Passion for music: Czechast with Jakub Hrůša, part 2

What are Jakub Hrůša's feeleings before taking over the music directorship of Royal Opera House in Covent Garden? And is the saying that every Czech is a musician still valid? Listen to this episode of Czechast!

In this second part of our conversation, we explore Jakub’s artistic vision, his programming decisions. When Jakub first conducted at the BBC Proms in 2017, he made a bold programming choice that highlighted a powerful theme in Czech music:

Jakub Hrůša|Photo: Petra Hajská, The Czech Philharmonic Orchestra

"It was a focus on the idea of the inspiration so important in the history of our musical culture in the 19th century of the Hussite chorale. So I even had a local chorus, BBC singers, who sang it on the battlefield."

We also discuss what awaits him at Covent Garden and how he views the challenge of stepping into this prestigious role after the long and highly regarded tenure of Sir Antonio Pappano:

The Royal Opera House in London|Photo: Russ London, Wikimedia Commons, CC BY-SA 3.0

"It will take years for me to really prove myself after this amazing tenure of Tony Papano, who rightly is considered one of the best opera conductors out there. And he was there, as I said, for 22 years, and I thought, now it's really a hard thing to follow, and yet it feels like the best thing ever. Anyway, it was a very clear programmatic idea."

And, of course, we take on a classic question: Does the old Czech saying “Co Čech, to muzikant”—Every Czech is a musician—still hold true today? If you want to know what Jakub Hrůša thinks, listen to this episode of Czechast.