Lear

Date:	June 07, 2025 \| 19:00 (Sat)
Venue:	Prague State Opera
Duration:	1 minutes
Intermission:	Yes (20 minutes)
Status:	Available

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Lear: a modern-day opera inspired by Shakespeare’s tragedy

In German, surtitles in Czech, English

Operas based on William Shakespeare’s plays constitute a remarkable special chapter in the history of music theatre, and the peerless tragedy King Lear is one of those composers have reached for many times.

Yet, oddly enough, none of the operatic settings has become a repertoire staple, unlike, for instance, Charles Gounod’s Roméo et Juliette or Guiseppe Verdi’s Otello. It may be down to the fact that none of the composers who have tackled the subject have been of Verdi’s calibre (although Verdi always intended to adapt King Lear).

There is, however a work dating from the final quarter of the 20th century, that met with immense acclaim and has been staged at the world’s most prestigious opera houses – Lear, created by the German composer Aribert Reimann (b. 1936).

Among his ten stage works are pieces based on Franz Kafka’s novel The Castle and August Strindberg’s play The Ghost Sonata, yet the best-known and most popular is his fourth opera, after Shakespeare’s King Lear. Written in 1978 to commission for the Bayerische Staatsoper in Munich, the subject was suggested by the illustrious baritone Dietrich Fischer-Dieskau, who would portray the title role. Reimann did not set King Lear in its entirety and verbatim, replacing that which he omitted with a forcible, now and then harsh or, contrariwise, very moving music, clearly pursuing the trail blazed by the German Expressionists.

Performing:

State Opera Chorus
State Opera Orchestra
National Theatre Opera Ballet
Soloists

Important:

The purchased tickets cannot be returned or exchanged
There is a screen with subtitles on each seat
20 min. intermission
No discounts are provided
Theatre is a cultural institution. Please respect the common principles of appropriate behaviour and clothing
The program may be subject to change
The price includes service fee of 3,7 € (100,- CZK)

Concerts with dinner in Prague

Venue photo gallery

Prague State Opera

Address:	Wilsonova 4 , Praha 1
Capacity:	989
Type:	Theatre
Winter heating:	Yes
Wheelchair access:	Yes

Prague State Opera is one of the most important music scenes in Europe & one of the stages of The National Theatre

Visit the recently re-opened and newly refurbished grand opera house with a noteworthy history where many world renown artists have worked here making each performance a prime cultural event.

History:

This Neo-classical edifice was built in 1883 by the German Theatre Association as a reaction of German minority in Prague to the opening of the Prague National Theatre. As the New German Theatre it soon gained international acclaim for its inovative repertoire and artistic leadership including such names as Angelo Neumann, Alexander Zemlinski or Georg Szell.

Nowadays, famous operas, as well as pieces unjustly overlooked or unknown in the Czech Republic are introduced in the State Opera gaining the theatre a reputation of one of the best European scenes where you can enjoy watching mainly opera and ballet performances.

How to get there:

Accessibility by public transport:
metro A (green line) or C (red line) - Muzeum station
Nearest car parking:
Garage Museum, Wilsonova 732/6, Prague 1

Please note:

There is a screen with subtitles on each seat.