9 WEEKS OF BAROQUE FESTIVAL

22 August | Saturday 6:00pm – 10:00pm
A BAROQUE CELEBRATION / MANĚTÍN CHATEAU
A programme of Baroque entertainment. Hartig Ensemble, Ritornello. Music, dance, fragrances, Baroque menu and fireworks.
The greatest gems of West Bohemian Baroque surely include the Manětín Chateau. The uniqueness of the chateau, the park and the landscape with Baroque statues is not appreciated enough today and is awaiting rediscovery. We trust that the 9 Weeks of Baroque festival will contribute to this and the several-year long effort of the Pilsen 2015 team in promoting the theme of West Bohemian Baroque as a European cultural discovery will bear fruit. The current Baroque look of the estate was preceded by a medieval citadel situated in the north-west corner of today's premises. During the Renaissance era, the manor gained a representative character, as is documented by fragments of the Renaissance-painted decorations of the facade which were uncovered during the renovation. The peak-Baroque reconstruction we know today was carried out during the times of Václav Josef Lažanský and his wife Marie Gabriela Lažanská after the big fire of 1712. The fire engulfed the entire town centre. It started at house No. 92 and caught the Church of St John the Baptist, the school and more than, half of the bourgeois houses and the castle. The gentry then started a radical reconstruction. The acclaimed expert and later imperial architect Tomáš Haffenecker created the technical documentation for the Manětín Chateau between 1712 and 1715 and led the construction almost until the end as the supervising architect. He built a long storeyed L-shaped building with an adjoining farmyard representing the entire southern part of the square. On the west side, the castle was linked with the oratory in the Church of St John the Baptist via a covered corridor. The Manětín Chateau and the adjoining park were listed on 1 January 2002 as a national heritage item. It is currently in the care of the National Heritage Institute.

PROGRAMME
The last big Baroque celebration of the festival will take place in the beautiful surroundings of the Manětín Chateau. The opening of the evening will be followed by an unusual tour around the chateau. The garden will offer a rich programme while waiting for dusk. Apart from musical performances by the acclaimed group Ritornello led by Michael Pospíšil and a theatre performance by Studio dell'arte, you will be able to smell the fragrances of Baroque prepared by the perfume-maker Petra Hlavatá. You can look forward to a falconry show, rides in coaches pulled by horses, acrobats, jugglers and a Baroque menu. The highlight of the evening will be the show Dances of Baroque by the Hartig ensemble. The artists will perform period dances in this original choreography by Prof. Helena Kazárová accompanied by musicians from Musica Florea. The entire evening will culminate in lighting the park with hundreds of candles and Baroque fireworks by the Theatrum pyrotechnicum from Český Krumlov.

Time: 6:00pm opening
6:20pm – 8:00pm a guided tour of the chateau, a programme in the park, concert by Ritornello, a Baroque menu tasting, a falconry display, shows by Studio dell'arte, acrobats and jugglers, coaches with horses.
8:30pm Dances of Baroque / Hartig ensemble – period dances in the chateau gardens choreographed by Helena Kazárová accompanied by the soloist Irena Troupová and musisicans from Musica Florea.
9:45pm Baroque fireworks Theatrum Pyrotechnicum from Český Krumlov.

ARTISTS AND PARTICIPANTS
DANCE COMPANY HARTING ENSEMBLE
STUDIO DELL'ARTE
PILSEN FANFARE GROUP
JUGGLERS
DANCE COMPANY ARVENA
THE FALCONER MILAN STRAKA
PILSEN OBSERVATORY
PETRA HLAVATÁ | FRAGRANCES OF BAROQUE
TEATRUM PYTECHNICUM | BAROQUE FIREWORKS

Admission: CZK 300 | 150
TICKETS AVAILABLE IN ADVANCE
Capacity of the church: 350 places
Produced by: Pilsen 2015

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