Prague Spring international music festival begins Monday

The 63rd Prague Spring international music festival gets underway in the Czech capital on Monday evening. As is traditional, the opening concert will feature Má vlast by the great Czech composer Bedřich Smetana. Five prestigious foreign orchestras are taking part, including the BBC Symphonic Orchestra led by the Czech conductor Jiří Bělohlávek and Britain’s longest-established professional symphony orchestra, Manchester’s Halle Orchestra. This year’s Prague Spring features 50 concerts and seven theatre performances and runs until June 4.