PERFORMANCE DETAIL

The libretto after the comedy by Eugène Labiche (1815–1888) and Marc-Michel (1812–1868) Un chapeau de paille d‘Italie from 1851; written by Nino Rota and Ernesta Rota Rinaldi (1880–1954)

Music director Marek Šedivý
Stage director Jiří Nekvasil

The last premiere of 2024/2025 season is the opéra comique by a composer best known for his music of Federico Fellini’s movies or The Godfather. Within these brilliant, awarded, and Oscar-winning works, we can find Rota’s impressive symphony, chamber, and dramatic works. A great work proving the composer’s versartile musical talent is also the opéra comique The Italian Straw Hat, with the libretto inspired by a famous comedy by Eugène Labiche and Marc-Michel. In our country, this theme gained extraordinary popularity thanks to Oldřich Lipský's 1971 film adaptation starring the excellent Miloš Kopecký in the lead role.

The story is set in mid-19th century Paris, and audience is pulled into the world of absurd situations, identity swaps and intense humour. We follow Fadinard’s chaotic and adventurous wedding day. His horse eats the straw hat of a foreign women. Fadinard’s efforts to make up for the damage before causing a scandal leads to more and more absurd situations – which include more and more characters. Rota’s music is full of lively music, intriguing instrumentation, and interesting music themes which bring out the humorous elements and which complement the nature of the story. It is a nicely balanced and energetic neo-classic Italian buffa opera with the composer’s excellent touch for comedy. The Italian Straw Hat is an essential gem of 20th-century comic opera. The music, timeless humour, uncontainable joy of life are all coming together in the Czech premiere.

Czech premiere on 13 March 2025 at the Antonín Dvořák Theatre
Performed in the Italian original with Czech and English subtitles

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