Mr. Jan Burian, Director General of the National Theatre, extends the tenure of Mr. Per Boye Hansen, the Artistic Director of the National Theatre Opera and the State Opera, after a review of excellent results of the ensembles under Mr. Hansen’s leadership.
Based upon an internal assessment of Per Boye Hansen’s past work, as well as opinions expressed by experts approached, including Jiří Heřman (the Artistic Director of the Opera of the National Theatre Brno), Susanne Moser (the Chair of the German-speaking Opera Conference) and Nicholas Payne (the honorary director of Opera Europa and the Royal Opera House in London), Jan Burian decided to extend the tenure of Per Boye Hansen as the Artistic Director of the National Theatre Opera and the State Opera until 31 July 2028.
This decision comes also because of mutual agreement and is based upon specific presented artistic plans that continuously build upon the existing priorities and successful development of both opera ensembles in the past years.
“We especially appreciate the transformation of the soloist ensemble, which now includes numerous young and talented singers and is able to perform a very broad repertoire of opera works under the guidance of experienced and renowned but also young and perspective directors. We are proud to have presented the visionary project Musica non grata, which seems even more important today than we might have originally thought,” said Jan Burian, the Director General of the National Theatre.
The National Theatre also appreciates the collaborations with Ukrainian artists, ever-increasing participation of female directors and conductors in the National Theatre Opera and the State Opera projects, as well as the praise that the work of our ensemble has been getting abroad. Growing number of spectators and tickets sold also prove that our domestic audiences value the top quality of every single performance. Per Boye Hansen managed to create a new artistic and administrative team, collaborating closely especially with the conductors Robert Jindra and Andriy Yurkevych and Bohdana Malik in the role of the Administrative Director.
“We wish Mr. Hansen strength and optimism going forward and – like our spectators – we are looking forward to new productions created by interesting and famous Czech and foreign artists,” added Mr. Burian.
“One of the most exceptional things about Per Boye Hansen is the way, in which he made Prague opera clearly visible on the world map. I am stunned repeatedly to see the praise and attention he is receiving in foreign media. Especially the Musica non grata project captured the attention of international public and significantly increased the reputation of Prague’s opera. A number of world-famous directors have come to Prague to work here in the past years including names such as Calixto Bieito, Andreas Homoki or Tatjana Gürbaca. Their collaboration with Per Boye Hansen is a clear proof of his ability to secure globally recognized artists for projects in Prague.”
Susanne Moser, Chair of the German-speaking Opera Conference
“Comparing the response of Czech and foreign critics to the way Per Boye Hansen works has been a very interesting experience. There can be no doubt that Mr. Hansen has succeeded in raising international awareness about the National Theatre Opera and the State Opera. This is clearly demonstrated for example by the planned performance at the prestigious opera festival in Savonlinna or by the last year’s nomination of Flammen by Schulhoff for the prestigious Opera Awards. Of course, the mere three full seasons have not been sufficient space to achieve all the goals. For both ensembles to truly thrive, stable management is necessary over a longer period – something that Per Boye Hansen can definitely provide.”
Jiří Heřman, Artistic Director of the Opera of the National Theatre Brno
“I had the opportunity to watch numerous performances in Prague in 2022 and 2023 that proved the quality and versatility of current repertoire of the National Theatre Opera and the State Opera. The magnificent production of The Flying Dutchman clearly demonstrated the power of the orchestra and the chorus. Productions of Katya Kabanova and The Bartered Bride offered an original take on classical masterpieces of Czech opera. Flammen – a newly presented opera was even nominated for the International Opera Awards as a Rediscovered Work. The masterful direction and stellar cast of Der Rosenkavalier had no trouble managing one of the most convoluted operas of all time. The truly extraordinarily precise production of Le nozze di Figaro, both musically and dramatically, set a new standard of performing Mozart in the historical building of the Estates Theatre. Also traditional Italian repertoire was broadened with quality productions of Pagliacci, Cavalleria rusticana and L’elisir d’amore. And, quite recently, the brilliant production of Gianni Schicchi was perfectly combined with the concurrent premiere of Don Buoso by Jan Kučera.“
Nicholas Payne, honorary director of Opera Europa and the Royal Opera House in London
Under the leadership of Per Boye Hansen, the ensemble welcomed eight new singers, who have already proved their worth. Our renewed production of Gounod’s Roméo et Juliette presented Petr Nekoranec (winner of 2023 National Theatre’s Director General’s award for artists under 35), Arnheiður Eiríksdóttir (winner of Thalia Award for extraordinary stage performance in the field of Opera, singing Octavian in Der Rosenkavalier by Strauss), Lukáš Bařák and Daniel Matoušek. Other valued artists joining the ensemble include Pavol Kubáň, Svatopluk Sem, Csaba Kotlár and Petra Alvarez Šimková.
The ensemble is complemented by numerous singers famous not only on Czech but also foreign stages: Olga Jelínková, Lucie Kaňková, Pavel Černoch, Pavol Breslik, Štěpánka Pučálková, Adam Plachetka, Boris Prýgl, Dagmar Pecková, Štefan Margita, Jan Martiník, Jana Kurucová and Štefan Kocán. Zuzana Marková debuted at the National Theatre this season with Lada Bočková and Peter Kellner waiting for their debut in the next.
Many more singers made important steps in their careers performing on our stages, including Jarmila Balážová, Adriana Banásová, Martin Gurbaľ, Jan Maria Hájek, Magdaléna Hebousse, Lucie Hilscherová, Jan Hnyk, Veronika Kaiserová, Daniel Kfelíř, Markéta Klaudová, Alena Grach, Ekaterina Krovateva, Karolína Levková, Peter Malý, Michal Marhold, Martina Masaryková, Tamara Morozová, Jaroslav Patočka, Barbora Perná, Vít Šantora, Tomáš Šelc, Marie Šimůnková, Doubravka Součková or Dana Šťastná.
The conductors Petr Popelka and Jiří Rožeň debuted in the National Theatre, having been entrusted the preparation of new productions. Tomáš Netopil was welcomed again by the ensembles of the National Theatre Opera and the State Opera this season. To mention stage directors, we presented productions by Barbora Horáková Joly, Alice Nellis, Magdalena Švecová, Martin Čičvák and Vladimír Morávek. Last season saw a new production of Dvořák’s Armida directed by Jiří Heřman and a production of Pagliacci / Cavalleria rusticana directed by Ondřej Havelka. This season’s productions are directed by: Martin Čičvák, Sláva Daubnerová, Ondřej Havelka, David Radok, SKUTR duo, Radim Vizváry and, as a debut, Tomáš Ondřej Pilař.
The arrival of Robert Jindra and Andriy Yurkevych brought the National Theatre Opera and the State Opera two strong musical leaders widely recognized by international audiences. Their focus has been diligent work with choruses, orchestras and the soloist ensemble. Their musical expertise and Per Boye Hansen’s vast experiences combine to create a stable artistic management.
The last years have also seen a number of significant international impulses. We have collaborated with internationally renowned directors including Calixto Bieito (Katya Kabanova and Flammen), Timofey Kulyabin (Der ferne Klang), Tatjana Gürbaca (Così fan tutte), Alexander Mørk-Eidem (Don Giovanni), Ole Anders Tandberg (Der fliegende Holländer), Andreas Homoki (Der Rosenkavalier) and Jetske Mijnssen (Kleider machen Leute). This season, the new production of L’elisir d’amore is directed by Julia Burbach and Le Grand Macabre will be directed by Nigel Lowery. This high participation of foreign stage directors is important to achieve international recognition and is also a source of new impulses both for our ensemble and our spectators. Recently, we have also had the opportunity to work with a number of talented and renowned conductors. Gabriel Feltz did an impressive job rehearsing Der Rosenkavalier with the State Opera Orchestra. The same can be said of John Fiore, who will follow his masterful take on Stravinsky’s Oedipus Rex and Rachmaninoff’s Bells by a new collaboration with the National Theatre Orchestra in the next season. Giedrė Šlekytė has had a great international career and immensely contributed towards the resounding success of our production of Kleider machen Leute by Zemlinsky. The young Austrian conductor Christoph Koncz’s Mozart’s Birthday concert (broadcast by the Czech Television) was a success and he returned – on a request from the players of the National Theatre Orchestra – to conduct Don Giovanni this September. Rubén Dubrovsky accepted our offer to conduct the Mozart’s Birthday concert in 2024. Julia Jones received praise for her conducting of Le nozze di Figaro premiered in June 2023. This season, Hermann Bäumer conducts a new production of Lady Macbeth of Mtsensk.
From Per Boye Hansen’s start as the Artistic Director of the National Theatre Opera and the State Opera, many famous singers have accepted an invitation to perform in Prague. Lise Davidsen was the star of the gala organized on the occasion of reopening the State Opera after reconstruction in January 2020. SeokJong Baek (winner of Naples Vincerò competition in 2021) debuted as Calaf in Turandot last season and flew directly to New York to sing the same role in the Metropolitan Opera. The Italian tenor Matteo Desole amazed the audience with an excellent performance as Edgar in a concert performance of Lucia di Lammermoor by Donizetti. We first had the pleasure to see and hear him as Rodolfo in La bohème in January 2020 and he has been making regular appearances in Prague ever since – in addition to his roles on several leading opera scenes. Alejandro Del Angel made another great debut in Prague, singing Turiddu in Cavalleria rusticana in June of this year.
Our Verdi Festival in March gave Prague’s spectators an opportunity to see and hear internationally famous singers including Ewa Płonka, Maria Jermolaeva, Nikoloz Lagvilava, Yaritza Véliz, Atalla Ayan, Ólafur Sigurdarson, Marina Prudenskaya or Daniel Luis de Vicente. The last one mentioned made his international breakthrough performance in Prague singing Rigoletto (premiered in January 2021 in the middle of the pandemic and broadcast by the Czech Television). Denys Pivnitskyi, who sang Radamès in Aida and Canio in Pagliacci last season, is another artist that opera stage directors all over Europe became aware of after Prague’s Opera Europe conference in June 2022.
Musica non grata has been a key project that greatly boosted our international reputation and standing. Already in 2019, we received a grant from the Embassy of the Federal Republic of Germany in Prague in the amount of one million euros per year over a period of four years (2020-2023).
