The exhibition Famous Czech Composers brought a number of guests from the Czech National Museum to the Czech Center New York, including the Museum’s Director General Michal Lukeš and his deputies as well as staff members of the Czech Museum of Music.
The visit of the director of the Czech Museum of Music Emanuele Gadaleta and the head of the Antonín Dvořák Museum Veronika Vejvodová during the final days of the exhibition was packed with meetings and events. They had an opportunity to talk with Véronique Firkusny, Charlotta Kotik, Susan Lucak, Majda Kallab and many others. They attended concerts at DAHA and the Czech Center New York, and they visited a number of New York’s musical, educational and cultural institutions. They also offered commented tours of the exhibition and held a lecture on forgotten correspondence of Antonín Dvořák.
The Czech Center New York arranged a special visit to the Archive of the Metropolitan Opera for experts from the National Museum. They were able to see the Bartered Bride costumes worn by the opera singer Jarmila Novotná or the costume donned by Maria Jeritza as the first Turandot at the Metropolitan Opera; Maria Jeritza was a friend and pupil of the famous Czech opera singer Ema Destinnová. The mutual trust which has developed between the Czech Center New York and the Metropolitan Opera as well as other institutions over the past three decades makes it possible for the Czech Center to receive loans from the Opera archives.
Photo credit: Miroslav Konvalina
