Greek Passion at the Salzburg Festival - broadcast on Czech television on Sunday 31 March

One of the most prestigious festivals of opera, music, and drama in the world, the Salzburger Festspiele, staged the opera The Greek Passion (second version) by Bohuslav Martinů from August 13th to 27th. This production was created under the directorial leadership of Simon Stone and conducted by Maxime Pascal.

At the end of March, Czech Television will broadcast a recording of this production, which will also be available to watch online.

The opera Greek Passion, H 372 II, by Bohuslav Martinů stands among the most profound intellectual works of the composer, delving into the serious theme of refugees in a hostile foreign environment. The libretto draws from the literary narrative of Greek author Nikos Kazantzakis' "Christ Recrucified" from 1951. Martinů drew inspiration from motifs within this novel, crafting an exceptionally impactful opera with a deep humanistic message. The libretto was composed by the skilful hand of Martinů himself, adhering to Kazantzakis' novel, and the original vocal lines are in English.

The exceptional Salzburg production aroused enthusiastic reviews. You can read some of them in our journal Martinů Revue No. 2-3, 2023 in English, orders and subsriptions of the journal HERE

Reviews in Czech you can read here:

Aleš Březina: Triumf Řeckých pašijí Bohuslava Martinů na Salcburském festivalu

Helena Havlíková: Triumf Řeckých pašijí v Salcburku. Opera Bohuslava Martinů připomněla aktuální téma běženců a sklidila bouřlivé ovace

Věra Drápelová: Vyprávějí i o Ukrajině. Řecké pašije právem nadchly Salcburk

Sunday 31 March 2024, 8.15. pm
Czech Television, CT Art

Bohuslav MARTINŮ: The Greek Passion, H 372 II – 2nd "Zurich" version

English with Czech subtitles, 127 min
Television direction: Davide Mancini

Creative Team:
Maxime Pascal (conductor)
Simon Stone (director)
Lizzie Clachan (sets)
Mel Page (costumes)
Nick Schlieper (lighting)
Christian Arseni (dramaturgy)

Cast:
Gábor Bretz (Grigoris)
Matthäus Schmidlechner (Michelis)
Alejandro Baliñas Vieites (Kostandis)
Charles Workman (Yannakos)
Sebastian Kohlhepp (Manolios)
Julian Hubbard (Panait)
Aljoscha Lennert (Nikolio)
Matteo Ivan Rašić (Andonis)
Sara Jakubiak (The Widow Katerina)
Christina Gansch (Lenio)
Helena Rasker (An Old Woman)
Łukasz Goliński (Fotis)
Teona Todua (Despinio)
Scott Wilde (An Old Man)

Ensembles:
Concert Association of the Vienna State Opera Chorus
Huw Rhys James (Chorus Master)
Salzburger Festspiele und Theater Kinderchor
Wolfgang Götz (Chorus Master)
Vienna Philharmonic

More information: https://www.ceskatelevize.cz/porady/16120209783-b-martinu-recke-pasije/