An opera about the search for a lost boy, faith, hope, and acceptance of fate. Górecki’s composition Symphony of Sorrowful Songs, his opus Ad Matrem and his cycle of choral songs Broad Waters have been imaginatively combined into a lively dramatic form – in collaboration with the MDO’s orchestra and opera company – by the author-director tandem Petr Erbes & Boris Jedinák. Starting at 6:30 p.m., a dramaturgical introduction in the foyer of the MDO.
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It is a thematic and aesthetic quality of its own, a work for the stage with its own statement, which, however, does not contradict the musical composition, but arranges it in its own image. (…) A complete novelty in the world of opera theatre, and a successful one!
Josef Herman, Divadelní noviny

The new, original operatic work Ad Matrem has emerged from a combination of three works by the Polish composer Henryk Górecki. On the basis of a vivid composition, the story of a three-year-old boy who wanders away from his parents during a trip to the mountains unfolds. What are the fears faced by the mother worried about her child? What goes through the minds of the rescue forces searching for the lost boy? And how far can a little boy travel alone in the wilderness?
This exceptional project – the libretto of which is loosely inspired by true stories from the Czech borderlands – is directed by the guest duo of Petr Erbes and Boris Jedinák. The project continues the ambitious dramaturgical line of the company’s new management that aims to bring opera closer to a wider audience and to rid it of the label of a conservative and outdated genre.

 

directed by Petr Erbes, Boris Jedinák
libretto Henryk Górecki, Petr Erbes, Boris Jedinák
musical rendition Tomáš Hanák

co-participation the MDO Orchestra
conductor Tomáš Hanák, Jan Mára
dramaturgy Vilma Bořkovec
stage and costume design Marek Cpin
choirmaster Lubomíra Hellová
language expert Juliana Moska
musical preparation Milada Jedličková, Lucie Kaucká
assistant conductor Jan Mára
assistant director Vojtěch Pačák
Czech subtitles Anna Šašková Plasová
English subtitles Graeme Dibble
stage manager Dana Krajevskaja
prompter Isabelle Arce

characters and cast
Adam Nýbrt, the lost son Vojtěch Dvořák (as a guest) / Maxmilian Leszczynski (as a guest)
Adam’s double Jindřich Dvořák (as a guest)
Václav Nýbrt, his brother Igor Grmolenský (as a guest)
Viktorie Nýbrtová, his sister Sofie-Anna Frídlová (as a guest)
Sylva Nýbrtová, mother Helena Beránková / Elena Prášilová Gazdíková
Jan Nýbrt, father Vojtěch Pačák
Major Tálská, intervention commander from Rychnov nad Kněžnou Barbora Perná / Radoslava Müller
Jana Kudrnová, gamekeeper’s wife Anna Moriová / Lucie Skácelíková
Captain Břeň, operational officer in Hradec Králové Radek Leszczynski
Lieutenant Kastner Radim Šimeček
Captain Rajzrová, Police Air Service Prague Marta Kelíšková
Jaroslav Svoboda, police officer from Dobruška Jiří Horowitz
Diver Vendula Pumprlová / Vojtěch Pačák
Canine officer Renata Dubovicová
Rudolf Balcar, commander of the Zdobnice Volunteer Fire Brigade Radan Hlubinka
Mayor of Zdobnice Marcela Brožová
Vagrant Hynek Maxa
Innkeeper Rita Schimkeová
Waitress Kateřina Popová
Cook Věra Veselská
Police dog Jeckye z Folinku / Bella di Grande Torrente / Dali di Grande Torrente / Amalia di Grande Torrente

premiere 3 November 2023

 

The multi-talented theatre artists Petr Erbes (1991) and Boris Jedinák (1995) have been meeting artistically since their student years, when they were at the birth of an authorial collective of students and graduates of DAMU’s Department of Alternative and Puppet Theatre – the independent group 8lidí, dedicated to the creation of non-traditional projects combining elements of theatre, performance, installation and happening. As a creative tandem, they have worked as guests at Divadlo Husa na provázku, Minor, Prague City Theatres and Divadlo na cucky Olomouc.
In their original productions, they often draw on real stories and events, emphasizing an open, even borderline production form that crosses genres and actively involves the audience. Since the 2020/21 season, they have been members of the directing and dramaturgical team at Divadlo Na zábradlí. Together they also create board and card games (Palacky Games studio).

Conductor Tomáš Hanák (1975) comes from Brno. He graduated in piano and conducting from the local conservatory and continued his studies at Prague’s HAMU. Already during his studies he conducted professional music ensembles, including the Prague Chamber Philharmonia and the Janáček Philharmonic Orchestra Ostrava, and between 1997 and 2000 he conducted the Prague Student Orchestra. Since 2001 he has been permanently engaged with the MDO, but he has also guest-conducted symphony orchestras throughout the Czech Republic. Since 2021 he has been teaching at the Brno Conservatory.

Moravské divadlo Olomouc (MDO), or the Moravian Theatre Olomouc, is one of the oldest theatre buildings in the country (opened in 1830). It has three ensembles – opera/operetta, ballet, and drama, with Roman Vencl as its artistic director since 2016. The ballet section has been led by Jan Fousek since 2022. The artistic director of opera and operetta since the 2022 season is Veronika Kos Loulová, the founder of RUN OPERUN, an association dedicated to the popularization of opera; she has thus become the youngest director of opera in Europe.
In 1996, Václav Kožušník, the then director of the MDO, initiated the creation of Divadelní Flora – a project that has evolved from a regional showcase of Moravian multi-company theatres into one of Central Europe’s most prestigious festivals.

 

photo Tereza Hrubá