Wed, 20. 1. 2027, 19:00 hrs.

M8 Kněžíková & Plachetka | Operetta Gala

Venue: Zlín Congress Centre  |  Organizer: Filharmonie Bohuslava Martinů, o.p.s.  | 

In former times operetta used to be an intrinsic element of musical life, bringing lightness, melodic inventiveness and subtle humour in its appeal to wide audiences across the generations. While its heyday as a genre has now passed, the music retains its vitality and ability to communicate directly with the listener, and our January Operetta Gala features this distinctive genre as a vibrant and still relevant part of European musical tradition.

Taking us through tonight's programme are two stars of the contemporary opera scene, Kateřina Kněžíková and her husband Adam Plachetka, who are among the most sought-after Czech singers of their generation and have long been active on leading European and overseas stages. The program features solo arias and duets, combining technical mastery with their natural sense of style and on-stage intuition.

We will be hearing iconic jewels of the Viennese operetta tradition in a selection of works by Johann Strauss Jr., Franz Lehár and Emmerich Kálmán, who set the shape of this genre at the turn of the 19th and 20th centuries in music that lives on even today. Our running order brings together well-known operetta hits with some less frequent pieces in a colourful stylistic presentation brimming with elegance, grace and wit.

The orchestra is conducted by Rastislav Štúr, currently chief conductor of the Slovak National Theatre Opera, in a joint performance offering the opportunity to see operetta refreshingly free of cliché with rich musical invention and the enduring ability to speak to today's audience.