Šárka
Premiere performances: 7 and 9 November 2024 at the National Theatre
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- November
- May 2025
- June 2025
Saturday 9. 11.
19:00
Tickets availableThursday 14. 11.
19:00
Tickets availableSaturday 23. 11.
19:00
Tickets availableFriday 30. 5.
19:00
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Thursday 5. 6.
19:00
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Sunday 15. 6.
19:00
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Basic information
The National Theatre
Approximate running time3 hours 45 minutes, 2 intermission (40 minutes) minutes
LanguageIn Czech, surtitles in Czech, English
PremiereNovember 7, 2024
WARNING: The show depicts violence and guns. Suitable for audiences from 16 years.
The story of a girl's war through the eyes of the present.
Cast
- 2024-2025
Creatives
About
National Theatre Chorus
National Theatre Orchestra
National Theatre Opera Ballet
The story of Zdeněk Fibich’s Šárka loosely links up to Bedřich Smetana’s festive opera Libuše. It depicts the Maidens’ War, an uprising that broke out after the death of the mythical Princess Libuše, with the women striving to regain the privileges they enjoyed during her reign.
The legend can be found in a variety of literary sources, from Cosmas of Prague’s 12th–century Chronica Boemorum to Alois Jirásek’s ever-popular Old Czech Legends, first published in 1894. During the 19th-century National Revival, Bohemian mythology inspired a number of artists, influenced in part by the fake Manuscript of Dvůr Králové and Manuscript of Zelená Hora, motifs of which even appear in the decorations of Prague’s National Theatre. Besides Libuše and Šárka, the legend of the women’s uprising reflects in Smetana’s cycle My Country (the tone poems Vyšehrad and Šárka), as well as in Otakar Ostrčil’s opera The Death of Vlasta. Fibich evidently closely worked on Šárka with the librettist Anežka Schulzová, a pupil of the prominent Czech author Jaroslav Vrchlický, with their amorous relationship having had a positive impact on their endeavours. The opera premiered on 28 December 1897 at the National Theatre in Prague, conducted by Adolf Čech. The production, directed by Adolf Krössing, featured scenery by Robert Holzer and Mikoláš Aleš, with the latter’s visual style becoming a traditional model for the costumes in the majority of the adaptations that followed. The first to portray Šárka was the outstanding 28-year-old soprano Růžena Maturová (also the first to perform Antonín Dvořák’s Rusalka).
Our new production will be presented more than four decades after the most recent performance of Šárka at the National Theatre. It will be conducted by Robert Jindra, music director of the National Theatre Opera, who has invited the German stage director Kay Link.
The production has been financially supported by the National Theatre Benefactors’ Club.
Audiences are advised that violence and guns appear in the performance.
Suitable for audiences aged 15 and over.
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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 November 2024 – April 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.
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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.
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No waiting. For your benefit, please pre-order your food and beverages at the bar to minimize waiting in the queue!
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