OVERVIEW

Libretto by Michael Sturminger (1963), based on Koen Tachelet’s (1964) stage adaptation of Joseph Roth’s 1930 novel of the same name

Conductor Marek Šedivý
Stage director Jiří Nekvasil
Czech translation Pavel Drábek

Joseph Roth’s novel first made a strong impression on Ostrava audiences in its dramatic stage adaptation in 2008, when Norbert Lichý received the Thalia Award for his portrayal of Mendel Singer. The story of a humble Jewish schoolteacher and his family, driven by antisemitism and a series of personal tragedies from Tsarist Russia to the United States, draws a powerful parallel with the biblical Job. Here, a test of faith becomes a question of whether hope is a force for survival or merely the last illusion left to us. Bernhard Lang’s operatic adaptation, by one of today’s leading Austrian composers, combines klezmer tradition, jazz influences, and a contemporary musical language with the cyclical loops that are a hallmark of his style.

The world premiere of the work in 2023 was met with enthusiastic acclaim. We now present Hiob in a new Czech version initiated by the composer himself, whose artistic ties to Ostrava are long-standing through the festivals Ostrava Days (OD) and New Opera Days Ostrava (NODO).

Performed in a new Czech translation, with Czech and English surtitles

Premieres on 15 and 17 April 2027 at the Antonín Dvořák Theatre