Lucerna (Lantern)

Jiráseks folk tale became an extremely lively portrayal of the natural rights of Man and human dignity, for which it is necessary to fight again and again. Despite the fact that the story itself is set within a mythical-fairytale framework, where there appear amongst mortals such beings as a merman or a banshee, its appeal is highly contemporary. A lordly administrator intends to fell an old linden tree, a tree shrouded in mystery and blessed with a sacred life, partly in order to humiliate the self-confident and free-thinking miller. Despite the fact that the miller, Hana and others fight with all their might in order to prevent the destruction of the tree, were it not for supernatural powers and a kind-hearted princess, nobody can say whether they would have been capable of saving it. The theme is highly current and, in the Czech Republic clearly eternal: the will of those, who instead of taking care of that which they ought to, behave like parasites and try to destroy all that stands in the way of their personal power, even if this is only a mere symbol an old linden tree.

A story about a magical tree, an ancient right, a proud miller, his charge Hanička, and a beautiful princess - this time in a modern production by stage director Vladimír Morávek, who has woven this effective parable about Czechs and Czech myths into a rich musical structure by Daniel Fikejz. The Czech countryside, itself acting as a character in this intimately-familiar folk play, comes to life in sets by Alois Mikulka and Aleš Votava.