The Secret

Date:	May 18, 2025 \| 17:00 (Sun)
Venue:	The National Theatre in Prague
Duration:	approx. 3 hours
Intermission:	Yes (20 minutes)
Status:	Available
Reviews:	(2)

Buy ticket
Ticket in your mobile device accepted

See Smetana's seventh opera in the National Theatre in Prague

In Czech, surtitles in Czech, English

The production is part of the celebrations marking the 200th anniversary of Bedřich Smetana’s birth.

The Secret is Bedřich Smetana’s penultimate, opera. It is also the second fruit of the composer’s collaboration with the librettist Eliška Krásnohorská. Completed in June 1877, the piece received its premiere the following year at the New Czech Theatre in Prague. The National Theatre first staged the opera on 12 May 1885, on the first anniversary of Smetana’s death. Yet it only attained wide popularity after the post of the opera company’s director had been assumed by the conductor Karel Kovařovic, who was fully aware of the qualities of the mature Smetana work.

Krásnohorská furnished Smetana with an exquisite libretto, whose themes may bring to mind William Shakespeare’s Romeo and Juliet or the Czech author Ladislav Stroupežnický’s play Our Uppish and Defiant Fellows, dating from a later time. The story, set in a small Czech town, focuses on a feud between the families of the councillors Malina and Kalina, who for years have jostled for social superiority. Kalina strives to prove that he is not as poor as he was two decades ago, when Malina thwarted him when he wanted to marry his sister Róza. Despite the hostility between their fathers, Malina’s daughter Blaženka and Kalina’s son Vít love each other. All disputes are ultimately settled after the discovery of an old note by Friar Barnabáš, which leads Kalina to a treasure. But are piles of gold the most precious thing to be found? Smetana’s The Secret has been undertaken by Ondřej Havelka, a stage director possessing an acute sense for music theatre and humour, noted for his visually captivating storytelling. The production will be conducted by Robert Jindra, the music director of the National Theatre Opera.

Performing:

National Theatre Chorus
National Theatre Orchestra
National Theatre Opera Ballet
Soloists

Important:

Purchased tickets cannot be returned or exchanged
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)

Famous Laterna magika program and tickets

Venue photo gallery

The National Theatre in Prague

Address:	Národní 2 , Praha 1
Capacity:	933
Type:	Theatre
Winter heating:	Yes
Wheelchair access:	Yes

The National Theatre is the most important and representative theatre of the Czech Republic

The Prague National Theatre was built from the desire of the Czech people for national independence. Its building was financed from the collections on which participated broad masses of people as well as important donators (including the nobility and the emperor himself). The theatre foundation ceremonial on 16th May 1868 became a national celebration.

The theatre was opened in 1881. In the same year the theatre burned down, and this tragic event caused a huge wave of new collections to support the restoration of the theatre. The Prague National Theatre was re-opened in 1883 by the opera Libuše by Bedřich Smetana and since then it has been serving as a place of Czech national identity and as a flagship of the Czech culture to these days.

How to get there:

Accessibility by Prague public transport:
metro B (yellow line) - Národni třída station
tram - Národní divadlo stop
Nearest car parking:
The underground car park of the National Theatre

Overall rating:

Ricardo Santiago | September 05, 2024 | 19:00 (Thu)

Great to see a Smetana opera with a great cast. Loved it.

Fabienne Zutterman | September 05, 2024 | 19:00 (Thu)

Nous avons été très heureux et impressionnés de découvrir cet opéra. Nous avons ressenti que le compositeur nous dévoilait l'esprit tchèque dans toute sa splendeur, sa spontanéité et sa joie de vivre.