Night at the Ballet

So, what to do on a Tuesday night in Brno?  

Well last night Kája and I went to the ballet at the Mahen theatre and had tickets to sit in the Presidential Box.

Last night's performance was Popelka, which is the Czech version of Cinderella.  It was a new interpretation of the story so it wasn't the American version of Cinderella or the classic version of Popelka that I'm used to, but good nonetheless. 

During the intermission we had champagne and chlebíčky.  I swear, only in a Czech theatre can you get champagne and chlebíčky.  So cool.

Anyways, we had a really nice evening and the performance was great. 

The arts scene in Brno really is world class and there's always something going on.  I think I need to try a Czech language play sometime.  Most likely a drama.  I'd prefer a comedy but humour is usually pretty difficult to catch on to in a foreign language.  

The Great Gatsby Ballet

For my birthday Claudia got us tickets to see The Great Gatsby at Admiralspalast.  This was the coolest show!  It's a contemporary ballet with modern visual effects.

The theatre at Friedrichstraße, in Berlin's Mitte district, opened in 1910.  It somehow suffered very little damage during WWII.  

There were only three performances in Germany this year, in Berlin, Frankfurt, and Hamburg, so it was great to be able to see it.  

The dancers are from ballet companies from the USA, Russia, and Ukraine.

Here's the official trailer of the 2016 tour that I found on YouTube.

Louskáček 2018

This is my 1500th blog post!  I still don't seem to be running out of material.

Yesterday was our annual Christmas tradition to go see Louskáček.  We missed it last year because the Janáček Theatre was still closed for renovations and the performance was washed out in Berlin.


The Janáček Theatre is the biggest theatre in Czechland.  It was built in 1965 and was the largest and best-equipped theatre in Czechoslovakia.  It then cost almost 100 million Czechoslovak Crowns but I have no idea how much that translates to today.


It is primarily used for ballet and opera and besides Louskáček, I've seen a few over the years.  The theatre has been closed for over a year for renovations that cost more than 750 million Kč (~ €29 million / $34 million).

The performing arts in Brno really are top drawer.  Every time there's a performance at Janáčkovo you'll see Austrian tour buses lined up because so many people from Vienna come up for shows that are way less expensive than in Austria.

The renovations look great.  I believe that there is still some ongoing projects behind the scenes which should complete by April 2020.

After the show it was time to stop by the Christmas Market to see the tree.  This was a brief stop because the market was so packed with people and because it was just so dang cold.

Australia-New Zealand-Hong Kong Trip Summary

We finally made it to Australia.  About 20 hours of travel but finally arrived in Sydney.

There is so much to see and do in Australia.  Another trip or two or three is definitely in order.  If only it wasn't so dang far away.  Starting in Sydney was brilliant.  Sydney is a modern, very gay friendly, European-ish city with a hip Asian vibe.  Loved it!

I really enjoyed the Blue Mountains and, of course, no visit Down Under is complete without seeing a Koala.  Marcus is now working in Sydney so it was good to catch up with him over dinner.



Most people take photos the Sydney Opera House but few actually go inside.  We were lucky to have tickets to the premier performance of Spartacus.

The performance was absolutely brilliant.

Here's the commercial from the Australian Ballet that I found out on YouTube.

©The Australian Ballet

From Sydney, it's possible to do a day trip to Canberra to see the capital.  In a perfect world, I would have preferred one full day there but when cramped for time then the four or five hours there on tour is enough.

Then it was on to Queensland to visit Cairns.  Nice little town but I could have done without the bats.  The best parts though of visiting Cairns were going to the rainforest in Kuranda and seeing the Great Barrier Reef.

The final stop in Australia was Melbourne in Victoria.  Melbourne definitely has a European feel to it.  One of the coolest things was the taxi ride from the airport to the hotel and seeing kangaroos going full blast in the wild.

The Great Ocean Road is a must do activity in Melbourne.  The Miss Fischer's Tour was interesting but probably only for fans of the show.

Cristine moved to Adelaide almost two years ago.  Since I flew to Australia she flew to Melbourne for a weekend and it was fun to catch up.

Australia was awesome!  I can't wait for next time, well except for the long flight there.

Then it was off to Kiwiland.  Back in Wellington for a couple of days with Natalie and her family.  Fortunately there was no earthquake this time.

Then it was off to Hong Kong via Sydney.  Natalie was on her way back to Vanuatu and we happened to be on the same flight.  Yeah!

It was fun being back in Hong Kong even just for a couple of days. One of the biggest highlights was lunch at Tim Ho Wan.  I still have yet to see the Bruce Lee statue but I did have an interesting Thanksgiving dinner.

Another great adventure but I wasn't ready to give up the 24℃ (75℉) in Hong Kong for the 4℃ (39℉) in Brno.  Now to start getting ready for the 10th anniversary Czechsgiving fiesta.  How has it already been 10 years?

MacMillan, McGregor, Ashton Ballet

On Saturday night we went to the Vienna State Opera to see a ballet.  The Wiener Staatsoper, obviously located in Vienna, Austria, opened in 1869.

Originally it was the Vienna Court Opera but was renamed in 1920 after the end of the Habsburg Empire.

The State Opera is one of the busiest in the world.  There's always something going on here.  There are usually 50 - 60 operas and 10 ballets every year.

The building is absolutely beautiful.  At some point I need to take one of the guided tours.

Saturday's programme was dedicated to British choreography.

There were three different performances by choreographers Kenneth MacMillan, Wayne McGregor, and Frederick Ashton.

The show was great!  Here's the programme trailer that I found out on YouTube.

©Wiener Staatsoper

Louskáček Time Again

It's Louskáček time again!!  Time to go see The Nutcracker at the Janáček Theatre.


This really has become a Christmas tradition here.  I think I've seen it at least four of the past seven years.



The ballet here in Brno really is world class.  And you can't beat centre seating.

Petr Pan

Earlier today, Krasimir and I caught a matinee performance at the Mahen Theater.

We went to see the Bohemia Ballet from Prague perform Petr Pan.    

Normally, everything we go see is at the Janáček Theater so this was a nice treat.  The theater is absolutely beautiful.  It's smaller than the Janáček Theater but very posh.










I was a little nervous about the show.  A ballet about Peter Pan, and a matinee to boot, meant that there were lots of children.  But Everyone behaved, even me.  The performance was great.  I can't wait to see what's next.

Nutcracker Time

Sunday night was Louskáček time at the Janáček Theater.  This has turned in to a regular Christmas tradition here in Brno with my friends.  Claudia and I went in 2009, and then joined others in 2010.  I missed last year because I was off traveling some place so I wanted to make sure that I didn't miss this year's performance.

The show was quite good but the 2009 performance was still the best. 

Lucidor and Arabella

I've said it before and I'll say it again.  Brno has got a great cultural scene going on here.  The ballets and operas that I've seen here rival any that I've seen before.  Every time there is a performance at the Janáčkovo divadlo (Jancek theater) you see tour buses from Austria.  It makes sense that people come here because the performances are just as good as in Vienna and at a fraction of the cost.

I only wish that my Czech was good enough so that I could see some of the dramas and comedies at of the local theaters.  I've heard good things about those too. 

Tonight, I joined Claudia, and her friend Yvonne, who is visiting from Berlin, at the ballet.  Last night was the premier of Lucidor a Arabella so we saw the second performance.  It was amazing!  The performers danced with such passion and the costumes and stage settings were just great.  This is one that I wouldn't mind seeing again.

The Nutcracker

It's December so this means that it's time to go to Janáčkovo divadlo, Brno's largest theater, to see a performance of Louskáček (The Nutcracker).

One really nice thing about living here is that the theater is top notch and not expensive at all. What I can see here for $15 - $20 would cost me at least $50 - $100 back in Atlanta. Every time there is a performance at Janáčkovo you'll see Austrian tour buses because so many people from Vienna come up here for shows because it's less expensive than in Austria.

The performance was good but I thought the lead dancers were a little better last year. But the company was excellent and we had a great time at dinner after the show.

21st Century Ballet

Wednesday was another night to get dressed up and go out. Claudia’s parents and sister are down from Berlin, so I went out with them, plus Helena and Fero, to the ballet.

Janáčkovo divadlo put on a modern ballet called "Balet 21 Století". The performance was amazing!!
This ballet is in 3 acts with contemporary cheoreography set to the music of Antonín Dvořák, Bohuslav Martinů, and Leoš Janáček.

The ballet builds on the work of Polish artist Jack Barocco Przybylowicze to the music of Bach with solo cello performances. The evening ends with "Strawberry Mouth" by German choreographer Mario Schroeder.

After the ballet we went across the street for drinks and Rob joined us there. Thanks to Helena's many connections we even got to meet a few of the principle dancers. Pictures are already posted on Flickr.

Louskáček

On Saturday night, Claudia and I went to see Louskáček (The Nutcracker) at Janáčkovo divadlo - Brno's largest theater.







Claudia's friend Helena is a friend of the principle dancer's mom. So we were able to score some great tickets...second row, center.


The performance was incredible! This is a very international troupe with dancers from Czech Republic, Australia, Serbia, Korea, Brazil and Japan. People regularly come from Vienna just to see the performances here and I can see why. This was one of the best performances I'd ever seen.




It was also a lot of fun getting all dressed up and going out. I can't wait for mid-January when the theater will put on a production of Carmen - my favorite opera.