Opera

A grand spectacle featuring a live orchestra, bursting with laughter, dance, and jazz melodies, will take you back to 1920s New York – the era of prohibition and the lights of Broadway. And, of course, the world of mafiosi, who have money and make their own rules.

The ambitious playwright David Shane wants to break through on Broadway, but his dream show needs funding. When a powerful mobster steps in as a sponsor, success seems assured. There’s just one catch – his poorly talented girlfriend must be given the lead role. And then, her personal bodyguard unexpectedly showcases a surprising talent for drama...
A lavish gangster retro-musical based on Woody Allen’s legendary film, featuring art deco-inspired set design and top-class jazz performances, will take you right to the heart of Broadway. The opera, drama, and ballet ensembles join forces for an exclusive Czech premiere that is certain to thrill you!

A brand-new opera composed by Jan Jirásek, holder of two Czech Lions. Commissioned by the South Bohemian Theatre, this new piece will take you through the turbulent Europe of the 17th century at film speed. It is a story about how to find paradise of the heart in the labyrinth of the Thirty Years’ War, plagues, religious intolerance, personal tragedies, and life in exile.

If the world-renowned musical composer duo Webber and Rice had not been attracted by the life story of Eva Maria Duarte de Perón, born on 7 May 1919, then this second wife of the Argentinian president Juan Perón would have probably been known only to historians specialising in Latin America. Her charisma, which helped her rise from the poverty-stricken countryside to the position of First Lady of her country and a modern-time icon, was also transferred to the famous musical. Since its first staging at London’s West End in 1978, this musical has been enjoying great popularity on Czech stages, especially in the outstanding translation of Michal Prostějovský.

In Czech translation with English subtitles.

New Year’s Eve and New Year’s Day celebration with the glitter of operetta 

Apples, nuts, the smell of Christmas and the snow-covered countryside of our great-grandmothers outside the windows. A poetic and gentle staging of two key works about Christmas in South Bohemia, Jakub Jan Ryba’s Czech Christmas Mass, and a selection from Holy Year Music by Adam Václav Michna of Otradovice. With this performance, we wish to introduce a new Christmas tradition.
 

Do you know what goes on behind the scenes during a theatre performance? You don’t? If you want to find out, then go on reading, because you will also have the chance to experience it. The fact is that the performance of Mozart’s opera The Magic Flute is full of incredible setbacks. One trouble follows another, and the hapless stage manager in charge of the show tries his best to save the day. We hope you will help him to discover the cause of such bad luck. Are they mere coincidences, or is it something else...? Whatever it is, the performance must end successfully and the audience in the auditorium shouldn’t realize that something is wrong. And it is only up to you and Mozart to make sure the performance succeeds. Who knows whether he will arrive...

A family show mainly for children aged 6 to 12.

In Japan, a geisha is synonymous with beauty. But in Puccini’s famous opera, she is above all a symbol of fidelity. If her love is trampled upon, she has no choice but to die with honour. This production by the exceptional and internationally acclaimed production team of director Jakub Šmíd, with music by chief conductor David Švec, promises an enchanting theatrical experience.
The mysterious landscape of Japanese cherry trees in blossom will once again become the venue of the immortal story full of intoxicating music that is able to capture the slightest tremble of the human heart.

A unique opera with an impressive choir and ballet scenes heads toward an enthralling spiritual finale. It is a symbolic farewell of Mario De Rose to the South Bohemian Opera and, at the same time, the first direction of the new artistic director Tomáš Ondřej Pilař at his home stage. The eternal story of the fight between good and evil composed by the literary and musical genius of the Italian opera in one person and in one opera. Music that will make you feel dizzy, a production that will satisfy your desire for beauty, and an almost sinfully devilish nice guy whose side you will take all the time although you know that he is going to lose!

12. – 17. 8. 2025

The biblical story of the Saviour is connected to episodes from the life of the Schwarzenberg family – the founders of the baroque theatre in Český Krumlov and of the Bellaria summer pavilion. Thus, even you will be able to return to the baroque era and, under an authentic illumination, marvel at the performances of a cast numbering over a hundred artists, an imposing stage setting and, especially, brilliant music.

A family opera about a boy who wanted to grow up too soon

An original view of Carlo Collodi’s fairy tale in a brand new opera by Tomáš Hanzlík and Vít Zouhar, commissioned by the South Bohemian Theatre. Pinocchio does not want to sit at home any more. While other boys of his age are setting off for the world, his father, the woodcarver Gepetto, would prefer him to stay on his perch next to the other puppets. But Pinocchio does not want to be a cherished child anymore, he wants to be a young man! And that’s when he hears the beckoning of Blackbeard, who summons the boy to the Land of Toys.
Petr Hašek’s narrative production about the premature desire to grow up, the strong bond between father and son, and war that has the power to turn people into puppets.

Rosenberg Night is a unique experience that goes beyond the boundaries of an ordinary concert, theatre performance or historical sightseeing tour; it is a magical journey into the past, where history comes alive through music in the settings of one of the most beautiful castles in the Czech Republic. Enter a night of mystery and elegance as you walk through the night apartments of Třeboň Castle, lit only by flickering candles, for an hour-long immersive tour with a glass of wine in hand. This historic space will come to life thanks to more than 50 musicians and singers who will fill the entire castle with the sound of almost half a millennium-old compositions that reverberated in these same rooms during the time of the last Lords of Rosenberg.

The opera ensemble of the South Bohemian Theatre continues its tradition of presenting world premieres of original Czech musical dramas. This time it is a concert performance of an opera by Jaroslav Krček that has not been staged yet.
Immerse yourself in the dramatic story of Duke Wenceslas, whose legacy has shaped Czech history for over a thousand years. The clash between paganism and Christianity, the struggle for power, his martyrdom and its religious significance – all are explored in this two-act opera about the most famous duke of Bohemia, who later became the patron saint of the nation.

The opera was composed by Jaroslav Krček, a distinguished contemporary composer and native of České Budějovice. His work masterfully blends medieval musical traditions with a modern musical language to bring Wenceslas’s tale to life.
 

A comic opera in the distinctive style of the bon vivant Gioacchino Rossini, based on the Italian bel canto, and with a plot preceding Mozart’s The Marriage of Figaro. Sparkling arias that will make you tap your feet and will echo in your head for a long time afterwards. Part One: how a cunning barber helps a desperate count find a beautiful countess.

Site-specific staging of the most important work of Czech Baroque mysticism. The lute has always been an image of celestial harmony, and Michna’s work depicts the story of the human soul on its journey towards this perfect harmony. It is populated with a multitude of characters, abounds in dialogue and changes of scenery, and alternates intimate meditations with mass scenes. The final destination of the spiritual journey is represented by the spectacular image of a wedding feast – a colourful celestial celebration. An extraordinary immersive production by Tomáš Ondřej Pilař that will vibrate the strings of your desire to experience beauty.

Films, podcasts, books – the story of the Holocaust has been told countless times. Yet, there remains a void and a fear in our souls that words alone cannot express. Where words fail, music penetrates like light through darkness. Grigory Samuilovich Frid, now a celebrated composer of the 20th century, translated the emotions of a Jewish girl hiding from the Holocaust into an opera, capturing her hopes and fears. Through music, he pays tribute to the unwavering literary power of Anne Frank’s diary.

“I see the world being slowly transformed into a wilderness and, yet, when I look up at the sky, I somehow feel that everything will change for the better and all this cruelty too will end,” Anne writes. Her fervent wish came true 80 years ago, even though she herself did not live to witness it.

A tale of love for one’s country, music, a close person, but also for power and property. A tale about how wrongs between people can be righted and relationships mended even after many years. A Czech story with the historical backdrop of the Great French Revolution, presented with love, deep feeling, but also with kind humour.

The timeless adventure of a young boy who leaves the safe embrace of his tiny planet to travel across the universe. Through a series of extraordinary encounters, he discovers the true essence of what matters in life.

"All grown-ups were once children, but only few of them remember it." This magical work by Rachel Portman, a British film composer and an Academy Award-holder, will be presented in its Czech premiere as a spectacular production for the whole family.

Staged as part of the South Specific 2026 festival.

“When all people start to smile at each other and stop digging holes for each other, then it will be a blissful time for the world.” Oldřich Nový

A lively and energetic story that will entertain you the whole evening and surprise you with an unexpected witty turn every minute even if you are not a lover of Oldřich Nový’s comedies. Intelligent humour and the popular actors of the drama, opera and ballet ensembles on one stage and in one evening guarantee that you will laugh your eyes out. This musical comedy (or operetta) based on mistaken identities belongs to the popular genre of the well-liked Girl or Boy. The script and the music, based on an English subject, were composed by the important Slovak composer and hotelier Ján Móry from Banská Bystrica. The lyrics of the songs in the comedy were composed by Oldřich Nový.