Marriage Minioperas

The Marriage Minioperas, written in 2006 and 2007 by Diversa’s core team of composer Ondřej Kyas and librettist Pavel Drábek, consists of four short mini-opera stories: The Robber Bride, The Singing Bridegroom, Man and Wife on a Boat and The Postman (full name: The Postman, the Mortiers and the Covering of the Neva Masquerade). The librettos of The Robber Bride and The Singing Bridegroom originate in Japanese Kyogen comedies, while the libretto of Man and Wife on a Boat adapts a story from Rakugo, the Japanese art of storytelling. Still, as the librettist notes, though the stories are inspired by Japan, the events that play out could happen anywhere – even in the Czech lands. The Post may well be set in France. Or not.

“The Marriage Minioperas show that it is very common to experience tension, doubt, conflict, or even a degree of burnout when in a relationship with someone. But it’s always a good idea to cool off and think it over before taking action. These mini-operas tell stories of people and their relationships and how a situation they find themselves in can bring both pleasure and pain. In another twenty-five years, they’ll be telling these stories to their friends as anecdotes, with a great deal of licence and humour. Human relationships change and we never know what may befall us. And that’s also true of human paths, as our mini-opera postman demonstrates – perhaps going astray on his way from faraway Japan. Can he fulfil his task and deliver everything he has to?” – Kateřina Křivánková, director

About the company

Ensemble Opera Diversa is an independent music and opera company based in Brno. Diversa’s core artistic activities include producing new Czech chamber operas, developing innovative dramaturgy for chamber orchestras and ensembles, and performing small choral works. Since its establishment in 2003, the company has premiered dozens of new operas, including seven full-length operas, mostly by the core team of Ondřej Kyas (music) and Pavel Drábek (libretto). Most recently, Diversa staged a new chamber opera by Ondřej Kyas (music) and Kateřina Křivánková (libretto) entitled Světlo na konci tmy (Light at the End of Darkness). Ensemble Opera Diversa has premiered dozens of new musical, vocal and orchestral compositions and recorded several CDs, including a series of Jan Novák’s orchestral works.