Guest
A twist of fate offers the young widower Lukáš and his former lover Vendulka a second chance at the happiness once denied them. However, their short tempers, stubborn natures and lack of mutual understanding leave the lovers vulnerable to a serious quarrel all on account of a mere kiss. The Kiss holds a unique place in Smetana’s oeuvre; it was the first operatic work he composed after the great personal tragedy of completely losing his hearing. Eliška Krásnohorská adapted a short story by Czech realistic writer Karolina Světlá for the composer, setting it to rhyming verses and creating one of the best librettos he ever received. A seemingly banal story - with almost no dramatic potential - belies deep emotional and psychological depth, and Smetana turned it into a brilliant opera filled with an exquisite musical characterisation of picturesque figures, rural traditions and superstitions. First and foremost, he created a heartfelt image of the pure souls of ‘simple’ folk. The production was staged as an integral part of the Smetana Opera Cycle Ostrava 2024 by director and National Moravian-Silesian Theatre’s Intendant Jiří Nekvasil and Music Director of Opera Marek Šedivý. CAST Father Paloucký František Zahradníček Vendulka Veronika Rovná Lukáš Martin Šrejma Tomeš Jiří Rajniš Martinka Lucie Hilscherová Barče Marta Chila Reichelová Matouš Josef Kovačič The Border Guard Václav Morys Morningstar Stela Machová Nela Starková Orchestra National Moravian‐Silesian Theatre Orchestra Chorus National Moravian‐Silesian Theatre Chorus Music Bedřich Smetana Text Eliška Krásnohorská (based on the short story by Karolína Světlá) Conductor Marek Šedivý Director Jiří Nekvasil Sets Jakub Kopecký Costumes Simona Rybáková Movement Director Jana Tomsová Chorus Master Jurij Galatenko Dramaturg Juraj Bajús
