This past February marked six decades since the Communist takeover in Czechoslovakia that meant death for hundreds of people. One of them was Milada Horáková, LL.D., a member of parliament for the Czechoslovak National Socialist Party [Ed. Note: no affiliation with the German Nazi Party], who was subjected to merciless treatment at the hands of the Nazi Gestapo. Two experienced artists – Aleš Březina and Jiří Nekvasil – stand behind this unique and unprecedented project. Březina, the composer, is open about the fact that his intent right from the start was to create a work written “body and voice” for Czech mezzo-soprano Soňa Červená. The selection of Červená was all the more appropriate given her own experience with persecution by the Communists. “We wanted to tell the story of an important Czech woman. The story of Milada Horáková has a unique message, and the monstrousness of the trial, which was of course staged, since this was a political show trial, is absolutely fascinating,” Březina says. Jiří Heřman, the head of the National Theater Opera, says that the main character of Tomorrow There Will Be is not Horáková herself but the proceedings against her. He says Červená serves as a guide to the audience, her character alternating between Horáková, prosecutor, and commentator on the trial. Joining Červená onstage are the versatile countertenor Jan Mikušek, the Kühn Children’s Choir (also known as the Prague Philharmonic Children’s Choir), the Canti di Praga Chamber Choir, and the six-piece PurPur instrumental ensemble, with Marko Ivanović as musical conductor.

Cast / Jan Mikušek , Soňa Červená    DoP / Jan Malíř , Martin Šácha    Editor / Vladimír Barák    Sound / Michal Holubec    Music / Aleš Březina

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