Exhibitions

We have participated on an exhibition project called The Bride Bartered Abroad, mapping the history of the most famous opera of Bedřich Smetana in a foreign context. The exposition includes also a memory of Jarmila Novotná and her top era at the Metropolitan Opera. The exhibition is organized by the National Museum – Museum of B. Smetana where it can be visited from March 6, 2019 to November 2, 2020.

The  Jarmila Novotná Festival 2016 has started with The Touring Exhibition about the Life of Jarmila Novotná titled Jarmila Novotná: Opera Diva for the first time presented in various galleries and exhibition spaces in the Czech Republic. This project is a continuation and a modified version of the unique exhibition of Jarmila Novotná´s original opera costumes rented by the archive of Metropolitan Opera in New York which was held in the Municipal House in Prague in fall 2015. The exhibition was opened at the Museum of Czech Karst in Beroun (January 27 – April 30, 2016), its second stop was Gustav Mahler’s birth house in Kaliště near Humpolec (July 6 – August 31, 2016) and as the first project of Jarmila Novotná Festival 2017 it was installed in the Mythological Corridor of the Wallenstein Palace (March 30 – May 28, 2017). Within the 7th annual of the Festival the exhibition was held at Bookstore and Antique Shop Fryč in Liberec (April 3-30, 2018). The exhibition is planned to be presented in other cities of the Czech Republic in upcoming years.

It consists of large pictures documenting the life of this world-known diva. Some of them depict the most famous opera costumes she once wore on world opera stages – costumes that accompanied her to the peak of her career, other original portraits provide a testimony of how irresistibly she looked when she sang her roles in them.

The items from the museum collection of the Association of Chateau Liteň and the diva´s property together with the information about the career of Jarmila Novotná are also part of this exhibition. They are complemented by biographical dates and data about the places of her performances presented – together with the historical context of her life – on an easily readable timeline.

The first stop took place at the Museum of Czech Karst in Beroun between January 27 and April 30, 2016. The exposition was also enriched by some of the items from the Museum´s collection and also by artefacts that were rented by the depository of the Chateau Hořovice. The exhibition is going to be presented in various galleries and exhibition spaces in the Czech Republic also in upcoming years.

In the 2015 the unique exhibition of opera costumes of Jarmila Novotná was held in the Municipal House in Prague. This was the first time when the costumes of Jarmila Novotná owned by the Metropolitan Opera were lent to the Czech Republic. This special exposition were held in Prague’s Municipal House from September 9, 2015 till January 4, 2016.