Mephisto

Date:	May 24, 2025 \| 19:00 (Sat)
Venue:	Prague State Opera
Duration:	approx. 4 hours
Intermission:	Yes (30 minutes)
Status:	Available
Reviews:	(1)

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A cautionary tale about an actor who took acting as the role of his life

Play in Czech with English surtitles

A stage adaptation of the famous “career novel” by Klaus Mann, fascinating for its precise psychological study of a relentless pursuit of fame and the fate of the unscrupulous main character, who voluntarily sells his soul to the regime and the opportunistic society in return for his success as an actor. A story about love for art, obsession with theatre and the lure of golden portals.

Can we recognise the moment when talent is crushed by unrestricted ambition? How does it feel to serve evil and believe that evil in turn serves us? A story about the strong power of theatre over society and how its ethical message can be swiftly turned into a tool of propaganda. It shows how tricky it is to balance on the edge of a changing world and how easy it is to lose face behind a theatrical mask. The play is also a strong warning that we must never again succumb to instincts and hatred, even in a time of insecurity, fear and undermined trust in democracy.

The novel, a sarcastic depiction of the rise and birth of German Nazism, was first published in Mann’s native country only in 1956. It was turned into film by director István Szabó in 1981, which gained him worldwide popularity.

Important:

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

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.

Overall rating:

Sham Ahmed | March 02, 2025 | 17:00 (Sun)

I didn’t really have any expectations going into this performance. Boy, was I surprised! Our lead gave an excellence performance. I really enjoyed the several moments where the 4th wall was broken and the ending made me question: isn’t there a little Hendrik Höfgen in all of us?