The Other City - Festival Janáček Brno 2024

ABOUT  THE OPERA 

The opera The Other City, inspired by the novel of the same name by Michal Ajvaz, seeks a parallel world full of mysticism, adventure and nostalgia. Musically, The Other City by Ondřej Kyas combines classical music with acoustic instruments complemented by synthesizers. The sung line creates a particular atmosphere, while the spoken word moves the viewer forwards through space and action. As far as the staging of the piece is concerned, the audience can look forward to a unique semi-concert performance in which the atmosphere of the mysterious and metaphorical Other City on the dividing line between reality and fiction is materialised thanks to both the original music and the action played out by the actors on stage, the video projections and the lighting design.

SYNOPSIS

Our nameless protagonist finds a book written in indecipherable script in a run-down second-hand bookshop. He seeks out a researcher who, although he cannot translate it, has come across it once before. After the researcher uncovers the secret of a certain “other city” that exists in parallel to our reality, the protagonist is seized by a desire to find this city. He successfully approaches the border of the two “worlds” during nighttime excursions during which he attracts the attention of the defenders of the “other city”. Anyone who intends to penetrate it will encounter strange animals and creatures to which he feels an inexplicable attraction, but which want to take his life. Our protagonist experiences bizarre situations and falls under their spell, and he also meets a girl who lives in both cities. As the waitress Klára, she seems vulnerable, but as the future priestess Alweyra, she is dangerous. The attraction of an unknown city, its inhabitants and its peculiar rituals complicates the protagonist’s life in reality. The more the protagonist’s desire to get to the heart of the “other city” grows, the further he moves away from the real world.

AURHORS AND PERFORMERS             

Theatre on Orlí street

Ensemble: Ensemble Opera Diversa

Music and libretto: Ondřej Kyas
Conductor: Gabriela Tardonová
Director: Kateřina Křivánková
Sets and costumes: Sylva Marková
Video projections: Tomáš Hrůza
Lighting: Anna Laborová

Cast:

Jana Vondrů
Aneta Podracká Bendová
Alžběta Symerská
Michael Robotka
Tomáš Chloupek
Aleš Janiga
Pavel Slivka
Libor Skokan
Lukáš Rieger
orchestra Ensemble Opera Diversa, concertmaster Jan Bělohlávek