Who wouldn’t long for true love… the ageing Mr Vok of Rožmberk is no exception, but he hasn’t managed to find it yet. His knight Jarek has his lovely Katuška, but he has sworn not to marry until he has found a bride for his master as well. The hermit Beneš, on the other hand, is so keen for Mr Vok to bequeath his fortune to the church that he would even succumb to the temptation of Rarach himself… because even the best intentions can lead us to have to choose between good and evil!

Bedřich Smetana was originally thinking of writing a comic opera with librettist Eliška Krásnohorská. Ultimately, during the composition of his last completed opera, the composer found moments in the romantic text inspired by an old legend about a wall of stones built by the devil on the river by the monastery in Vyšší Brod that gave the whole story a different tone. Smetana’s isolation in Jabkenice and his dismal state of health and depression were reflected in the individual characters, and the comedy was replaced by the depth of their feelings. The humour did not disappear entirely, however, though it is wedded to the desire for love, wisdom in life, melancholy and devilish temptation, so that the principal tone was a celebration of love, loyalty and self-sacrifice. Musically, Bedřich Smetana was ahead of his time in The Devil’s Wall, and although the opera had its premiere in 1882, its style clearly points towards the twentieth century. Its libretto, moving between reality and fantasy, makes staging the piece a considerable challenge, and we see it rarely on the stage, which makes it all the more wonderful to bring it back to the boards of the Janáček Theatre after almost fifty years with its new chief conductor Robert Kružík and a stellar cast including Kateřina Kněžíková, Romana Kružíková, Jiří Brückler, Roman Hoza and Jan Šťáva.

Premiere on 6 February 2026 at the Janáček Theatre

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