Carl Orff: CARMINA BURANA

The iconic Carmina Burana performed by the Bohemian Symphony Orchestra Prague will resound in the Municipal House in May

On May 14, 2024 at 8 p.m. in the most prestigious concert hall in Bohemia – the Smetana Hall of the Prague Municipal House – the Bohemian Symphony Orchestra will perform one of the most popular works in musical history,  CARMIN BURANO by Carl Orff.

160 artists from the Bohemian Symphony Orchestra Prague, Bohemian Choir Prague will be led by the orchestra's chief conductor Martin Šanda. Leading Czech soprano Lucie Silkenová, guest soloist of the National Theater baritone Jakub Tolaš and soloist of the National Theater tenor Josef Moravec will perform as soloists. In addition to the classical choir, the Rokytka children's choir will also perform at the concert, and this will guarantee the complete originality of the performance of the work. The entire concert will be accompanied by a special light choreography. So it will be a spectacular audiovisual show.

"Few classical works enjoy such popularity across generations and listeners of various musical genres," remarked Martin Šanda to Carmina Burana. Only the composition O, Fortuna, which was heard in almost a hundred film and television pictures, was declared one of the most used compositions in the film industry. In addition, however, she has also become the target of advertising producers, musicians and computer game creators. It has thus received pop and metal modifications, remixes (e.g. by Tiesto ), a beatbox cover or a transcription for solo guitar or drums. With the passage of time, it thus appears more than paradoxical that at the time of its creation Carmina Burana was questioned and the words of FJEwens, who stated in 1937 for the Kölnische Volkszeitung that "it is not certain whether this work will ever achieve any popularity", fortunately proved as a completely false prophecy. Until today, such an extensive work has not been surpassed and millions of listeners around the world did not miss it.

Since its inception, the orchestra has had countless successes, for example several European tours with rock legends and bands Deep Purple, Nazareth, Europe, Alice Cooper, Toto, Survivor, Foreigner, Journey, Bonnie Tyler, Uriah Heep and others. He can also boast of collaborating on projects with the Swedish band Sabaton, the British band Kosheen, 2Cellos, the famous Spanish opera singer José Carreras or the vocal group The Tenors and Il Volo. The list of star names that had anything to do with the Prague orchestra is really extensive. Violinist Vanessa Mae, singer Sarah Brightman and three-time Grammy winner Michael Bublé are also worth mentioning. The orchestra has also performed a number of classical concerts throughout Europe, but also toured Japan and China. On the Czech stage, BSOP presents, among other things, a number of concerts in the Municipal House in Prague.