Come and enjoy a music lover´s cherished tradition since 1992 and a MUST for all opera lovers and connoisseurs!
The Kaiserstein Palace is one the most stunning Baroque buildings in Prague. This architectural jewel is situated
at the Prague´s picturesque Malá Strana (Lesser Town or Little Quarter), close to the St Nicolas Church, the Wallenstein Palace and the Prague
Castle. It was first mentioned in historical records as early as 1404. The concert hall of the Kaiserstein Palace was named the Emmy Destinn
Hall in honour of the world-renown opera singer and greatest of all Czech divas,
Emmy Destinn who resided in the Kaiserstein Palace from 1908
to 1914. At the age of twenty Emmy Destinn (1878 - 1930) became a soloist at the Berlin Royal Opera and soon after a member of the Royal
Opera House in Covent Garden for eleven seasons where she was the quintessential opera star (she also sang at the coronation of the
King George V in 1911). She reached the pinacle of her career with the Metropolitan Opera in New York from 1908 to 1915
and was their highest paid female singer. Emmy Destinn was a flamboyant yet tragic figure and here love affairs were legendary. Among her admirers
were the great Enrico Caruso - they were called "the divine duo" when they sang together, Dingh Gigli who learnt Czech just to be able
to sing with her in Prague, and even the great maestro Arturo Toscanini.
Up until 2000 these musical soirees were held at the gothic palace The House At the Stone Bell,
hence the name of the Series.
Outstanding world singers came into the number of Stone Bell Series -
Prague Opera Gala principal guest stars:
Italian tenor Gaetano Bardini, formerly soloist of the New York Metropolitan Opera, American soprano Pauletta de Vaughn, Aida of the Verona Arena,
Ukrainian tenor Vladimir Grishko, Rodolfo with the New York Metropolitan Opera. Also have appeared in the Stone Bell Series Australian dramatic
soprano Elizabeth Whitehouse and Czech helden tenor Jan Vacík who performed in Fidelio at La Scala in
2000; the »King of Czech Singers« baritone
Ivan Kusnjer; Prague's leading tenor Valentin Prolat from Russia; Prague's leading dramatic soprano
Anda-Louise Bogza, Leonora
with the Vienna State Opera;
Prague's Carmen and a rising world star
Jana Sýkorová; soprano Lívia
Agh, Olympia with Berlin State Opera and Xenia with the Munich Bavarian Opera;
and many others.
The performances feature famous opera arias and duets by both foreign and Czech composers -
Mozart,
Rossini, Verdi, Puccini, Leoncavallo, Tchaikovsky, Dvořák, Smetana,
Wagner,
Bizet, Gounod etc. Some of our much favourite performances consist
in a half of arias from one particular opera (La Traviata, Rigoletto,
Carmen, La Bohème, Madama Butterfly, Cavalleria Rusticana, Faust), or
of a selection of arias from Amadeus Mozart's works (Marriage of Figaro, The Magic Flute,
Don Giovanni).
In the Emmy Destinn Hall there are three seating sectors with un-numbered seats. The ticket prices include a complimentary
glass of champagne during the interval.
