Bregenz Festival – The Excursions of Mr. Brouček

The Excursions of Mr. Brouček
Leoš Janáček created with The Excursions of Mr. Brouček an opera of biting comedy and absurd wit – a ruthless satire on bourgeois self-satisfaction, moral inertia, and the eternal human inability to learn from history. Yet Janáček's critique is never cynical. Like Mozart, he meets people with subtle irony and great empathy. With virtuoso ease and a rich, colorful tonal language, he balances between irony and seriousness, waltz euphoria and pathos – giving his music a profoundly human dimension. At a time when societies are increasingly isolating themselves from one another, Brouček's journey feels more relevant than ever today. The American director Yuval Sharon – inspired by Dadaism and absurd theater – brings Janáček's rarely performed opera to the stage in a bold and visually striking production. Visually captivating, musically vibrant, and theatrically daring, Janáček's original opera is a satirical masterpiece of existential depth.
Premiere July 23, 2026 – 7:30 PM
Great Hall