{"id":10153,"date":"2025-10-01T08:43:19","date_gmt":"2025-10-01T06:43:19","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.solarisschool.cz\/?p=10153"},"modified":"2025-10-08T00:46:11","modified_gmt":"2025-10-07T22:46:11","slug":"bacchae-at-the-estates-theatre-dionysian-madness-meets-70s-vibes","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.solarisschool.cz\/cs\/bacchae-at-the-estates-theatre-dionysian-madness-meets-70s-vibes\/","title":{"rendered":"“Bacchae” at the Estates Theatre \u2013 Dionysian Madness Meets 70s Vibes"},"content":{"rendered":"
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With the arrival of colder weather, many of us start looking forward to the new theatre season. That\u2019s why I\u2019d like to invite you to a remarkable performance at the Estates Theatre in Prague.<\/p>\n

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The Estates Theatre<\/a> (Stavovsk\u00e9 divadlo<\/em>) is one of the stages of the National Theatre in Prague. Its main building\u2014with its gleaming roof\u2014stands proudly along the Vltava River. However, the Estates Theatre, located on the Ovocn\u00fd trh in the Old Town, is much older and has been in continuous operation since 1783 (while the National Theatre officially opened later).<\/p>\n

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Historically, the Estates Theatre is important for the Czech language<\/strong>, because it was one of the first theatres to regularly feature Czech-language performances, starting in 1812. This wasn\u2019t a given at the time, as German dominated as the official language of the Habsburg monarchy, and Czech still had a long way to go toward regaining its status.<\/p>\n

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But why am I mentioning the Estates Theatre here, on a site dedicated to learning Czech<\/a>? Well, besides being a fascinating historical site, it also offers several dramas with English subtitles<\/strong><\/span>. This means you can let yourself be carried away by carefully chosen Czech language<\/strong><\/span> on stage, while following the story comfortably in English. It\u2019s a fantastic way to practice your Czech listening skills outside the classroom!<\/p>\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t

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Actor Petr Van\u010dura (center) as Dionysus in Bacchae, accompanied by the band Bert & Friends at Prague\u2019s historic Estates Theatre.\r\n\ud83d\udcf8 Photo: Patrik Boreck\u00fd<\/figcaption>\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<\/figure>\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t
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One of the shows that really caught my attention is The Bacchae<\/em><\/a>. This ancient play was written by Euripides<\/a> and the Prague production is staged as a spectacular party in celebration of the god Dionysus. The set bursts with color, and the performance is packed with music, dancing, and vibrant energy. The director, Jan Fri\u010d, brings the play to life as a 1970s-style musical, accompanied by live music from the psychedelic pop group Bert & Friends.<\/p>\n

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The theatre introduces the show with the line: \u201cA story about the greatest party of all time happening just beyond the horizon.\u201d<\/em> And as spectators, we can\u2019t help but feel drawn into the madness unfolding on stage!<\/p>\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t

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Actor Petr Van\u010dura portrays Dionysus in a striking scene from \"Bacchae\" at Prague\u2019s Estates Theatre.\n\ud83d\udcf8 Photo: Patrik Boreck\u00fd<\/figcaption>\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<\/figure>\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t
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The theme of the play is the conflict between instinctual desires and rational control. We witness a celebration of wine, freedom, and self-restraint, all taking place in a psychedelic atmosphere that pulls us in. With a fantastic cast of Czech actors who deliver passionate performances, this is a highly entertaining and emotional take on a classic drama.<\/p>\n

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The play is performed in a new Czech translation<\/strong><\/span> by the talented Petr Borkovec<\/a>, a renowned Czech poet and prose writer, together with Maty\u00e1\u0161 Havrda, who first prepared the translation before Petr reworked it into poetic form. For students of Czech, this is a unique chance to hear the living beauty of the language used on stage.<\/strong><\/span><\/p>\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t

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A gripping moment from Bacchae at the Estates Theatre in Prague, with Jana Pidrmanov\u00e1 as Agave, Miloslav K\u00f6nig as Pentheus, and David Pracha\u0159 as Kadmos.\n\ud83d\udcf8 Photo: Patrik Boreck\u00fd<\/figcaption>\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<\/figure>\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t
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To fully appreciate the beauty of the Czech language in this production, you would need a high level of Czech proficiency\u2014but with dedication, I\u2019m sure you\u2019ll get there! In fact, the stunning use of language in Petr\u2019s work could be just the inspiration you need to continue your diligent study of Czech<\/a>.\u00a0<\/p>\n

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But don\u2019t worry \u2013 with English subtitles, you can still enjoy the performance and gradually train your ear for Czech.\u00a0At SOLARIS School, we believe that learning the Czech language<\/a> goes hand in hand with discovering Czech culture<\/span><\/strong>.<\/p>\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t<\/section>\n\t\t\t\t<\/div>","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

With the arrival of colder weather, many of us start looking forward to the new theatre season. That\u2019s…<\/p>","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":10207,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[42,1],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-10153","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-blog","category-uncategorized"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.solarisschool.cz\/cs\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/10153","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.solarisschool.cz\/cs\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.solarisschool.cz\/cs\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.solarisschool.cz\/cs\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.solarisschool.cz\/cs\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=10153"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.solarisschool.cz\/cs\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/10153\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.solarisschool.cz\/cs\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/10207"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.solarisschool.cz\/cs\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=10153"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.solarisschool.cz\/cs\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=10153"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.solarisschool.cz\/cs\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=10153"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}