23. 10. 2026, 10 a.m.
Mahen Theatre
Composer: Bohuslav Martinů
Conductor: Filip Urban
Director: Hana Mikolášková
Ensemble: Brno Conservatory
23. 10. 2026, 10 a.m.
Mahen Theatre
Composer: Bohuslav Martinů
Conductor: Filip Urban
Director: Hana Mikolášková
Ensemble: Brno Conservatory
Conductor: Filip Urban
Director: Hana Mikolášková
Musical Preparation: Tomáš Krejčí and Helena Fialová
Choreography: Ladislava Košíková
Head of the Voice Department: Petr Julíček
Set Design: Kateřina Doleželová
Lighting Design: Jakub Kubíček
Performed by 3rd to 6th-year students of the Voice Department and the Student Orchestra of the Brno Conservatory
The plot of Martinů’s “lyric opera in one act” takes place at a fairground outside the city gates, where the everyday world of the audience encounters the fantastical world of strolling players. The stage is populated by country folk alongside traditional Commedia dell’arte figures—Harlequin, Columbine, and Pierrot—whose performances alternate between singing, dancing, and pantomime.
The opera lacks a traditional linear narrative, consisting instead of a sequence of episodes where the grotesque, the lyrical, and the parodic intertwine. With wit and playfulness, Martinů draws on folk songs, dance rhythms, and jazz elements to create a vibrant mosaic of life, with its tragicomic blend of reality and illusion.
The Theatre Behind the Gate is both a tribute to the folk roots of theatre and a modern experiment in which Martinů opens up new possibilities for 20th-century musical theatre.
The Opera Studio and Orchestra of the Brno Conservatory, in collaboration with the Janáček Brno 2026 Festival, present a production of Bohuslav Martinů’s Theatre Behind the Gate. This “lyric opera,” enriched with pantomime and dance, was created as a distinctive homage to folk roots while also serving as an open dialogue with the modern movements of the 20th century, including jazz.
Come and see what the young generation will reveal in a work that unites playfulness, rhythm, and intimate lyricism. We will show you that Martinů’s music is still alive and full of light. We invite both professional and general audiences to experience music that transcends genre and time, opening the gates of imagination for everyone who steps inside.
And what exactly is Theatre Behind the Gate? In Bohuslav Martinů’s own words, it is “nothing other than a stage in a marketplace, a fairground beyond the city walls—in fact, a traveling theatre.” Theatre here and now, drawing energy from the street—perhaps pulsating even faster today than in the composer’s time—yet still a free space: playful, unrestrained, open to improvisation and interaction.
Text: Hana Mikolášková
