“My Homeland is the great culmination of all that Smetana created in the field of instrumental music, it is the great hymn of our glory. […] Today we shall be witnesses of Smetana’s glory, and therefore also witnesses of our own glory, for My homeland, if it were even one work of our master, would be enough to make him one of the greatest musicians of all nations and ages.

Czech Newspapers, 1882

On 2 July 2021, in the year when the festival was subtitled The Keys to Home, we announced the start of the 200th anniversary of Bedřich Smetana’s birth with a rendering of My Country by identical performers. Now we return to our ‘symphonic gospel’ at its best in the finale of the year’s festival, symbolically subtitled Our Country.

Bedřich Smetana: My Country

cycle of symphonic poems

Vyšehrad • Vltava • Šárka • Z českých luhů a hájů • Tábor • Blaník

photogallery

venue / Festival Hall

The multifunctional hall was nominated for the European Union's Mies van der Rohe Award for Contemporary Architecture in 2007.

More on venue Festival Hall

1,090 / 1,190 / 1,290 / 1,490 CZK
50% discount for ZTP and ZTP/P card holders

Ouverture at 5:30 pm in Church of St. Anne
No intermission
Estimated end at 8 pm
Live broadcast to the Festival Gardens

performers overview

Czech Philharmonic
- partner orchestra of the National Festival Smetana Litomyšl
Conductor Tomáš Netopil
- Principal Guest Conductor of the Czech Philharmonic

frequently asked questions

Where to park?
We recommend parking in the upper part of Smetana Square near the Marian Column. The Festival Hall is about a 5-minute walk away.
Does the Festival Bus Line work for this performance?
Yes, BusLine Festival buses will take you on these routes:
1) Hradec Králové - Pardubice - Holice - Vysoké Mýto - Litomyšl and back,
2) Brno - Letovice - Svitavy - Litomyšl and back.
The service is free of charge, you just need to show a valid ticket. We recommend booking on +420 461 616 070. More information here.
Where does the overture take place?
The lector's introduction is prepared one hour before the start of the performance at St. Anne. You will pass the Baroque church with white plaster as you approach the Festival Hall.
How will the performance be affected by the planned transmission?
The audience will certainly notice the presence of cameras in the auditorium, but their presence does not affect the performance itself.
Wheelchairs
We want do everything possible to make things easy for people in wheelchairs. To purchase tickets, please contact Jitka directly: nazdravetska@smetanovalitomysl.cz, +420 602 457 338.
More FAQs about the Festival Hall here...

performers

Czech Philharmonic
– partner orchestra of the National Festival Smetana Litomyšl
Conductor Tomáš Netopil
– Principal Guest Conductor of the Czech Philharmonic

frequently asked questions

frequently asked questions

Where to park?
We recommend parking in the upper part of Smetana Square near the Marian Column. The Festival Hall is about a 5-minute walk away.
Does the Festival Bus Line work for this performance?
Yes, BusLine Festival buses will take you on these routes:
1) Hradec Králové – Pardubice – Holice – Vysoké Mýto – Litomyšl and back,
2) Brno – Letovice – Svitavy – Litomyšl and back.
The service is free of charge, you just need to show a valid ticket. We recommend booking on +420 461 616 070. More information here.
Where does the overture take place?
The lector’s introduction is prepared one hour before the start of the performance at St. Anne. You will pass the Baroque church with white plaster as you approach the Festival Hall.
How will the performance be affected by the planned transmission?
The audience will certainly notice the presence of cameras in the auditorium, but their presence does not affect the performance itself.
Wheelchairs
We want do everything possible to make things easy for people in wheelchairs. To purchase tickets, please contact Jitka directly: nazdravetska@smetanovalitomysl.cz, +420 602 457 338.
More FAQs about the Festival Hall here