THE OPERA BAROCCA FESTIVAL

Prague, June 2012: The Opera Barocca Festival which features a series of musical and dance performances will take place in mid-August at the courtyard of the Clam-Gallas Palace in Prague. Visitors will have a unique chance to experience an authentic baroque atmosphere. The festival programme also includes an exhibition of the grandiose baroque costumes prepared by the Franzis Wussin Atelier and based on period iconography.

The third edition of the festival will take place from August 18 until September 9, 2012. The series of concerts, epic theatre performances and baroque soirées will completely take over the premises of one of the most beautiful baroque palaces in Prague. The event will introduce all aspects of this exceptional epoch which has so significantly marked the historic heritage of Prague and the Czech lands.

The programme of the festival remains traditionally focused on the interpretation of the period music and dance and on the re-creation of the festive divertimentos of the 17th and 18th centuries. The individual performances always observe historical accuracy and they are prepared in co-operation with experts in the arts of the period. All the performances are staged with musicians, singers and dancers dressed in the period costumes and masks.  

The programme of the festival is very colourful and will feature the music of the court festivities performed at some of the leading European courts as well as the music from operas and ballet performances composed in the 17th and 18th centuries. Among the compositions included in the programme of the festival will be the works of the following artists performed at the French court: J. B. Lully, M. Marais, A. Campry. The imperial court will be represented by the music of H. I. F. Biber, J. H. Schmelzer, N. Matteis, J. J. Fux, G. Bononcini, A. Vivaldi and many others. Carnevale Baroque Ensemble (Hipocondria Ensemble and guests) is the resident art company; the period dances will be performed by the members of the groups Danseurs Nobles and Hartig Ensemble – dances and ballet of three centuries.

The festival is organised by the Institute of Baroque Culture. The Opera Barocca project is supported by the Capital City of Prague and Carnevale Praha. Further invaluable supporters of the festival include: Prague City Archives, the National Gallery in Prague, Prague City Gallery and the National Heritage Institute.

CzechTourism is a state-funded agency of the Ministry for Regional Development. Its main activity is to promote the Czech Republic as an attractive tourist destination. More information is available at http://scandinavia.czechtourism.com.