The Velvet Oratorio, an original opera/theater piece commemorating the 25th anniversary of The Velvet Revolution in Czechoslovakia, will be presented in the grand ballroom at the current home of the Czech Center and the Czech Consulate: The Bohemian National Hall.
The Velvet Oratorio is an evocative retelling of the Velvet Revolution through found text, choral music, and scenes inspired by Václav Havel's Vanek plays. The piece is organized as a series of alternating scenes and choruses, the chorus representing the crowds in Prague during the events spanning November 17 1989 to January 1, 1990. The text for the oratorio is based partly upon recently released U.S. State Department documents and corresponding Czechoslovakian / Soviet documents and interviews with journalists, diplomats, and ordinary people who were in the streets of Prague during the revolution. The Velvet Oratorio was original staged as a concert for New York Public Library for the Performing Arts’ festival, Performing Revolution in Central and Eastern Europe. This will be a full staging of the piece.
PERFORMANCE SCHEDULE;
Sat Nov 8 at 8pm, Sun Nov 9 at 5pm*
Fri Dec 12 at 8pm Sat Dec 13 at 8pm
Tue Jan 13 at 8pm Wed Jan 14 at 8pm
