a little later,” explains Jan Lacina (STAN), deputy mayor of Prague 6.
The performance was directed by the traditionally experienced couple Jana Divišová and Renée Nachtigalová, with the orchestra of the National Theater in Prague next to the conductor Jan Chalupecký. They have been rehearsing performances in Divoká Šárka with the same cast since 2005, even so it was another big challenge for them.
“The number of performers increases every year, now there are about two hundred of them, every year. We have child actors, animal actors, professional singers and, of course, a professional orchestra and ballet,” enumerates the director of the show, Renée Nachtigalová.
While some previous editions have struggled with bad weather and recently there is a coronavirus situation, this year the organizers commanded the wind and rain and nothing stood in the way of the performance. Although they were also prepared for the vagaries of nature if necessary.
“Saint Peter wishes us, so we will finish today. The audience, some of whom have been coming here for perhaps the 17th time, are ready and equipped for it,” concludes the director of the performance, Jana Divišová.
The “mandatory” equipment of every spectator thus included not only blankets for sitting, but also raincoats, just to be sure. In the end, they were not needed at all this year, so the performance turned out excellent. And the organizers are already starting to think about which piece they will choose for the next, the 18th year of the Opera in Šárka.