Daniel Dvořák

The academic architect Daniel Dvořák graduated from the Academy of Applied Arts in Prague, where he had studied architecture and stage design with Prof. Josef Svoboda; then he studied in Vienna at the Akademie der bildenden Künste (Prof. Lois Egg). After a study stay in the USA he started working as a theatre, film and television scenographer. Up to now he has created more than 200 stage settings for the theatre both at home and abroad (e.g. in Germany, Italy, France, Finland, Switzerland, Ireland, Greece, Latvia, Norway, Russia, Slovakia, Argentina, Japan and Korea).

In 1988 he and Jiří Nekvasil co-founded an Opera Furore ensemble, the first one in Czechoslovakia to systematically focus on experimental opera. In 1990 he was appointed the Intendant of the Chamber Opera Prague, which he reorganized to Opera Mozart. In 1998 he was named the Intendant of the Prague State Opera. From 2002 to 2006 worked as the General Director of the National Theatre (Prague) and since 2007 of the National Theatre Brno – the most prominent theatrical institutions in the Czech Republic. In 1992 he co-founded the Summer Mozart Stagioni in the Estates Theatre and created stage designs for them, e.g. Die Zauberflöte, Le nozze di Figaro, La clemenza di Tito, Don Giovanni. He has been cooperating with the National Theatre in Prague as stage designer since 1983 and has created here more than 30 stage settings, e.g. Macbeth, Il trovatore, Lucia di Lammermoor, The Comedian, The Death of Klinghoffer, Greek’s Passions, La Fanciulla dell West, Norma, and at National Theatre Brno since 1985 (Katya Kabanova, Queen Margot, Macbeth, Juliette, Madama Butterfly).

As a stage designer in the Prague State Opera he carried out mainly world premieres, such as Bubu from Montparnass by E. F. Burian (1999), Faidra by Emil Viklický (2000), Die Physiker by Andreas Pflüger (2000). In addition there have been stage designs for Weber’s Der Freischütz, The Polish Jew by Karel Weis, The Fall of the House of Usher by Philip Glass, Es war einmal by Alexander Zemlinsky, etc.

As a specialist in monumental and technologically complicated stage designs he was invited to collaborate on the greatest Czech musical projects, such as Dracula and Monte Christo. His art direction of the film Rebels was nominated for the Czech Lion, and he is also the author of the stage setting of the homonymous musical in the Broadway Theatre (2003). He created the stage design for the Prague versions of the world musicals West Side Story (2003) and Miss Saigon (2004). In total contrast are his projects for puppet film and puppet theatre. In 1991 he co-founded the National Marionette Theatre and is a co-author of the most successful Czech theatre production since 1990: the marionette version of Don Giovanni (since 1991 there have been more than 4,000 performances and frequent guest-performances abroad). Additionally, he created marionettes for a miniature Baroque theatre mechanism (1993, The Miraculous Theatre of the Baroque World) and a series of Czech national fairytales (1995–1997). In 2002 he co-founded the Marionettes Museum in Český Krumlov. A number of his works for the theatre have been filmed by Czech Television (e.g. The Best of Mozart, Bubu from Montparnass, Golem, The Polish Jew, Dracula). He also creates stage designs for music films (e.g. Odysseus’ Return, European Tourism, Signorina Gioventù) and special TV events (a festive concert on the occasion of accession of the Czech Republic to the European Union, An Evening for Václav Havel’s Farewell to his Presidency of the Czech Republic). A special chapter of his artistic production is represented by specific light design projects and exploiting optical illusion (le trompe d’oeil), in which he further develops original techniques of Prof. Josef Svoboda. His works are displayed in individual and group exhibitions (last time in 2004 in the most distinguished Prague gallery Mánes). In the Prague Quadrennial 1999, the main prize, the Golden Triga, was awarded to the Czech exhibition, in which he participated. In 1999 he won the Alfréd Radok Award for Best Scenography and in 2001 was nominated again. In the same year he received the Masaryk Academy of Art Prize for his scenography achievements. In 2002 he was appointed by the French government the Knight of the Order of Arts and Literature (Ordre des Arts et des Lettres). Two monographs have been published about his work and he was included in the prestigious television series GEN, which documents activities of the most prominent personalities of the Czech Republic.

In addition to creative scenography work he was also active as a theatre and film producer (the Mozart Open festival, Mozart’s Summer Stagioni at the Estates Theatre) and his studio engages in implementing exhibition projects, scenography of special projections and light (besides the Czech Republic also in UK and Germany and Finland).