25. 2. 2025
Lukáš Vasilek’s grandiose debut: After Joan of Arc ended, there was a long silence
14 February 2025, Opera+, Svatava Barančicová
The Czech Philharmonic performed Honegger’s oratorio Joan of Arc at the Stake on 13 February 2025. There are not many opportunities to hear a live performance of this dramatic work, because of its difficult staging and casting with the many soloists, singer and reciters and two choirs – a mixed and children’s choir. Moreover, we had the opportunity to hear it in the Rudolfinum just how it was written by poet Paul Claudel – purely in French.
Spectacular staging
It was Lukáš Vasilek who took up the task of staging Joan of Arc and his spectacular debut with the Czech Philharmonic. I did not know that the young and expressive director of the Prague Philharmonic Choir had such ambitions and gave me a very pleasant surprise. It was totally logical for him to choose an oratorio – a work where choirs have a prominent role. And it turned out that it was a good choice; the result was stunning.
As Vasilek said in a radio interview for Vltava station, it was a great advantage that he staged choirs and orchestra himself. Thus he could realise his idea to the fullest. Normally the choirmaster prepares the choir, then the conductor comes along with his concept and everything is different. Throughout the performance of Honegger’s oratorio you could feel that the choirs are the shaping component and the orchestra provides them with a sensitive accompaniment, psychologically enhances the plot, takes into account the soloists and the reciters, and does not draw attention to itself where ever it would be irritating. This does not mean that it was not emphatic and dynamically distinct where, on the contrary, the drama reaches its climax. A lovely example was the Card Game part in which something like a light court dance is repeated several times in various combinations of instruments. In the Joan’s Sword part you could hear the distant sound of a battle in Joan’s memories as she stands with her eyes closed. The orchestra played softly, like the echo of a tumult from a great distance. There are also a number of other colourfully sounding places in the oratorio where, for example, the orchestra divided into two alternately sounding halves imitated tolling bells. Lukáš Vasilek conducted the entire huge ensemble with an exuberant and then an energetically sweeping gesture, but also sometimes showed the entrances on his fingers, so that no-one was left in doubt.
The Prague Philharmonic Choir was excellently prepared – although we did hear that the flu epidemic had affected rehearsals here too. It is difficult to highlight all the beautiful places. At the start, when the crowd attacks the condemned Joan, the choir’s entrances were as precise and striking as the lash of a whip. A big impression was also made by the dynamically malleable long “brumendo” in the Joan’s Sword part. The singers sang as one, as one voice. Also impressive was the joyous episode of the country folk in the King arrives to Reims part, which brought much-needed relief from the sombre mood. The Kühn Children’s Choir (choirmasters Jiří Chvála and Petr Louženský) also excelled, even singing everything from memory in French and had some beautiful children’s solos.
Heroic performances
The Czech Philharmonic invited French reciters to collaborate in the spoken roles: the performance of film and theatre actress Audrey Bonnet who was reprising the role of Honegger’s Joan of Arc, was absolutely captivating. Her soulful and tragic performance was expressed right down to the last syllable. We saw real tears on her cheeks, her cries of despair pierced the mass of orchestral sound and human voices, which was a physically heroic performance by this small woman. We saw reconciliation as well as comforting childhood memories – at one point the actress sang a simple children’s song by herself in a broken voice. In the Joan of Arc in Flames part the space above the stage suddenly was coloured with red lighting as in the glow of a fire. That was a very powerful moment. Her guide, Brother Dominic, was recited by Sébastien Dutrieux, while the distinct Jean-Baptiste Le Vaillant drew attention in smaller episodic roles. The reciters were placed in front and behind the orchestra. Above the stage we could follow the Czech and English translation of Claudel’s verses.
The soloists were also chosen well: dramatic soprano Susanne Bernhard (Virgin Mary) reigned in the closing parts of the oratorio over the animated ensemble. The mezzo-soprano of Anna Goryachova (St. Catherine) was a surprise with its dark sounding deep register and beautifully rang out in a duo with the clear soprano of Veronika Rovná (St. Marguerite). These soloists stood with the choir in the organ gallery. The male soloists stood below in front of the orchestra: American tenor Kyle van Schoonhoven had the important role in the animal court of presiding judge – Porcus (Pig), he hit the high tones with precision, but his voice was sometimes not enough for the huge ensemble behind him. Bass Zachary Altman, also a native of the US, sang Second herald; I was most impressed by the sweetly coloured lyrical tenor of Dovlet Nurgeldiyev (First Herald and Cleric).
After the final beats ended, there was a long silence in the sold out Dvořák’s Hall. Honegger’s message about hate, the ingratitude of the masses, who convert stars into potatoes, about the distortion of the truth, greed, betrayal of the powerful and punishment of the innocent is still alive and present today. Animals have power – there is no truth. Only after a while did the audience rise from its seats and rewarded all the actors with more than five minutes of applause.
24. 2. 2025
Lukáš and his Joan
14 February 2025, Klasika+, Jan Sebastian Tomsa
On 13 February the audience in Prague’s Rudolfinum bore witness to an absolutely extraordinary artistic event when the Czech Philharmonic performed the famous oratorio of Joan of Arc at the Stake by Swiss composer Arthur Honegger at its subscription concert. The main role of the work, which is rarely staged because of its artistic and operational complexity, was played by the renowned French actress, Audrey Bonnet. The entire composition was produced and conducted by Lukáš Vasilek and was also his debut performing with the Czech Philharmonic.
Honegger’s work with the full title of Joan of Arc at the Stake, an oratorio with the text of Paul Claudel for reciters, soloists, a children’s and mixed choir, and orchestra, H. 99, was composed as a commission for the famous French actress and dancer, Ida Rubinstein, who wished to perform in a medieval church play, which were very popular at this time, and also wanted to present the story of Joan of Arc as a medieval mystery play combining lyricism with farce with a synthesis of all elements of musical theatre, with music, singing, dance and speech. She asked her friend, poet and diplomat Paul Claudel to write the text, but he refused several times, however in the end he was persuaded by her and gave in. Arthur Honegger, who was a friend to both the above then set Claudel’s text to music in a monumental musical form with soloists, children’s and mixed choir, and a large orchestra with an extended group of wind instruments as well as with a monophonic musical instrument called the ondes Martenot which was played at the premiere by its inventor, Maurice Martenot.
Honegger divided the musical work into the Prologue and eleven scenes in which Joan’s story is told partly retrospectively. The composer finished the work on Christmas Eve of 1935, the work then had its premiere in May 1938 in Basel with Ida Rubinstein as the work’s “spiritual mother” playing the main role. The composer remarked: “I tried to be accessible to the person in the street, but also impress music experts at the same time… Music should change characters, should rise up, be simple and magnificent.” This statement can clearly be understood as a rebuke to the then fashionable atonality and dodecaphony of composers Arnold Schönberg, Alban Berg and others, however, it also outlines one of the reasons for the work’s brilliance: It perfectly feeds extremely tense and dramatic scenes with light-hearted farces derived from medieval plays.
The Czech Philharmonic performed Joan of Arc for the first time in 1959. The second performance under the baton of Václav Neumann in 1970 was threatened because of the obvious connection with the first anniversary of the self-immolation of Jan Palach and was subsequently postponed for two weeks. At the time our most prestigious orchestra sent out a clear signal which the audience clearly understood. Joan of Arc at the Stake was next performed with the Czech Philharmonic, Prague Philharmonic Choir and Kühn Children’s Choir in 1974, the conductor was Serge Baudo – now legendary and reference recording was made of this production. Serge Baudo, for whom Joan of Arc (but also the entire work of the Swiss genius) was a lifelong theme, performed this oratorio in 2004 with the Symphony Orchestra of the Capital City of Prague FOK at the Municipal House where the semi-staged production was probably held in Prague for the first time. Its last performance with the Pilsen Philharmonic was given in the Rudolfinum in 2009 on the occasion of Palach’s anniversary.
The overall impression of Vasilek’s performance was excellent. The conductor experienced the music from start to finish with his whole body, he set the tempo flawlessly, managing to tame the dramatic orchestral passages and within the not-so-ideal acoustics of the hall, he made the individual orchestral parts stand out. But I got the impression that the brass section was playing too loudly. In any case, he managed to extract the right emotions from the orchestra and choirs. To keep so many interconnected artistic components in check, so together they can reach an artistic elysium, is true mastery, which after all was confirmed by the conductor/choirmaster himself in a recent interview: “Joan of Arc is highly challenging, but there is no need to demonize it so much. The musical structure itself is brilliant and highly diverse, but certainly not elusive. The complexity of this work involves coordination of all the components of the huge ensemble – actors, singers, instrumentalists – and maintaining one stroke from start to finish. The point is that the composition does not fall apart within its diversity into very small fragments.”
From start to finish, the Prague Philharmonic Choir served one perfectly sung and compact vocal wave after another to the audience reaffirming that, even in the European context, it ranks among the top. Kühn Children’s Choir was excellently rehearsed and with its touching and gentle performance was a fitting contrast to the sometimes thunderous sound of the Prague Philharmonic Choir. I would like to highlight Lenka Vávrová’s solo which she performed in the not exactly easy part of the Child’s voice. Her pure delivery rang through the space of the Rudolfinum very nicely and surely, even though the part only has minimum support from the orchestra. This young lady not long ago earned her spurs during the choir’s recent performance in The Cunning Little Vixen at the Paris Opera where she sang the part of Pepík and I am certain we will hear a lot more about her.
Of course, everyone played their parts very professionally and their performance added to the overall concert experience. French soprano Susanne Bernhard delivered her part of the Virgin Mary at the very end of the oratorio. Her rich high and majestic voice commanded respect, but I still got the impression that a more inner expression would be suitable for this part. Soprano Veronika Rovná was convincing in the role of St. Marguerite, her not so big, but healthy and vaulted ringing soprano was ideal for this role, and it particularly excelled in the duets with the magically dark voice of Russian mezzo-soprano Anna Goryachova in the role of St. Catherine. She was particularly impressive with her velvety, almost contralto-like depths. It was really pleasant listening to German-Turkmenian tenor Dovlet Nurgeldijev in the role of First Herald, whereas the performance of American bass-baritone Zachary Altman in the role of Second Herald was too constricted in some places and lacked the necessary potency. American tenor Kyle van Schoonhoven in the role of Porcus gave an appealing performance with the desired dynamism and arrogance, however, his role between singing and reciting cannot be rated according to the usual standards.
In addition to the main characters, we were accompanied throughout the story by charismatic reciters Jean-Baptiste Le Vaillant and Thomas Gendronneau in several spoken roles. With their youthful appearance and delivery, they sometimes acted like witty glossators of the entire story who respond perfectly to each other, until it gave the impression of professional improvisation, but at the same time, they excelled at outlining the characters they were personifying at that moment. Anna John Schmidtmajerová also performed as a skilled reciter with the small role of Mother of Barrels. The main spoken roles of Joan of Arc and Brother Dominic were taken on by renowned French actress Audrey Bonnet who was clearly immersed in the role from the moment she came on stage to the very end. She seemed completely believable in the role, thanks to her age and appearance. Her declamation was like a reading book and the emotions which she conveyed to the audience through her presentation – one full of hope and faith, one full of despair, resonated long after the concert ended. Her ecstatic scream at the point of being suffocated by the flames and her final absolution were simply breathtaking. Sébastien Dutrieux was her able partner. His youthful and relatively optimistic-sounding delivery brought a slightly different insight into the role that we are used to – it is usually entrusted to older reciters –, but it certainly did not hurt.
However, the Prague performance ran into one fundamental limit, which is the capacity of the Rudolfinum’s Dvořák Hall. The extended orchestra, children’s and mixed choir, four reciters and six soloists, some of whom portray multiple roles, barely fitted on the stage. There was no hint of acting in the capacity of this space, let alone some semi-staged performance. It is a shame, because such a high-quality production deserved at least a semi-staged performance, especially some parts – e.g. the animal court or royal card game – directly called for it. After all, Joan of Arc is routinely staged on world stages. The magnificent sound was at the very limits of the carrying capacity of Dvořák Hall and I believe that greater distances between the players would outline the performances of the individual instrument groups and the solo performances of the players even better in the orchestra’s performance. This again is confirmation of the desperate lack of a top quality concert space in Prague which perhaps will be met by the planned Vltava Philharmonic Hall. Our most prestigious orchestra is performing Joan of Arc on three consecutive evenings that are hopelessly sold out, so a hall with a greater seating capacity would prove an advantage also for this reason.
Lukáš Vasilek’s debut with the Czech Philharmonic on his birthday was an undisputed success. It is hard for a conductor to choose a more difficult work as a debut performance, but on the other hand I said that if anyone were to make a debut with Joan of Arc, it should be this conductor. A recording was made of the concert, which will certainly not go unforgotten.
24. 2. 2025
Lukáš Vasilek: Joan of Arc captivates immediately from the start
5 February 2025, Klasika+, Jan Sebastian Tomsa
In 2007 you were appointed principal choirmaster of the Prague Philharmonic Choir. What do you consider to be the greatest success of this ensemble under your direction?
We understand each other artistically and pull together. Without this no choir can work properly. Perhaps I am being too self-confident, but I think that it can be seen and heard.
In addition to countless collaborations, the Prague Philharmonic Choir also presents a series of a capella concerts during which it also performs contemporary classical music. How do you choose contemporary composers?
There are more of these aspects. It must be a composition which we are able to study timewise and technically. In addition, I like to be sure that it fits the singers and me, we will enjoy it and will get something from it. This is then very noticeable in the result. I also consider the space in which the concert is performed and whether that composition fits there or not. And we must of course think of the audience. The aim is not to annoy or demotivate listeners. We want the music to give them something – to address or entertain them, so they like or are moved by it and come to our concert again.
In your opinion what criteria must contemporary music meet so it has the potential to assert itself, to take hold?
It should have such content and reach that it draws the performer and audience in and doesn’t let go. And it doesn’t matter at all how complicated is the compositional style it represents. The audience will manage to absorb any sort of complicated music if it understands what the composer wants to say.
Is there any kind of choir work which you have always wanted to study, but you never got around to it? Do you have any choirmaster-conductor dream?
There is lots of good music which I would enjoy or look forward to. But I cannot think of one specific work right now. I like discovering new things as they come. And I like the moment of surprise – perhaps when an unexpected offer comes along, which has the potential of changing my whole musical direction and thinking. It happened many times in my life that I have had these twists and turns, which occurred without my intervention, have brought me the most. Such moments are the most precious to me. And therefore I have long since stopped dreaming, it is a dead end for me.
Describe to us what led to your forthcoming debut with the Czech Philharmonic. Can you outline this path? Who or what decided that you will have your debut with Joan of Arc? It is difficult to imagine a more challenging composition for a conducting debut…
This all relates to a totally different composition which is Britten’s War Requiem. This is a similarly challenging score which we performed for the first time two years ago. It was a success and we all enjoyed it together. And it was on this basis that the leadership of the choir began to consider what would come next and what direction we should take. In the end we said that we would maintain the direction, so then it was only a small step to Joan of Arc. The fact that this project will finally take place with the Czech Philharmonic is a huge honour which I appreciate. And a challenge of course. Yes, Joan of Arc is challenging, but there is no need to demonize it so much. The musical structure itself is brilliant and highly diverse, but certainly not elusive. The complexity of this work involves coordination of all components of the huge ensemble – actors, singers, instrumentalists – and maintaining one stroke from start to finish. The point is that the composition does not fall apart within its diversity into very small fragments.
Do you have experience as a choirmaster in performing Joan of Arc?
Yes, I have studied it twice with the Prague Philharmonic Choir, but that was quite a while ago. However, the experience is very important – I could try out the composition from the other side. Even more important for me was that I could conduct Honegger’s other oratorio, King David, several times. It may be a less complicated composition, but it was essential to get under the skin of Honegger’s style.
Can you share your emotions and impressions of this monumental (and beautiful) work?
Joan of Arc is simply brilliant and captivates you immediately from the start. Honegger’s music in full unison with Paul Claudel’s text (both are of totally exceptional quality) created a perfect artistic form. There is little that can compare with Joan of Arc.
Did you have the opportunity of hearing the interpretation of Joan of Arc by Serge Baudo, which is presented as a reference?
Baudo’s recording of 1974 was ground-breaking in its time – there weren’t many recordings of Joan of Arc at the time and certainly not of such artistic and technical quality. Even after fifty years, it’s definitely worth listening to! And in my opinion Nelly Borgeaud is perhaps the best Joan – her performance is almost indescribable. Of course, what is also interesting is that the Prague Philharmonic and Kühn Children’s Choir sing while it is the Czech Philharmonic that plays on this recording. So it’s the same cast that we will have at our concerts. I really like Seiji Ozawa’s recording – it is very mercurial and perfectly describes the dramatism of this story. Of the newer recordings, Marc Soustrot’s is a really good recording which has a somewhat more lyrical approach, perhaps a little more like Honegger’s score. And has a very interesting Joan – the Oscar star Marion Cotillard.
Who do you think has the most fundamental role in this work? The choirs, orchestra, soloists or the reciters?
Everyone at once. Here one cannot work without the other as all the performers are organically interconnected so this is literally a symbiosis.
Could you in some way manage to describe or define Arthur Honegger’s musical language?
Concise, direct, beautiful, colourful, original, recognisable.
Are you happy to be a conductor and choirmaster?
If I knew… I’m just where I am. Somehow life threw me into this role and I stayed in it. But I definitely enjoy it and it makes me happy, although of course the work also brings very challenging moments. I’m not the type of person to claim it’s my mission, my fate that I couldn’t or didn’t want to do anything else. I would love to do something else if that were to be the case and like it just as much. I hate one-sidedness, because over time it always begins to descend into stupidity. Hopefully it won’t affect me.
Can you remember the moment you fell in love with music?
That was certainly at home in Hradec Králové. I was supported in my love of music by my parents from an early age. At the age of five I began to learn to play the piano, a little later I began to sing in the boy’s choir Boni pueri. This is how I started.
Do you still sing or do you try to shape music from the other side of the stand?
I don’t sing, everyone around me sings better than me. But I often pre-sing at choir rehearsals to demonstrate my idea of the music and sound to the singers. The choirmaster cannot work without it.
Do you have any rituals or special requirements before a performance?
I don’t really have any rituals as such. But if I can, I have a shower and have a little something to eat to get some sugar inside me. I also like to get changed into my concert suit well in advance. It calms me down and lowers my stress in thinking that I won’t have time to relax before the concert.
How do you maintain your mental health?
Dog, cottage, nature, hiking, bike, skis, swimming, book, film. No music at all.
21. 2. 2025
“Music that goes right to the core”. Conductor Vasilek prepares to perform the most challenging work of the 20th century with the Czech Philharmonic
1. 2. 2025, Martin Zvěřina, Lidovky.cz
Arthur Honegger’s Joan of Arc at the Stake is probably the most important vocal and instrumental work of the 20th century, conductor Lukáš Vasilek tells Lidovky.cz. In the interview the choirmaster of the Prague Philharmonic Choir talks about the brilliance and difficulty of staging Joan of Arc, about French music, but also about the difference between the work of a conductor and
a choirmaster.
After about a gap of a month, how do you rate the performance of the Prague Philharmonic Choir in New York?
It happened so quickly that I just don’t know. We flew in one day, had three concerts the following three days, the next day we flew back again and this was followed again by further concerts here. It all happened at once, but it was wonderful in fact, because all the concerts were a success.
You are preparing to stage Janáček’s Glagolitic Mass with Sir Simon Rattle. Are you expecting a big difference from Semyon Bychkov’s concept with whom you performed it already twice this season?
There will certainly be a difference there, because as a conductor Mr Rattle has a very special musical imagination which is always highly original. But each time it is a great experience. You have to be really vigilant because he tends to require quite a lot of changes. But I think it will be fine. We are more curious to know what he will do with Janáček, what he will bring out of us. We know this composition so well that we will of course do everything he wants. It is an advantage if you often play a certain composition as you are flexible. You do not look for tones or rhythms, you do not think what’s on the next page, but you can focus on the content and expression.
In February, you will be performing Arthur Honegger’s oratorio Joan of Arc at the Stake. What can the audience expect from this?
They will hear one of the most important vocal and instrumental works of the 20th century, if not the most important. They will experience music that goes right to the core. I appreciate the conditions I have for studying in terms of time for rehearsals and casting – I was given a free hand in who I wanted to work with. A huge advantage is the Prague Philharmonic Choir, because the choir part is very difficult to sing. And of course conducting the Czech Philharmonic will be a special moment for me.
But this will not be your debut performing with the Czech Philharmonic.
Basically, it will be, although I have already conducted the Czech Philharmonic, but these were much smaller pieces. I have respect for both the composition and the occasion itself. But I have already come so far that I am looking forward to it, because I have devoted a lot of time to it. I know what I want to do and I have an idea of how to do it. But I must say that a lot of the French symbolism that is omnipresent in the composition is quite difficult to understand.
There are many mostly historical references which you have to wade through to understand how to interpret the composition. Conductors get to perform this composition in exceptional cases, because it is challenging in all aspects – artistically, logistically, spatially as well as financially. You need five actors and six soloists, an orchestra reinforced with special instruments such as an ondes Martenot, three saxophones, two pianos, a children’s choir, a large choir … I appreciate the opportunity all the more.
Arthur Honegger has his audience in the Czech Republic so you probably don’t have to introduce this work?
I love Honegger; I have studied his King David several times and will perform him again in a few months. In fact, together with Benjamin Britten and Bohuslav Martinů, Honegger is part of a group of my favorite composers. I am glad that I had the opportunity a while ago – now this sounds egoistical, but it relates to the genesis of Joan of Arc – to perform Britten’s War Requiem.
It was a bit of a fluke at the time that it would be me who would conduct this composition, but it turned out well. We all enjoyed it together and thanks to this I had the opportunity to try out the greatest musical form. If I look at 20th century music, in terms of my aesthetics and musical taste there are two truly fundamental works: Britten’s War Requiem and Honegger’s Joan of Arc. If you want to perform these compositions well, you need time otherwise you cannot do it. If I did not have the time I would not go ahead with it.
French music does not get to be performed that much here in the Czech Republic?
Yes, but I think that the instrumental is present here more than the vocal. After all, French is a blocking issue for many local singers as its knowledge is not very widespread in our country. Moreover, singing in French is a chapter unto itself, if a person is not a French speaker, he must have someone to guide him and work hard at it. It is the same with English and German. In the Czech Republic, singing pronunciation of foreign languages is often disastrous and completely uncompetitive. However, we strive for the opposite.
I get the feeling that I will sooner hear Rameau or Couperin rather than Honegger or Poulenc in the Czech Republic?
Poulenc is also one of my favourites, and we just happened to perform him now in December. I told myself that Poulenc’s Gloria would be an easy 25-minute composition, but it is not simple at all. French music is beautiful, but you must be immersed in it so that you can understand and somehow grasp it.
Would you prefer to perform newer or more modern works? Do you have any favorites among the younger composers?
Sure, but I have no such big dream in newer music as the War Requiem or Joan of Arc. I have not thought about it. On the other hand, Joan of Arc is music that is modern and up-to-date even today. It is music in which you can find absolutely everything.
Do you have a dream that you would still want to fulfil?
No, I take everything as it comes. David Mareček, the director of our choir and the Czech Philharmonic, was why the War Requiem followed by Joan of Arc “happened”. We discussed Britten for a while and then after about ten minutes David said that I was right and I should perform the work.
It was a little easier with Joan. After the War Requiem, David asked me what next and without thinking I replied that Joan of Arc. He was thrilled and began to Google all possible French actresses who could play the main role with us. Basically, we agreed immediately that we would do it. But it was only after several months that it would be with the Czech Philharmonic. I did not expect it at all.
You have not been given a unique opportunity because normally as a choirmaster you need to conform to the conductor’s interpretation?
I don’t think of it that way. My work in the Prague Philharmonic Choir is simply twofold – either I conduct the work myself or I prepare the choir for another conductor. I am used to it, it is my daily bread. Yes, in both cases you study the work in a different way. As choirmaster you must study it in such a way so that there is still room for the conductor and not incorporate too much of your own interpretation.
But every artist is different: sometimes a conductor comes to us and does not want anything from the choir, just accepts the composition as we have prepared it. And then someone comes who really has a very clear idea which he insists on using. When I know in advance it will be this kind of conductor, I try to contact him beforehand and prepare all the details of his interpretation in advance, because the choir is not essentially that flexible to be able to change absolutely everything at the last minute. If conductors always work only with instrumentalists, they have a bit of a distorted idea as to what they may or may not want from the singers, what is even feasible. Of course, the reverse is also true for choirmasters working only with singers.
However, now I am getting round to the fact that if I now have the honour to conduct Joan, I am doing it my way from the very start. I will rehearse it with the choir just the way I want to and how I want to conduct it; everyone will know everything basically in advance and be able to become familiar with everything. This is a huge advantage. But on the other hand, I sometimes feel that in long compositions it is very challenging to be in charge of studying the choir and the entire final study with the orchestra, actually it is quite draining. But I think I know how to balance out the rehearsals to maintain my energy.
Have you ever experienced a conductor you couldn’t please?
Yes, it does happen that a conductor just cannot understand that some of his ideas just cannot be done, because the human voice is not a musical instrument and is forcing the choir to do things that cannot be sung. The result does not turn out well for him and does not please anyone at all.
Will you be performing Joan of Arc anywhere outside of Prague?
So far we don’t know of any organiser wanting to do so, but on the other hand it is great that we have three consecutive concerts in Prague, so perhaps something based on this will happen. Something similar did happen with the War Requiem after we performed it for the first time. It was a success so we performed it at the Prague Sounds festival half a year later.
In what way is Honegger’s Joan of Arc so exceptional?
Joan is really interesting in the way it combines the spoken word, singling and orchestra playing. It is an incredible mixture of music and dramatic form which is asking for a scenic performance. On the other hand, the choir part is composed in such a complicated way that it cannot sound ideal on stage where the spatial and acoustic conditions are not ideal. But the stage can explain some symbols perfectly and it is the symbolism in Joan of Arc that can be captivating. We got the truly wonderful Audrey Bonnet to play the part of Joan, which she rehearsed in Brussels some time ago.
I feel that some conductors and directors are inclined to cast someone in this role who looks very girlish perhaps because of the young age of the real Joan, but then the outcome is too lyrical, naive and sometimes almost rather sweetish. There are these levels in the composition and they are important, but they must not bury the rawness of the story, which Honegger’s composition clearly has. I think that it will be balanced out with our Joan, because Audrey Bonnet has absolutely everything. The part is studied in French. It was a clear choice for me – today it is performed in the original throughout the world. French in itself has its own poetics to which Honegger’s music is directly connected. Any translation kills this brilliant connection. But the public does not have to be worried as there will of course be Czech subtitles at the concert.
Is the composition difficult?
In musical terms there is nothing elusive or incomprehensible in it, I would almost say that Britten’s War Requiem was a bit more difficult for me. But Honegger is challenging because it contains an awful lot of diverse and constantly changing music. Joan does not have many spaces which would flow in one stroke. It is almost like a fresco composition: one moment there is one piece of music, then suddenly replaced by another that immediately jumps to the next.
To a great extent the music serves the drama, hence its variability, whereas Britten composes in bigger and more uniform spaces – yes, there are longer spaces in Joan, but there are fewer of them. But it is the very diversity that does not let you exhale, almost as though you are taking in each beat. You need to approach each small part of this fresco in some way, to know what to do with it, to know what it means and what it should bring to the drama. You really need to get under the skin so the audience has no idea just how fragmented it is, and must think that despite its diversity, the music flows in one stroke.
What are you preparing after Joan of Arc?
At the moment I cannot see that far, but the season continues. We have further concerts with the Czech Philharmonic, performing Suk’s Epilogue with Jakub Hrůša, this is even being recorded, Vladimír Sommer’s Vocal Symphony, is already being performed by my colleague Lukáš Kozubík, also with Jakub Hrůša. Then there is Mahler’s 8th Symphony at Prague Spring, a mega project with Semyon Bychkov. It is also being recorded. At the end of the season there is Honegger’s King David. I am really looking forward to that!
17. 2. 2025
A powerful Jeanne d’Arc in Prague
A contemporary reprise offered a vivid reminder that Honegger’s mystère lyrique has lost none of its power or resonance in the intervening 55 years. In a riveting performance conducted by Lukáš Vasilek, fire was once again the dominant theme and through thread, in both razor-sharp work by the orchestra and blazing vocals from eight soloists and two choirs. Emotions ran so hot and high that Vasilek and French actress Audrey Bonnet, who portrayed Joan, could barely move when the final notes faded away.
Read Frank Kuznik’s full review on the Bachtrack platform here.
5. 9. 2024
Hearing the text sung idiomatically by the 80 strong professional choristers of the Prague Philharmonic Choir was a revelation
On Wednesday, August 28, 2024, the Prague Philharmonic Choir performed Leoš Janáček’s Glagolitic Mass as part of the renowned London music festival BBC Proms. Read the most interesting insights from critics who attended the concert at the Royal Albert Hall.
Hearing the text sung idiomatically by the 80 strong professional choristers of the Prague Philharmonic Choir was a revelation – Keith McDonnell, musicomh.com
This was the least frenetic of performances and as a result the orchestral playing and choral singing lacked the element of desperation that can sometimes creep into performances, so that even the tricky choral entries were finely done. – Robert Hugill, planethugill.com
20. 6. 2024
“The vivid richness of Czech choral music: Lukáš Vasilek”
A great article by Frank Kuznik, who interviewed the principal choirmaster of the Prague Philharmonic Choir, Lukáš Vasilek. He is now among the world’s top choirmasters, yet he remains humble and modest, continuously working hard on himself. Read more.
20. 6. 2024
“An intravenous dose of Czech patriotism: Smetana’s Libuše in Litomyšl”
Read the extensive review by David Karlin, co-founder of the renowned music portal Bachtrack.
13. 6. 2024
The Prague Philharmonic Choir presents the jubilee 90th season
The Prague Philharmonic Choir is organising four concerts under its direction for the 2024/2025 season. An invitation to the opening concert to take place on 28 September has been accepted by the Dresden Philharmonic, which will be conducted by Michael Sanderling. Immediately on the following day, 29 September, the Prague Philharmonic Choir with Czech choirs and the Czech Philharmonic will celebrate the Year of Czech Music with the concert “Let Us Rejoice, Let’s Be Merry”.
On 28 and 29 November it plans to perform two a cappella concerts of “Treasures of the Czech Choruses”, the first performance in co-production with the Bohuslav Martinů Days music festival.
The December Advent Concert at the Žofín Palace will be held on 19 and 20 December to the accompaniment of the Prague Philharmonia.
In addition, the choir is set to stage four performances abroad in the first half of the season. The first is the London BBC Proms music festival where the choir will perform for the very first time in its ninety year history accompanied by the Czech Philharmonic and conducted by Jakub Hrůša. This will be followed by two October concerts again with the Dresden Philharmonic and Michael Sanderling, this time in Dresden.
In November the choir will appear in Hong Kong with Hong Kong Philharmonic Orchestra and conductor Christoph Eschenbach. The imaginary highlight of the season will be the New York tour in December during which the choir will perform the Glagolitic Mass with the Czech Philharmonic and Semyon Bychkov followed by its own concert as part of the programme series at Carnegie Hall.
“I am proud that the choir is entering its 90th season in such form – it is stable, established, artistically unwavering. And what is more, it keeps moving forwards. I am glad to be a part of this,” says the Prague Philharmonic Choir’s principal choirmaster Lukáš Vasilek.
The Prague Philharmonic Choir’s own concert series offers an exclusively Czech repertoire for the 2024/2025 season with one exception. It will perform Antonín Dvořák’s Requiem during its Opening Concert, which the choir is organising in collaboration with the Dvořák Prague International Music Festival.
The dramaturgy of the “Let Us Rejoice, Let’s Be Merry” concert will offer a separate programme of Czech amateur choirs (Severáček [Liberec Children’s Choir], Česká píseň Plzeň [Czech Song Pilsen] and Bohemiachor [Bohemia Choir]) in its first part. The second part of the concert will include the Prague Philharmonic Choir and Czech Philharmonic conducted by Lukáš Vasilek with a joint performance of Dvořák’s Te Deum, and end on a high note with all the choirs together performing “Let Us Rejoice, Let’s Be Merry” from Smetana’s The Bartered Bride.
The “Treasures of the Czech Chorus” will bring out the excellence of Czech vocal works. There will be a performance of Petr Eben’s Prague Te Deum 1989, Leoš Janáček’s Our Father, Antonín Dvořák’s In Nature’s Realm, Bohuslav Martinů’s Four Songs About Mary and Jan Novák’s Testamentum. The solos will be performed by tenor Pavel Černoch.“We wanted to present the very best of Czech work, as well as perform compositions not that well known. Therefore apart from top compositions of Dvořák, Janáček and Martinů, the brilliant compositions of Petr Eben and Jan Novák will be performed,” is how Lukáš Vasilek describes the concert’s dramaturgy.
This time the now traditional Žofín Advent Concerts will offer Francis Poulenc’s Gloria and Jan Ryant Dřízal’s Christmas Cantata commissioned by the Prague Philharmonic Choir and performed for the first time last year. Just as in previous years, the orchestral partner will be the Prague Philharmonia.
Among other works as part of the Dvořák Prague International Music Festival, the Prague Philharmonic Choir will stage a concert performance of Erich Wolfgang Korngold’s opera The Dead City with the FOK Prague Symphony Orchestra conducted by Tomáš Brauner, and the choir will present Verdi’s Requiem with the Prague Radio Symphony Orchestra conducted by Petr Popelka.
A major event of the second half of the Prague Philharmonic Choir’s jubilee season will be a performance of French born Swiss composer Arthur Honegger’s dramatic oratorio Joan of Arc at the Stake. Audrey Bonnet will perform the role of Joan of Arc and the role of Brother Dominique will be played by Sébastien Dutrieux. The Czech Philharmonic, Prague Philharmonic Choir and Kühn Children’s Choir will be conducted by Lukáš Vasilek. “Joan of Arc is one of the most important vocal-instrumental compositions of the 20th century. Of course, to conduct it was a dream which I always thought was quite unrealistic. I appreciate that I will be able to present this awe-inspiring drama with the Prague Philharmonic Choir and Czech Philharmonic. I also look forward to how we will master this ‘musical pinnacle’ together, and I am certain that we will be able to provide the audience with an extraordinary artistic experience,” says the principal choirmaster.
During its 90th season the Prague Philharmonic Choir will also participate in the major Czech music festivals Prague Spring and Smetana’s Litomyšl. Then in 2025 it will traditionally travel to Austria for the Bregenz Festival where, among other, they will be performing Weber’s Die Freischütz on the floating stage.
In the 90th season the Prague Philharmonic Choir will build on its educational activities, which it will extend to include new projects. “Singing is probably the most natural way of how to experience music ‘for yourself’. Therefore, we would like to make this experience available to a broad spectrum of the audience through concerts and workshops, by inviting teachers and artists from various spheres to make this possible,” is how the choir’s general manager, Anna Moravcová describes the educational projects.
The dramaturgy of the individual workshops is targeted at audiences of various age groups: from several month-old children (Spinkej, zazpívám ti do ouška [Sleep, I will sing into your ear]), pre-school children (Ententýna, mandolína! [Sing, sing Mandolin]) to the Spring Picnic Concert at the Magical Well for primary school children and their parents. The Prague Philharmonic Choir will present the Goin’ Home | Antonín Dvořák and the American Spiritual Project for students and adults also as part of its Hong Kong tour. The Hlasotaj (Find Your Voice) workshop will focus on discovering what your own voice can do and in Hudba staletí a věčnosti (Music of Centuries and Eternity) the choir is preparing an extraordinary musical experience in the magical setting of the Convent of Saint Agnes.
Part of the professional education is also the singing academy whose partner is now the Soňa Červená Endowment Fund. Thus, the project now has the new name – the Academy of the Prague Philharmonic Choir in Honour of Soňa Červená. “The Academy is our biggest and longest running educational project, thanks to which students of singing schools have been able to learn about the work of a professional choir. In this time many graduates have become permanent members of the Prague Philharmonic Choir as well as of other ensembles. We are so pleased that thanks to the support of the Soňa Červená Endowment Fund we can expand the study programme at the Academy to include other activities,” adds Anna Moravcová.
In the context of the history and political structure of Europe in the 20th century, the choir did not have many opportunities to travel to the British Isles. One of two rare tours of Scotland and Wales took place in 1972 with the then principal choirmaster Josef Veselka. The second visit did not come until 2002, when the male part of the choir travelled to the Edinburgh Festival where it performed Wagner’s Parsifal conducted by the famous conductor Claudio Abbado.
The third performance of the Prague Philharmonic Choir in Albion will take place at this year’s BBC Proms music festival in London. The choir will perform Leoš Janáček’s Glagolitic Mass to the accompaniment of the Czech Philharmonic conducted by Jakub Hrůša.
This cantata will also be performed by the Czech Philharmonic and Prague Philharmonic Choir in New York to mark the climax of the Year of Czech Music, during the Czech Week in Carnegie Hall. The two ensembles conducted by Semyon Bychkov will perform here at the start of December. The Prague Philharmonic Choir will then present its “Treasures of the Czech Chorus” concert. In its ninety year history, this is the choir’s first ever own concert at this world famous New York cultural centre.
In the second half of the season the choir will make a guest appearance at the Dvořák festival in the Culture and Congress Centre in Lucerne, Switzerland with the Lucerne Symphony Orchestra and Michael Sanderling. The choir will also present its own a capella programme.
A novelty for the jubilee 90th season is the opportunity of being able to buy subscription tickets to the concerts organised by the Prague Philharmonic Choir. So a 30% discount as compared with the full price of individual tickets is being offered to audiences and patrons of the choir, and this ticket will be transferable. In addition, subscribers will get a 20% discount when buying individual tickets to concerts organised by the Prague Philharmonic Choir, Czech Philharmonic or the Czech Chamber Music Society.
Since 2023 the Prague Philharmonic Choir has been cooperating with ČEZ Group. As the general partner, it supports the choir’s home and foreign concert activities and also focuses on supporting young talent and educational activities. The principal partner is Citroën, which provides the choir with its vehicles particularly when on tour of European countries, as well as in the Czech Republic. The gentlemen of the Prague Philharmonic Choir have been wearing the Men’s Clothing fashion brand BANDI since spring 2024.
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