Brno is preparing another stage of the renovation of the Janáček Theatre stage

Brno - The stage of the Brno Janáček Theatre will need repairs even after craftsmen finish building the stage tables in September. The current work worth 110 million crowns pertains only to the tables - a rotating metal structure with a diameter of 18 meters, which extends 15 meters below the stage and allows it to tilt, create trapdoors, and elevate it. Additionally, the rigging, which rises to a height of 25 meters above the stage, and other components will also need restoration.
    Reconstruction of the stage is estimated to cost another 100 million crowns. Then the reconstruction of the theatre itself will be next, including the dressing rooms and areas where the audience moves. In the coming years, the city plans to allocate amounts in the hundred million range for each phase. There will be two or three phases.
    With the funds invested this year in the Janáček Theatre, a stage area has been created that, according to the theatre's director Daniel Dvořák, has world-class parameters. It will allow the theatre to bring in productions from abroad with imaginative sets, and Brno's creators and technicians will appreciate it as well. Until now, according to Dvořák, theatre operations were often limited by time since they had from 14:00, when rehearsals ended, until 18:00 to prepare the set for a performance. "Previously, setting up an angled scene took ten people two hours. Now we'll be able to create it in seconds," Dvořák said.
    According to him, the new technology will also provide greater freedom for scenographers. Thanks to it, the stage space can change significantly even during the performance. "This is something that audiences really enjoy and appreciate, when at the beginning and at the end of the performance they feel like they have traveled a long way through various worlds," Dvořák described.
    The reconstruction of the stage tables was prepared by the Brno city council for many months. The repair was delayed by an intervention from the Office for the Protection of Competition, which annulled the results of the original tender. The city then had to announce a new tender. This postponed everything by a year.
    The Janáček Theatre primarily serves the opera and ballet of the National Theatre and hosts some concerts by the Brno Philharmonic. The stage is one of the largest theatre buildings in the Czech Republic, with a seating capacity exceeding 1,000 places. The building has been in operation since October 1965 without major interventions. Not only does the theatre need reconstruction, but also its surroundings, including the destroyed fountain in front of the main entrance. The Brno city council wants to build an underground parking garage next to the theatre.