Czech Christmas Mass

About

Jakub Jan Ryba’s Czech Christmas Mass has become an inseparable part of Czech Christmas. We hear it in churches and concert halls, we know it by heart and love its pure simplicity. Composed in 1796, it ensured its composer’s immortality despite his many other vocal and instrumental works. DJKT Opera presents Ryba’s Czech Christmas Mass in a staged form, complemented by other period pieces. Opera soloists, the chorus and a large children’s choir perform. With this production the theatre established a tradition of presenting the Mass every Christmas season, each year with a refreshed first half of the evening. This season, Part I includes Frescobaldi’s Toccata from Fiori musicali, Ryba’s pastorella Rozmilý slavíčku, Vejvanovský’s Sonata Natalis, and a concluding Christmas Interlude. Soprano Andrea Frídová sings; trumpeters František Bayer and Jaroslav Suchan perform; and the organ intermezzi are played by Aleš Nosek, organist and choirmaster of St Bartholomew’s Cathedral in Plzeň.