Místo konání pořadu se pro návštěvníky otevírá 75 minut před jeho začátkem. V letošním pandemickém roce bude kromě běžné kontroly vstupenek probíhat také kontrola dokladů o bezinfekčnosti návštěvníků, doporučujeme proto opravdu včasný příchod – sledujte článek „Covid info“ pro aktuálně platné podmínky pro vstup do hlediště.
V případě potřeby je možné podstoupit antigenní test přímo na místě v certifikovaném odběrovém stanu. Doporučujeme rezervovat si čas předem zde.
The place where the performance will take place is open to visitors 60 minutes before it starts.
Arrival and check-In
At the entrance, it’s necessary to show a valid ticket and if you have a discount, to present proof of entitlement. Those with health or physical handicaps are allowed a discount to all performances (except the Night at the Nové Hrady Chateau); they should present a ZTP (severe health disability) or ZTP/P (severe health disability w/caregiver) card as proof. It’s possible to use discounts for children under 15 and students only for certain specified performances. Children are required to prove their age only in questionable cases, e.g., with a passport or any other kind of official identity card with a photograph; students can show their student ID card or other proof (report card, etc.). If a particular concert allows a discount for holders of a payment or benefit card, it is necessary to present this card.
For safety reasons, you may be checked at the entrance. It’s forbidden to bring weapons, explosives, flammable materials, or any other type of object that can be considered dangerous or be used as a weapon into the performance area. It’s forbidden to bring pets into the audience, including if they are on a lead or are being carried. With the exception of plastic, dishware and other containers do not belong in the audience.
Before the Festival program begins
Before the start of the concert, you can go find refreshments at the stands or you can purchase a program, a festival catalog, recordings, books, various souvenirs, or even a rain poncho or umbrella. At the entry to the audience, you will receive the current issue of the Festival News, which you can read once you’ve settled into your seat.
Audience seating
Guests are allowed into the actual audience space beginning 60 minutes before the start of the concert. Scout out your seats in time, especially if you are holding tickets to places in the middle of the audience in the castle courtyard (seats 15-40), where the rows are very long. A tone sounding out the first few notes of Bedřich Smetana’s Bohemian Song will alert you to the best time to sit down in your seat. This happens in three parts: after the first set of tones, audience members sitting in the middle seats should be seated, after the second set, those in the outer seats, and after the third set, the entrance to the audience is closed and the musicians begin to enter.
From this point on, it is not permitted to enter the audience; in case of a late arrival, ushers will seat you only during applause in a currently available seat in the outer areas of the audience. You will be able to take your rightful seat only after intermission.
Be considerate
Even though you will be requested to turn off the sound on your mobile telephones, it is best to do this immediately upon arrival in the audience area. There is possibly no moment more awkward than when your telephone rings and an entire audience turns to look at you with disdain (and rightfully so!). During the concert, do not use your telephone for any reason – photography and recordings are forbidden; texting and surfing the internet are not only unsociable, but the light will disturb your neighbors.
During the concert, smoking and any kind of interruption are naturally forbidden. A guest who interrupts the concert with loud speech or disruptive behavior or who doesn’t respect the ban on making sound recordings or taking photographs can be escorted from the audience by the organizers without recourse to ticket reimbursement.
If you don't feel well
Especially on hot days, certain audience members can wind up feeling unwell. Festival organizers, firefighters, and paramedics are carefully watching the audience during the entire length of the concert, and you need only raise your hand to alert them and have them call for immediate help.
Obzvláště během horkých dní se může některému divákovi udělat nevolno. Pořadatelé, hasiči i zdravotníci po celou dobu konání pořadu pozorně sledují hlediště a stačí tak jen zdvihnout ruku k jejich upozornění a přivolání rychlé pomoci. Toalety v zámeckém nádvoří během pořadu použijte jen v případě nezbytné potřeby, o přestávce jsou k dispozici velkokapacitní toalety v budově za kafeterií.
Intermission
Concerts usually have an intermission, with the exception of concerts listing only one composition. Sometimes opera performances have two or even more intermissions. During these, you can stretch your legs – refreshments stands and restrooms are available. Smoking is only possible outside buildings. When at a concert taking place inside the castle grounds, you can visit Bedřich Smetana’s birthplace. Near the end of the intermission, which is usually 20 minutes, the festival’s signature tone will warn you three times.
Clapping
Frequent classical music concertgoers know that there is no applause between the movements of compositions in cyclic form. However, sometimes even they don’t know the presented composition perfectly and therefore don’t know which part is being played or how many movements are still left until the end. The composer can also complicate how the movements being played are counted even for those who have bought and studied the program by specifying attacca, which is a continuation to the next movement without pause. Therefore, at the Smetana’s Litomyšl concerts in the castle courtyard, the movements tend to be a listed on an LED panel next to the podium, with an indication of the one currently being played. Don’t make the mistake, however, of starting to applaud right at the moment when the conductor lowers his arms and turns to face the public. There’s no need to rush; a moment of silence after the concert has finished only enhances the experience of a piece well played. And remember that standing applause is not commonly given at every concert. It shouldn’t be the norm, but rather an expression of a truly exception emotion that has propelled you from your seat!
Be warned – a trip to Litomyšl is so rewarding that whoever comes once will be captivated for life. Try it and you will see!
We are happy to answer your questions. Please ask Jana:
Jana Bisová
secretary
+420 461 612 575
info@smetanovalitomysl.cz
