ZUŠ Open: Festival Prologue in Valtice
A refreshing festival prologue in the form of a unique opera performance took place in the baroque theatre at Valtice Castle on May 16. The thrilling Dido and Aeneas by Henry Purcell was the highlight of the entire day, filled with stunning performances. This day was part of the festival ZUŠ Open, which celebrates its 10th anniversary in 2026.
The endowment fund of Magdalena Kožená was established by the festival patron Magdalena Kožená in 2016 to support the creation of an environment in which the unique and prestigious Czech elementary art schools are the cultural centrepiece of the entire nation: “I live in Berlin with my family. When my kids started to play musical instruments, I came to a realization that no other nation has such a genial system of artistic education as we do in Czechia. That it is not given. I wanted to point that out,” describes Magdalena, her motive, which led her when creating the project. Its flagship is definitely the festival ZUŠ Open, with which our festival is closely and frequently in partnership. This exact partnership is the reason this special Opera production could have taken place.
The students of elementary art schools performed a scenic rendition of a shorter version of the well-known baroque opera by Henry Purcell, Dido and Aeneas: The Voice of Future, which took place on Saturday, May 16 2026, at 5 pm and 8 pm in the baroque theatre of Valtice Castle. The young artists studied the play under the supervision of Jana Krajčovičová Tajovská, and the artistic director of the project was Martin Hroch.
This year’s performance is a reprise of the successful production, which was created last year. The video report caught the atmosphere of the entire event and the energy of the young interpreters. You can check it down below.