Useful Contacts

The Smetana’s Litomyšl festival is the second oldest music festival in the Czech Republic, and at the same time it is among the largest regular classical music festivals held in the country.

It mainly features opera performances and concerts, as well as gala concerts, oratorios, cantatas and song evenings; that is forms in which vocal artistry dominates. However symphonic, instrumental and chamber music are not ignored and in the venues here there are ballet performances and church music as well as promenade concerts and other genres. Every year at the festival practically all the top Czech interpreters perform, the three national theatres, all the significant orchestras and choirs and the best conductors, soloists and instrumentalists. And even though there are many significant foreign guests (among others Katia Ricciarelli, Sherill Milnes, Bernd Weikl, Kurt Rydl, Sergej Larin, Neil Shicoff, Torsten Kerl, Sumi Jo, Kate Royal, Marcello Giordani, Thomas Hampson, Oksana Dyka ...) Smetana’s Litomyšl has retained its Czech character and so is truly a national festival.

The centre of the festival is the wonderful Litomyšl State Castle, which in 1999 was added to the UNESCO World Heritage List. The main events are held mostly in the acoustically excellently prepared second courtyard with its unique retractable roof, as well as in the castle riding hall, in Litomyšl’s churches, in the Smetana Hall and regularly in selected places in the Pardubice region.

A visit to Smetana’s Litomyšl is no ordinary occasion, as aside from the interesting dramaturgy and the brilliant performances it offers a chance to stay away from the metropolitan hustle and bustle in a place with its own unique spirit.

Copy link

The international interdisciplinary festival SMETANOVSKÉ DNY, which belongs to the calendar of the most important cultural events in Pilsen for more than thirty years, represents tradition and the certainty that there are still lasting values ​​that can be relied on. For music and art lovers in general, it is a real holiday that brings extraordinary experiences every year. In the top performance of important ensembles and leading performers of our and foreign scene, listeners can listen to well-known masterpieces in traditional and new contexts, as well as musical novelties. The interdisciplinarity, which stood at the very beginning of the festival in the form of a scientific symposium devoted to the issues of Czech culture of the 19th century, is maintained. Within the cultural context, the festival is rare in that it connects the world of music with the world of science, philosophy, literature, fine arts, theater and film. An integral part of the festival is also the involvement of Pilsen artists and performers.

Copy link

The St. Wenceslas Music Festival (SHF) is the largest international festival of sacred and so-called early music in the Czech Republic. Since its inception in 2004, SHF has been held annually not only in Ostrava, but also in many churches throughout the Moravian-Silesian Region during the month of September (the first 10 years took place between two public holidays, September 28 - October 28). Traditionally, more than thirty concerts are celebrated by the feast of St. Wenceslas, representing the symbol of Czech statehood.

The main goal of SHF is the presentation of the so-called informed interpretation of early and sacred music in sacred spaces, in an effort to restore this music to its original meaning. High quality festival dramaturgy of the director of SHF doc. Mgr. Igor Františák, Ph.D. is guided by three main lines: monumental vocal-instrumental concerts, programs focused on the so-called authentic interpretation of early music and chamber and solo projects, which are annually supplemented by non-traditional and crossover projects. SHF systematically supports the talents of the young generation, presents the winners of prestigious competitions, modern premieres and unique projects (crossover projects, ballet, video art or film in the church). He also patriotistly takes care of the genius loci by presenting concerts by Moravian-Silesian natives of European artistic parameters and works by forgotten composers who have lived and created in the region since the Baroque period. The prestigious SHF residential ensembles are Collegium 1704, Collegium Marianum, Czech Philharmonic Choir Brno.

Copy link

Multigenre festival Vivid Street - Pilsen Encounters continues with an eighteen–year old tradition, whose predecessor was the festival Na ulici (On the street), which in the time leading up to reaching it's full age build up an excellent reputation in the whole town of Plzeň. With honor to tradition and precision typical to us, to the west bohemian metropolis we want to bring music, theatre and other activities on an international level. We want to transform the the squares and parks of Plzeň into one big stage, the way we do with the biggest street theatre festival Za dveřmi (Behind doors) or the accompanying program of the music festival United Islands. Both programs for several years have put summer boredom in Prague into the past. That's exactly how we want to transform summer Plzeň into a vibrant culture center.

Copy link