Compact archive April 17, 2007

The Prime Minister of the Czech Republic Mirek Topolanek and the director of the National Library Vlastimil Jezek handed over an important document to Jan Kaplicky. It was the document proving that Kaplicky is the winner of the international competition for the new building of the National Library in Prague.

Kaplicky and Topolanek visited the exhibition of the designs, that took part in the competition, ‘Oko nad Prahou’. Then they continued to Letna, where the new building of the library will stand.

The director of the library has to get all the necessery permits (more than forty) for building the new library. He believes that the library could be open on 15th September 2011. Czech Chamber of Architects, however, claim that Kaplicky’s design broke the conditions of the competition when he placed the depository under the ground.

Stvanice Island, Palac Akropolis or Spanish Synagogue in Jewish quarter in Prague will host the 10th Festival RESPECT, the world of music. The festival is focused on world music, this year especially on Desert Blues and Club Global.

Desert Blues is one of the roots of later American Blues, presented by the late Ali Farka Toure. This year’s festival will introduce his student Afel Bocoum and the band Etran Finatawa. Club Global are dance fusions of African or Brazil music with electronic music.

Festival Respect starts on 23rd May and finishes on 15th June 2007. You can look forward to 11 foreign singers and bands. Tickets can be bought via internet on ticketpro web sites. For more information visit here the festival’s pages.

St Vitus cathedral is back in the property of the Czech state. The Prague Castle Administration waived the entrance fee to St Vitus Cathedral, even to its tower or the crypt. Crowds of people are now heading to the cathedral.

Since 5th October, when people could visit the most significant cathedral for free again, there are long queues before the main entrance. Everybody who wants to get in has to be really patient. The security agency that is responsible for the cathedral let only a restricted number of visitors inside the cathedral at a time.

People who take care of historical monuments are afraid that the masses of people in St Vitus Cathedral every day might slowly damaged the interior of the cathedral as it happened to the statues on Charles Bridge.

Prague’s Gallery Art Factory in Wenceslas Square (Vaclavske namesti 15) holds a new exhibition with a really extraordinary title ‘The 116th anniversary of the first intromition of frankfurter into roll’. Its author, Ludek Pesek Pachl, presents a provocative work. He himself calls his artistic style ‘Rebel Art’. He is now a resident of Berlin.

He gives old abandoned objects a new meaning. His style is similar to Poster Pop Art. Visitors of this exhibition can express themselves on set up forms that will become a part of the exhibition.

The exhibition starts today and it is open from Monday to Friday from 10:00 to 18:00 until 1st June.

Milos Forman, world’s famous director of Czech origin, is now in Prague rehearsing a new jazz opera Dobre placena prochazka (freely translated as Well Paid Walk), whose premiere will be in the National Theatre on 22nd April 2007. Tickets are available here.

The jazz opera was written by a couple of Czech authors Jiri Suchy and Jiri Slitr. The co-director of the opera is Milos Forman’s son Petr, the scene was designed by his other son Matej. The music will be performed by former Chief Conductor of Royal Liverpool Philharmonic Orchestra Libor Pesek.

Milos Forman was awarded two Oscars and other prestigious awards. He directed many successful films, such as One Flew Over the Cuckoo’s Nest, Amadeus, The People vs. Larry Flynt, or the most recent Goya’s Ghosts.

Prague Spring is a traditional and very popular festival of classical music in Prague. This year it starts on 12th May. The opening concerts of Czech Philharmonic Orchestra (Smetana: Ma vlast), played on Saturday 12th and Saturday 13th May in Prague’s Municipal House, are already sold out.

This year for the first time Prague Spring will offer a prelude. First concert of classical music before the official start of Prague Spring will be performed in newly reconstructed Classicist building of Hybernia Theatre on 25th April. Tickets are available via Ticketpro.

Famous opera arias (Smetana, Dvorak, Mozart, Mascagni, Giordano, Puccini, Verdi) will be sung by laureates of International music competition of Antonin Dvorak. They will be accompanied by Karlovy Vary Symphonic Orchestra conducted by Frantisek Drs.