The Great Exhibition in Plzeň will commemorate 120 years since the opening of the Great Theatre

Plzeň - A large exhibition commemorating the 120th anniversary of the opening of the city’s, now the Great Theatre, has been prepared by the J. K. Tyla Theatre (DJKT) in Plzeň. The Great Theatre in Smetanovy Sady in the city center, built in the neo-Renaissance style, opened its doors to the audience for the first time on September 27, 1902, with a grand performance of the opera Libuše by Bedřich Smetana. The anniversary will be celebrated by today’s Tyl Theatre with an exhibition on September 27 and a festive concert the following day, said the theatre's director Martin Otava to ČTK.

"The exhibition will remind us of what happened before the theatre opened, before the laying of the foundation stone, what the garden looked like, how the construction progressed, and that our beloved patron Vendelín Budil became the director," he stated. On outdoor panels on the southern terrace of the theatre near the statue of J. K. Tyla and inside across three floors of the building, visitors will see details pulled from archives, old documents, and period press. Rare photographs, drawings, and construction plans will be on display. People will walk through the entire period from the initial idea of constructing a new building and the selection of the architectural plan to the construction and its festive opening. They will realize how the building has transformed since its opening, what restoration interventions it has undergone, and how it achieved its current appearance. "Interesting facts, such as how many seats were originally in the auditorium or how many light bulbs illuminated the interior, will not be overlooked," Otava added.

The next day, September 28, the presentation of the DJKT Director's Awards is scheduled. The awards have been given since 1997 on special occasions. The director of the theatre awards them irregularly, every two years or more, and this year marks the 11th edition. The award presentation will be accompanied by the theatre's opera ensemble with the University of Charles’ Artistic Ensemble and soloists Ivana Veberová, Jana Foff Tetourová, Tomáš Kořínek, and guest Joseph Gansert. "Their performance will feature Dvořák's overture My Home and Beethoven's Symphony No. 9 with the Ode to Joy, which carries a message about the brotherhood of all people. Therefore, the evening commemorating the 120th anniversary of the opening of the Great Theatre will culminate with this piece, which is relevant at all times," added Otava.

The first Czech theatrical performance in Plzeň took place in 1818, initially held at various locations - in the knight's hall of the German House in the square, in the large hall of the town hall, or in one of the inns. The first theatre building for the city or civic theatre in the current Riegrová street was built in 1832, the German theatre in Goethe street was built in 1869, and the new city theatre, now the Great Theatre, was opened in 1902. From 1981 to 1985, it underwent reconstruction and received an extension, and in 2014, the newly built New Theatre opened. DJKT now performs on three stages - in the Great Theatre, on the New Stage, and on the Small Stage of the New Theatre.