NATIONAL THEATRE PRAGUE

Description

Essentials about the National Theatre Prague in brief

Theater fans should definitely try to get tickets for a performance at the National Theater Prague when visiting Prague. Built in the neo-Renaissance style, the National Theater is the most important theater and opera house in the Czech capital and certainly one of the most beautiful stages in Europe, both from the outside and the inside.

The history of the National Theatre Prague

The idea of building an independent Czech theater in Prague arose as early as 1844, but it took another six years before the first appeal to the population for donations to finance the National Theater. In 1862, a first temporary theater, the Czech Interim Theater, opened before construction on the actual house began in 1868. Both the exterior and interior of the theater were designed in the Neo-Renaissance style.

On the occasion of and in honor of the visit of Crown Prince Rudolf, the theater, which was not yet completely finished, was finally opened early in 1881 with the premiere of the opera Libuše, composed by Smetana especially for the occasion. Before the final opening, however, there was a fire in 1881 that destroyed not only the brass dome but also the stage and auditorium. After a renewed collection of donations, the theater was rebuilt in the following years under the direction of architect Josef Schulz. The second opening took place at the end of 1883 – again with a performance of Smetana’s opera Libuše.

The National Theater Prague is not only one of the most important cultural institutions in the Czech Republic, but since its foundation it has been a Czech national symbol, which from the very beginning was intended to be a Czech-language counterpoint to the German-speaking Habsburg monarchy in Vienna. It is against this background that one piquant detail of the theater should be understood, namely the location of the Imperial Lodge. Since the Habsburg imperial house under Emperor Franz Joseph I did not contribute to the construction of the National Theater, it was decided to place the Imperial Box not in the central axis of the auditorium, but on the left edge.

The New Scene

Directly behind the National Theater Prague is the building of the so-called “New Scene” (cz. “Nová scéna”), a modern theater built in the late 1970s and early 1980s. The New Scene is the home of the Laterna magika, an avant-garde theater.

By the way, if you can no longer get a ticket for a performance at the National Theater, you can also see the beautiful building on a guided tour.