Rubber: mini-opera for male solo and choir
Deathpath: mini-opera for male solo, two narrators and chorus
A ballad about four girls, a virgin and a colonel: for solos, girls' and men's choir

All three mini operas are connected not only by the personality of the composer, but also by the fact that they were part of the theatre productions of the then Hanácký Theatre in Prostějov (now HaDivadlo) in the 1980s. They also have in common a unique musical and theatrical poetics combining melancholic positions with a certain detachment and humour, as is typical of Jiří Bulis's musical work.

The mini-opera Guma, performed at the Haná Theatre to a text by Miloš Černoušek, was part of an original production entitled Guma (Episodes from the Life of Josef G.) by director Arnošt Goldflam in 1985. This mini-opera was part of an episodic portrayal of the life of the main character of the entire production - Josef Guma, who had to deal with his work duties, although he always preferred to write poetic poems. The mini-operas Smrtipot and Ballad of Four Girls, a Virgin and a Colonel, both based on texts by Alexander Ivanovich Vvedensky (translated by Václav Danek), were part of the production Mirroring (1984, directed by Arnošt Goldflam), also at the Hanacky Theatre. The light-hearted Ballad of Four Girls, a Virgin and a Colonel tells the story of a Russian officer who lures one of the girls into his private life. But who will undress whom remains to be seen. In contrast, the tragicomic mini-opera Deathpot for male solo, two narrators and chorus raises a puzzling question: What, or who, is Deathpots? The dying father knows the answer, but will he be able to pass it on to his sons? He'll change his mind as soon as his offspring finish the quadrille!

Implementation team:

Music:

Jiri Bulis

Musical arrangements and staging:

Dada Klementová

Directed by:

Katerina Krivankova

Set and costumes:

Sylva Marková

They're singing:

Aneta Podracká Bendová
Klára Jelínková
Tereza Gazárková
Ales Janiga
Michal Robotka
Peter Gác

The cast:

Dada Klementová piano
Jan Belohlavek violin
Iva Wiesnerová cello
Lubor Pokluda clarinet