Le Grand Macabre
Premiere performances: 14 and 16 June 2024 at the State Opera
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- June
- October
Friday 14. 6.
19:00
Tickets availableSunday 16. 6.
19:00
Tickets availableSaturday 22. 6.
19:00
Tickets availableThursday 27. 6.
19:00
Tickets availableThursday 10. 10.
19:00
Currently subscription sale only More about subscription
Sunday 13. 10.
17:00
Currently subscription sale only More about subscription
Sunday 27. 10.
17:00
Tickets availableBasic information
The State Opera
Approximate running time1 hour 40 minutes, no intermission
LanguageIn English, surtitles in Czech, English
PremiereJune 14, 2024
Opera Le Grand Macabre presents an extremely bizarre apocalyptic vision of a world gone mad.
Cast
- 2023-2024
- 2024-2025
Creatives
About
State Opera Chorus
State Opera Orchestra
National Theatre Opera Ballet
The boys choir Pueri gaudentes
The one and only opera written by the Hungarian-Austrian composer György Ligeti, a major representative of the 20th-century avant-garde, Le Grand Macabre is a truly remarkable work, in many a respect surpassingthat that which is commonly expected from a piece of this genre. Loosely based on the Belgian dramatist Michel de Ghelderode’s play La balade du grand macabre, Ligeti provocatively branded it “anti-anti-opera”. Le Grand Macabre presents an extremely bizarre apocalyptic vision of a world gone mad, teeming with characters of such telling names as Nekrotzar, Piet The Pot, Clitoria, Spermando … Ligeti’s spectacular operatic fresco, set in a fictitious city bearing an equally telling name, Breughelland, not only shocks by featuring harsh, spine-chilling and perverse images, it is also striking in terms of the score, with the musical idiom encompassing conventional instruments, but also giving scope to a large variety of entirely unprecedented sounds, produced by car-horns, electric doorbells, a sledgehammer, an alarm clock, paper bags, a tray full of crockery, a saucepan, a pistol and other items.
Le Grand Macabre received its world premiere in Stockholm in 1978. Later on, Ligeti made considerable revisions to the opera for a production at the Salzburger Festspiele in 1997.
The production has been financially supported by the National Theatre Benefactors’ Club.
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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 May-October 2024.
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)