JIŘÍ NEKVASIL - BIOGRAPHY

Jiří Nekvasil was born in Ostrava. In 1989, he graduated from the Faculty of Music at the Academy of Performing Arts in Prague, where he studied opera stage direction under Ladislav Štros. Concurrently, he pursued dramaturgy through an extramural course at the Theatre Faculty of the same academy. In 1988, together with stage designer Daniel Dvořák, he founded the experimental opera ensemble Opera Furore. Two years later, they jointly managed the Chamber Opera Prague, which was subsequently transformed into Opera Mozart. From 1998, Jiří Nekvasil served as artistic director, dramaturg, and stage director at the Prague State Opera. Between 2002 and 2006, he held the position of head of opera at the National Theatre in Prague. Since January 1, 2010, he has been the director of the National Moravian-Silesian Theatre in Ostrava. In 2011, he initiated the international festival NODO (New Opera Days Ostrava), a biennial event co-organized by the theatre in collaboration with composer Peter Kotík.

Throughout his artistic career, Jiří Nekvasil has directed over a hundred productions, primarily opera and drama. His early works include productions for Opera Furore (Faust, Violins into Iron, Andy Warhol, Golem – Ecstasy of Expressionism) and Opera Mozart (The Best of Mozart, Figaro? Figaro!, Play Magic Flute, Don Juan Bastien). Between 1992 and 1998, he implemented a Mozart cycle at the Estates Theatre, staging The Magic Flute, Così fan tutte, La clemenza di Tito, Le nozze di Figaro, and Don Giovanni. He has also directed premieres of contemporary operas, such as Bubu of Montparnasse by E. F. Burian, Phaedra by E. Viklický, and Circus Terra by T. Madsen. Among his notable productions are the Czech premieres of Britten’s The Turn of the Screw, Zemlinsky’s Es war einmal, and Karel Weis’ The Polish Jew.

Since 1997, Jiří Nekvasil has staged contemporary opera cycles, including J. Klusák's Report for the Academy (later expanded with Bertram and Mescalinda in 2002) and M. Nyman's The Man Who Mistook His Wife for a Hat. His productions at the National Theatre have included John Adams' The Death of Klinghoffer, Janáček's The Excursions of Mr. Brouček and Jenůfa, Smetana's The Bartered Bride and The Secret, Martinů's The Greek Passion, Mysliveček's Antigone, Verdi's Requiem, Cilea's Adriana Lecouvreur, and Puccini's La fanciulla del West. His repertoire also spans drama, puppet theatre, cross-genre projects, and musicals, including a production of Lloyd Webber and Rice’s rock opera Jesus Christ Superstar in 2016. He specializes in 20th-century opera, new compositions, and Czech opera.

Jiří Nekvasil co-wrote and directed the opera-trial Tomorrow There Will Be... with Aleš Březina for singer Soňa Červená, which premiered in April 2008 at the Kolowrat Theatre. This production was awarded the Alfréd Radok Award and received further recognition from Sazka and Divadelní noviny for its libretto.

Jiří Nekvasil is also recognized internationally. In Germany, he has directed Korngold's Kathrin, Klusák's Report for the Academy, Janáček's The Cunning Little Vixen (Trier), Don Giovanni by Gazzaniga (Hamburg), Cilea's Adriana Lecouvreur (Erfurt), Wagner's The Flying Dutchman and Tchaikovsky's Eugene Onegin (Regensburg), Mysliveček's Antigone (Rheinsberg), and Martinů's The Three Wishes (Rostock). He has also directed productions abroad, including The Cunning Little Vixen in Argentina (Teatro Colón), Soldaten by Gurlitt in France, Verdi's Nabucco in the USA, Britten's The Turn of the Screw and Janáček's Jenůfa in Latvia, Jenůfa in Dublin, Madsen's Circus Terra in Oslo, Dvořák's Rusalka in Bratislava, and Verdi's Requiem in Finland.

Recent successful productions include Martinů's Juliette and Puccini's Madama Butterfly (National Theatre Brno, 2009), Massenet's Don Quichotte (Prague State Opera, 2010), and Mahler and von Weber's The Three Pintos. In drama, he has directed Shakespeare's Pericles at the Klicpera Theatre in Hradec Králové (2008) and Strindberg's A Dream Play at the Aréna Chamber Theatre in Ostrava (2009).

Beyond theatre, Jiří Nekvasil has been active in television direction for nearly two decades, particularly in musical programming. He has directed over 130 productions for Czech Television and is the author of several documentaries, including films on Alois Hába, Josef Berg, and opera director Václav Kašlík. He has also created documentaries on Bohuslav Martinů (Return from Exile and Martinů and America) and Ervin Schulhoff (My Teeth Clatter to the Rhythm of Shimmy). His television adaptations of Martinů's ballet The Amazing Flight and operas Tears of the Knife and The Voice of the Forest have received international recognition, including the Czech Crystal at the Golden Prague International Television Festival and the Grand Prix at the Screening Stage Arts Prize Festival in 1999. His latest opera film, What Men Live By, was awarded at Golden Prague in 2018.

At the end of 2014, the Bohuslav Martinů Foundation awarded Jiří Nekvasil a medal for his contributions to promoting Martinů's legacy. In 2016, the Czechoslovak Society of Arts & Sciences honored him for his promotion of Czech science and culture abroad. More recently, he has continued to expand his artistic influence, engaging in new operatic and cross-genre projects both in the Czech Republic and internationally, further solidifying his role as a leading figure in contemporary opera and theatre.

Foto: Tamara Černá - SofiG