A Carousel

About

National Theatre Chorus
National Theatre Orchestra
National Theatre Opera Ballet
Czech Philharmonic Children’s Choir

Today Václav Trojan (1907–1983) is known primarily as a composer of outstanding scores for a number of 20th-century Czech films. The most noteworthy are the soundtracks to Jiří Trnka’s world-renowned animated movies Bayaya, Old Czech Legends, A Midsummer Night’s Dream and The Good Soldier Schweik; Bořivoj Zeman’s fairy tale Once Upon a Time There Was a King ..., featuring Jan Werich in the lead role; and Otakar Vávra’s August Sunday. Moreover, Trojan created the ballets Prince Bayaya and A Midsummer Night’s Dream, which were performed to acclaim at the National Theatre in Prague, and the stage poem Golden Gate, to folk motives. He wrote one opera, Kolotoč (Carousel), for children young and old, as the secondary title indicates. The owner of a merry-go-round invites children to climb aboard: “If you want to see Indians, a kangaroo and gorillas, take a seat on the carousel!” And indeed: in the scenes that follow children are taken on dreamy trips to an African rainforest, the Australian Outback, an Indian jungle, as well as to the world of American film. Characterised by bounteous instrumentation and exquisite melody, Trojan’s music co-creates a colourful fantasy story.

The National Theatre production will be conducted by Zbyněk Müller and directed by Magdalena Švecová. A key role in the performance will be played by the Czech Philharmonic Children’s Choir, whose founder, Jan Kühn, was among those who in the mid-1930s urged Trojan to write an opera for children. Following a series of setbacks, Carousel would only receive its world premiere decades later, in 1960 in Ostrava. The National Theatre will stage Trojan’s opera for the very first time.

Premiere performances: 23 and 25 April 2026, National Theatre

Cast

Conductor: Zbyněk Müller

Carousel: Pavla Radostová, Eliška Minářová

Mr. Josef: Richard Samek, Tomáš Kořínek

Leader of the Siamese Hunters: Raman Hasymau, Vít Nosek

Moon: Miloš Horák, Ivo Hrachovec

Mother kangaroo: Sylva Čmugrová, Jana Sýkorová

Boy in aeroplane: Viktorie Krbcová

Boy in car: Anna Dostálová, Robin Tristan Sigaud

Boy on horseback: Klára Findeisová, Eliška Mistrová

A little girl on a duck: Angelika Broučková, Jana Hozmanová

Creatives

Stage director: Magdalena Švecová
Sets and costumes: Zuzana Přidalová
Light design: Přemysl Janda
Animation: Tomáš Hrůza
Movement coach: Anton Eliaš
Chorus master: Lukáš Kozubík
Chorus master of the Prague Philharmonic Children´s Choir: Petr Louženský
Dramaturgy: Beno Blachut