Lužánky Park

LIDICKÁ 50

Lužánky Park was opened at the end of the 18th century and is one of the oldest public parks in Central Europe. In 1855 the  architect Ludwig Förster designed a Neo-Renaissance restaurant in the centre of the park known as the Casino. Many different social events were held here including lectures, exhibitions, concerts and balls. As a child, Janáček performed in public concerts here from 1866 to 1869. At the age of sixty-five, when he moved to the house in the garden of the Organ School on Smetanova street, the composer would go to the park for a walk nearly every day and noted many speech melodies, particularly birdsong. In 1908 there was a plan to build the Czech National Theatre on the corner of Lužánky Park.

I remember a ridiculous scene with the Maestro when we were walking in Lužánky Park one day after a midday rehearsal, discussing The Cunning Little Vixen. A small problem had arisen during the rehearsal - how to present the scene when the vixen drives the badger out of his den so that she can live there herself. Janáček accompanied the words "here's a gift from a lady" with a gesture revealing to all the noonday passers-by how he envisaged the scene. For this scene the vixen changed into a dog-fox so that it might be more graphic.

Memoirs of the director Ota Zítek