The World Premiere Received Ovations
vž 1. December -1 zdroj Haló noviny
…Long-time ovations were received by the world premiere of the musical Babylon written by Zdeněk Merta and Stanislav Moša and performed mainly by young graduates from schools of music and dramatic arts on the stage of the Brno Municipal Theatre on Saturday and Sunday. In the applauding audience there were representatives of the Ministry of Culture, members of Parliament, senators…
Brno Babylon Confusion of Thoughts
Radmila Hrdinová 1. December -1 zdroj Právo
…Babylon is performed in a rectangular space closed by the audience from two sides (the scene by Emil Konečný), rather tight to start playing an inventive choreography by Vladimír Kloubek which is the most valued feature of the presentation.
…The ensemble of the Municipal Theatre has proved again that it is endowed sufficiently with dancing and singing abilities so as to run the musical theatre of such type as Merta’s music makes many demands particularly on the singing range of soloists...
Brno Babylon Built on a New Generation
Zdeněk A. Tichý 1. December -1 zdroj Mladá fronta
…The ensemble of the Municipal Theatre introduced itself in a gorgeous condition gathering the fruits of its continuous work with a new musical generation: Roman Vojtek as Shamash (alternating with Stano Slovák) is singing and capering “by the way” suspended high on the ropes. Petra Jungmanová coped with the part of Harra (alternating with Jana Vaculíková) with a go-ahead manner of a musical star and expressed the transformation of love into a killing venom not only by her voice but also by dancing. A part of Mother whose final solo is the most impressive place of the performance was acted in two premieres by Irena Budweiserová and Zora Jandová (alternating with Monika Maláčová). Budweiserová’s priority is sharper singing while Jandová’s expression is richer by theatrical nuances. The performance of the whole ensemble was united by Vladimír Kloubek’s choreography…
Nearer to the Opera than to Babylon
Jiří Černý 1. December -1 zdroj Svět a divadlo
…If you believe that the performance evoking expectation and chill just in the first minute cannot already descend to boredom, then Babylon will justify your views. Lonely strokes of invisible atavistic music are thudding to a little elliptical space filled up with a crowd in the colour of desert sand and with the bodies of actors. The nearest spectators sitting this time on two sides – in the depth of the stage – have free, silk skirts, trousers, backs and faces of main characters and the choir within their grasp. Over them, Shamash, the God of Sun, resembling a varicoloured bird, is swinging on the ropes. Somewhat of a god, somewhat of an amused commentator of shimmering taking place under him, a character with the traces of Komtur and Papagenes, taunting, gorgeous and threatening …
…This Babylon is not about the desire to equal the gods, but about the desire for love. Merta’s music is extremely strong in love hints presented in several ways …
…I think that Babylon is an extraordinary, creative act, even because of its position on the borderline between the musical and the current opera.
