The 30th jubilee of the International Music Festival Český Krumlov will be about celebrations and the organisers say it will be truly spectacular. The festival of classical music will take place from 4 to 18 September in Český Krumlov, the south Bohemian historical gem inscribed by UNESCO.
Programme full of famous names
The South Bohemian festival will open with a gala concert under the stars, performed by opera singer Plácido Domingo, with a view of the Český Krumlov Chateau (4/9). Bass-baritone Adam Plachetka will also perform at the festival with his guests (17/9), world-famous violinist Leticia Moreno will present the work of Antonín Dvořák (18/9) and jazz legend Billy Cobham will play the best of his repertoire (10/9). The festival will commemorate the anniversaries of famous composers Wolfgang A. Mozart, Antonín Dvořák and Antonio Vivaldi, or 30 years of the Visegrad Agreement. The programme is full of famous names, both from the contemporary scenes and from the past, names that will be commemorated.
This year’s novelty
This year, visitors can look forward to one very pleasant novelty. It is the Festival Zone. The Brewery Garden in the centre of Český Krumlov has transformed into a place full of art, relaxation, entertainment and good food. It first opened to the public on 31 July with the Czech première of Wild Symphony by world-famous authors and composer Dan Brown, who personally read from a book of the same title during the symphony. In the following weeks, the Festival Zone will host classical and popular music concerts, or an outdoor cinema. You can relax in deckchairs, play board games, paint, or do yoga. The Festival Zone is open until 11 September and admission is free.
What you should know about the festival
The Český Krumlov festival has organised 539 concerts and performances over 29 years of its existence, with more than 12 thousand performers from 40 countries of the world. This year’s 30th festival will be a celebration of all the previous successful festivals, now offering the aforesaid Festival Zone. The organisers hope that the following decade will start off on the right foot and that it will be as popular in the future as it is now. For thirty years, the festival has made use of the unique environment of a historical town – the music evenings take place in the Chateau Garden, in the Baroque Theatre, or the Masquerade Hall of the Český Krumlov Chateau and other places in the town with a unique genius loci.
