NEWS | 25. 8. 2017
To experience a spectacular Baroque celebration in the court of Emperor Leopold I, visitors of the Baroque Culture Festival Hortus Magicus can already enjoy the first September weekend. They can enjoy baroque operas, theater performances, fireworks and even dancing horses, all in a beautiful setting of the recently renovated Flower Garden, one of UNESCO sites.
It is the era of the grandfather of Maria Theresa, the emperor and the composer Leopold I, which is the epoch of this years Hortus Magicus festival. It was about the time of the flowering of the theater. The second half of the seventeenth century has fundamentally influenced artistic thinking in the Habsburg governments, which will be reflected in this years Hortus Magicus program.
“Festivity in the form of great musical dramatic and dance productions or the beginnings of commedia dellarte development have become the theme of this year,” said dramaturgy of the festival Kateřina Fajtlová.
Hortus Magicus offers visitors a track from the time of Leopold I. They survived in the Kroměříž music archive after the Bishop Karel from Lichtenstein-Castelcorna received the Viennese court. Thanks to this, the audience can look forward to the musical dramatic show Festa di Sua Maestro Caesarea Leopoldo (The Feast of His Imperial Grace Leopold I) created specifically for the festival. Its culmination will be the spectacular Baroque Theatrum Pyrotechnicum. Ensemble Damian, Geisslers Hofcomoedianten, Plaisirs de Musique and others will be presenting the individual performances.
For the smallest visitors to the festival there will be prepared games, competitions and they can also enjoy popular fairy tales and creative workshops. “The fun of the childrens audience will be taken care of by the Doudleb Juggling Theater with its Great Circus Fairy tale. The two festival days intersect storytelling, in the Czech Republic still not quite a theatrical genre. A group of narrators offers audiences stories from Ovids Promenas, so often worked in the art of high court culture, “said Fajtlová.
After both days, visitors to the Hortus Magicus festival can enjoy horse dancing performances. These performances are loosely linked to the exhibition dancing horses, which can be seen in the Kroměříž Chateau and presents visitors with visual and graphic documentation of the 17th century festive feast with the splendid backdrop of the Baroque Spectacle. Visitors to the Hortus Magicus Festival have free access to the exhibition and the Chateau Picture Gallery.
The festival also includes rental of costumes, babysitting for shows or refreshments including wine tasting.