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  Prague, Culture

Music has always been regarded as an important part of education, both through the schools and through town musicians, whose jobs included teaching as well as performing. From its formation in the late 18th century, the Prague Conservatoire has been a world class training ground for musicians and composers. In the 1780s, Dr Charles Burney described Bohemia as ‘a nation of musicians’ adding: ‘It is said by travellers, that the Bohemian nobility keep musicians in their houses; but in keeping servants it is impossible to do otherwise.’ Behind the big four Czech composers – Smetana, Dvoøák, Jánaèek and Martinù – lie literally hundreds of others, whose talents ranged from good to near great. Virtuoso instrumentalists and conductors have always been manifold. Surprisingly few were actually born in Prague but almost all of them were residents at one time or another.

With the eclipse of Prague by Vienna, under the Hapsburgs, attention shifted from the political sphere to the artistic. Mozart was more highly regarded in Prague than he was in Vienna and every famous composer and virtuoso was welcomed with open arms, with conductors of the Prague opera including Weber, Mahler and Zemlinský. One of the downsides of the fall of Communism was the substantial cutback of state funding and the entire arts scene is experiencing financial difficulties in the shift to a market economy. Artists are still regarded as respected members of the community and every possible effort is made to further their careers. Performance standards have, if anything, risen still higher.

Prague is unquestionably a musical city. Prague Spring Festival is one of the major world‐class festivals but concerts abound throughout the year. And this is not the end of the matter – buskers are found everywhere and the streets, squares and bridges echo to everything from talented students from the Conservatoire, to Dixieland jazz, folk and world music and pop.

Tickets can be purchased at Èedok (see Tourist Information) and Ticketpro, Rytíøská 31, Prague 1 (tel: (02) 2161 0162; e‐mail: etix@ticketpro.cz; ). Ticketpro accepts credit cards but does not book for the bigger classical venues. Bohemia Ticket International (BTI), Na pøikopì 16, Prague 1, is the only ticket agency that will accept ticket purchases from abroad (tel: (02) 2422 7832; e‐mail: order@ticketsbti.cz; ), although those who choose to do this can expect a substantial booking fee. Ticket agencies tend to mark up ticket prices, especially for foreigners. Purchasing tickets from the relevant box office usually saves quite a bit of money. Unsold tickets costing more than Kè30 can often be purchased 30 minutes before performances. This is especially good value at the National Theatre. Visitors should purchase Spring Festival tickets from the festival office to avoid the hefty mark up.

Weekly listings for all musical events can be found in The Prague Post and fortnightly in The Prague Pill. Do Mìsta gives monthly cultural listings in Czech.

Music: Prague boasts two world‐class orchestras. The Czech Philharmonic () is based at the neo‐classical Rudolfinum, Al&unknown;ovo nábøeží 12, Prague 1 (tel: (02) 2489 3311). The Prague Symphony Orchestra () has now returned to its restored home at the Smetana Hall of the Obecní dùm, Námìstí Republiky 5, Prague 1 (tel: (02) 2200 2101; fax: (02) 2200 2100; e‐mail: info@obecni‐dum.cz; ). Various other orchestras also turn in high‐quality performances and important venues for chamber music concerts include the Church of St Nicolas (Kostel sv. Mikuláse), Staromìstské námìstí, Prague 1, the Nostic Palace, Maltézské námìstí 1, Prague 1 (tel: (02) 2451 0131), St Agnes’ Convent (Klá&unknown;ter sv. Anežky èeské), U milosrdných 17, Prague 1 (tel: (02) 2481 0835), and the exquisite Baroque Chapel of Mirrors (Zrcadlová kaple of the Klementinum), Mariánské námìstí, Prague 1 (tel: (02) 2166 3111 ext. 331).

The standard opera repertoire is offered at the State Opera, Wilsonova 4, Prague 2 (tel: (02) 2422 7266; ). The Estates Theatre, Ovocný trh, Prague 1 (tel: (02) 2421 5001; ), where Don Giovanni was first performed, still presents occasional Mozart operas. Czech repertoire is principally presented at the National Theatre (Národní Divadlo), Národní 2, Prague 1 (tel: (02) 2490 1111 or 2490 1668; ). Performances here tend to be more innovative and ticket prices are lower.

Unusual music shows are presented in the summer at the Køižíkova Fontana (Krizik’s Fountain), in Luna Park, Prague 7, with shows linking music, lights, fountains and water features.

Theatre: Misery Loves Company, Celetná 17, Prague 1 (tel: (02) 2480 9168), presents consistently high‐quality productions of international plays and Czech works in English translations. They are active in the summer at the reconstructed Globe Theatre, Výstavi&unknown;tì, Holo&unknown;ovice, Prague 7 (tel: (02) 2271 1515).

There are currently seven companies presenting shows combining music, dance and 3D effects with black (ultraviolet) light features, known as Black Light Theatre. Performances run from classical to rock and all the companies are excellent. They include All Colours Theatre, Rytíøská 31, Prague 1 (tel: (02) 2161 0173; ), The Black Light Theatre, Jiøí Grossmann Theatre, Václavské námìstí 43 (tel: (02) 2421 9812; ), The Black Theatre Prague, Na pøikopì 10 (tel: (02) 2224 4358; ), Image, Image Theatre, Paøížská 4, Prague 1 (tel: (02) 2231 4448), Black Light Theatre of Frantisek Kratochvíl, Národní 25, Prague 1 (tel: (02) 2108 5287), Ta Fantastika, Palác Unitaria, Karlova 8, Prague 1 (tel: (02) 2222 1367), and The Black Light Theatre of Prague of Jiøí Srnec, Divadlo Reduta, Národní tøída 20, Prague 1 (tel: (02) 2493 3487).

Dance: Classical ballet is prevalent at the major theatres but modern dance companies, with their experimental and multimedia techniques, offer a far more exciting evening. Ponec, Husitská 24A, Prague 3 (tel: (02) 2481 7886; ), a new performance space owned by the dance company, Tanec Praha (), presents a constantly varied and challenging programme of Czech and international companies. Folklore shows combining energetic dancing and music with colourful costumes have not lost their exuberance or high standards under the demands of tourists. Restaurace U Marcanu, Veleslanínská 14, Prague 6 (tel: (02) 3536 0623), offers a year‐round show with a traditional Czech dinner for a reasonable fixed price. Excellent summer shows are presented at the theatres Divadlo na Klárove, Nábreží Edvarda Bene&unknown;e 3, Prague 1 (tel: (02) 2171 1611), and Divadlo u hasicu, Øímská 45, Prague 2 (tel: (02) 2422 7693).

Film: The majority of foreign films in Prague are screened in their original language – subtitled films are billed as ‘titulek’ and films dubbed into Czech are ‘dabovat’. The best cinema for feature films, as well as experimental and late‐night programmes, is 64 U Hradeb, Mostecká 21, Prague 1 (tel: (02) 5753 1158). Lucerna (tel: (02) 2421 6972; ), for all its faded glory, remains an atmospheric Art Deco movie palace. Cinema Broadway, Na pøikopì 31, Prague 1 (tel: (02) 2161 3278), is the best venue for epic films. MAT Studio at Karlovo námìstí 19, Prague 1 (tel: (02) 2491 5765), shows Czech films with English subtitles at 2200 – with a capacity of 24, advance purchase of tickets is essential. The Czech film archive uses Ponrepo/Bio Konvikt, Bartolomìjská 13, Prague 1 (). A one‐year membership costs Kè120.

South of Smíchov is the Barrandov Studio. Built by Václav Havel’s grandfather, after World War I, it soon became the centre of the Czech film industry. Czech directors, camera operators and technicians were soon in demand across Europe. The earliest important silent films set in Prague, however, were German. Paul Wegener’s The Golem (1920) vividly brought to life the medieval legend of the Jewish clay automaton – with studio expressionist sets that recreated the claustrophobic ghetto – and Henrik Galeen’s The Student of Prague (1926), a tale of the Doppelgänger (evil double) recreated the early 19th‐century city. Gustave Machatý’s Erotikon (1929) reveals Art Deco Prague in all its glory, while his Extase (1933), winner at the Venice Biennial in 1934, created a sensation with its daring nude scene by Austrian actress Hedy Kiesler (later, in Hollywood, Hedy Lamarr). Czech animation came to prominence in the 1930s and remains influential in the genre.

The implementation of Stalinist doctrine under the Communists largely isolated the industry from the West. However, innovations were still possible and in 1947, Jiøí Trnka created the first puppet film, establishing a new genre that helped maintain a Czech presence in cinema in the West. The 1950s also saw the training of a new generation of filmmakers who, with the relaxation of restrictions in the 1960s, gave rise to the superb Czech New Wave. The finest films of this period were undoubtedly Closely Observed Trains (1966) and The Shop on Main Street (1965). Since the Velvet Revolution, Czech filmmakers seem to have lost their way, remaining in awe of the New Wave and attempting to maintain an identity in the wake of the influx of Hollywood values. Ironically, those values that threaten to swamp Czech films have also served to revive the industry – low costs and quality technicians have made Prague a major location for filming. Amadeus (1984), Mission Impossible (1996), Les Miserables (1998), From Hell (2001) and Frankenstein (2003) are just a few of the feature films filmed there.

Cultural events: The Czechs have always been known for their musical ability, as well as their love of music. One of the world’s largest festivals, now entering its 59th year, the Prague Spring International Music Festival () continues this fine musical tradition. Every year, the festival starts on 12 May – the day Smetana died in 1884 – and the opening concert always features his great cycle of symphonic poems, My Country. Prague Autumn (), in September, is a slightly shorter and less intense music festival, which still features many Czech and international performers. Standing outside the main tourist season, it can be a slightly more relaxed event for visitors.

Literary Notes
The German poet, Edward Mörike, wrote a novella called Mozart’s Journey to Prague (1855), which is a delightful, if fanciful, account of the composer’s trip in 1787 to conduct the premiere of Don Giovanni. Jan Neruda – the ‘Czech Dickens’ – provides fascinating 19th‐century vignettes in Lesser Town Tales (1878), while Gustav Meyrik’s The Golem (1969) remains the classic version of the story concerning the medieval Jewish automaton. Although also Gothic in character, F Marion Crawford’s occult novel, The Witch of Prague (1891), provides a wealth of description of the city in the late 1880s. Prague’s most famous writer, Franz Kafka, generally took a more jaundiced view of the city, filtered through the bewildering and menacing absurdities of Hapsburg bureaucracy. His masterpieces include The Trial (1925), The Castle (1926) and The Transformation and Other Stories (1915). Just as Kafka has spawned an industry of souvenirs, so too has the anti‐hero of Jaroslav Hasek’s comic masterpiece of World War I, The Good Soldier Svejk (1921). Karel Capek’s anti‐utopian play, R.U.R. (1921), added the word ‘robot’ to the international vocabulary. Bohumil Hrabal’s deservedly famous Closely Observed Trains (1965) offers a thoroughly unromantic picture of the final days of World War II. For the Stalinist period, Milan Kundera’s The Joke (1967) is a far superior work to his better known The Unbearable Lightness of Being (1984). Since the Velvet Revolution, literature (often experimental) has flourished in the Czech Republic. Michael Viewegh’s Bringing Up Girls in Bohemia (1994) offers a wry look at rampant capitalism and sex in modern suburban Prague.