Sancta Susanna / Eine Florentinische Tragödie
Two opera stories about forbidden love
Concert performance
Basic information
The State Opera
Approximate running time2 hours, 1 intermission (30 minutes) minutes
LanguageIn German, surtitles in Czech, English, German
The concert is part of the Musica non grata Concluding Weekend programme package.
We would like to inform the audience that the performance will be filmed. By attending the performance, the theatre-goer gives his/her consent to his/her image being captured during the making of an audio-visual recording of the performance and to the recording made in such a manner being used in broadcasts of the performance or part thereof.
NT+
Dramaturgical introduction before the performance, beginning at 6:30 pm in the A. Neumann Lounge (in Czech language).
Sancta Susanna is the story of a young nun, Susanna, who falls into a sexual frenzy. Eine florentinische Tragödie tells the story of Simone, a Florentine merchant who surprises his wife Bianca with her secret lover, the nobleman Guido. Simon’s feigned hospitality leads to violence, murder and a shocking dramatic twist. The creators of both operas, Alexander Zemlinsky and Paul Hindemith, have a place of honour in the musical history of interwar Czechoslovakia. Both enjoyed great respect and fame in their time, both were driven out of Europe to the USA by National Socialism. Both are still waiting for full recognition of their operatic legacy...
Cast
- 2024-2025
Paul Hindemith (1895–1963) was one of the most important German composers of the 20th century, an accomplished violist and conductor. The avant-garde composer was branded an "atonal noise maker" by the Nazis and emigrated to America with his wife, the daughter of Jewish conductor Ludwig Rottenberg, in March 1937. Unlike Alexander Zemlinsky, however, he was able to pursue a successful career in the USA.
Austrian composer and conductor Alexander Zemlinsky (1871–1941) was one of the prominent artists of his time in Vienna. As opera director of the Neues deutsches Theater and a regular guest of the Czech Philharmonic, he worked for 16 years in Prague, which was a world musical centre at the time; Zemlinsky had much to do with this. He died in America shortly after his emigration and his work fell into oblivion; only since the 1970s has he gradually returned to the world stage.
Paul Hindemith's Sancta Susanna, to a libretto by August Stramm, is the last of a triptych of Expressionist-influenced one-act operas; it was preceded by Mörder, Hoffnung der Frauen and Das Nusch-Nuschi. Hindemith had originally planned to perform all the operas as a triptych in Stuttgart, but this was prevented by the great outcry over the text, which was branded blasphemous and obscene. Sancta Susanna was therefore staged separately with a year's delay, on 26 March 1922 in Frankfurt. At the Neues deutsches Theater Alexander Zemlinsky tirelessly supported contemporary composers including Paul Hindemith; he offered Hindemith's entire triptych in one evening on 3 March 1923. He performed his own operas in Prague only after their world premieres in other cities. Eine florentinische Tragödie premiered in Stuttgart on 30 January 1917, two months later Zemlinsky conducted it in Prague (4 March 1917) and from there it was on its way to the Vienna Court Opera (27 April 1917). He wrote the opera to his own libretto based on an unfinished play by Oscar Wilde.
The production is part of the Musica non grata cycle. Musica non grata is the international music and cultural project of the Czech Republic and Germany, initiated and organized by the National Theatre in Prague and financially supported by the Embassy of the Federal Republic of Germany. Musica non grata revives the artistic legacy of male and female composers important to the musical life of interwar Czechoslovakia who were persecuted by National Socialism or for religious, racial, political or gender reasons. More information at musicanongrata.cz.
Share
Practical information
Where to buy tickets
The National Theatre sells tickets up to 6 months in advance. We are currently selling tickets for performances of Drama, Ballet, Opera and Laterna magika taking place in October 2024 – March 2025.
When purchasing online, you can get an e-ticket. You can pick up printed tickets in person at the box offices of the National Theatre.
What to wear?
By their appearance, attire and behaviour, the audience is obliged to adhere to the accustomed practice expected from them when attending a theatre performance.
Parking at the State opera
While visiting the State Opera, you can take the slip road on Wilsonova street from the left lane close to the State Opera building to the Parking Centrum above-ground garage. The parking fee is 60 CZK/h.
Buffets at the State Opera
No waiting. For your benefit, please pre-order your food and beverages at the bar to minimize waiting in the queue!
Menu (PDF, 60 kB)