On 24 September 2023, the Czech writer Ladislav Fuks (1923–1994) would have reached 100 years of age. Primarily known for his psychological novels, applying bitter, even sardonic hyperbole, he portrayed the world’s most gruesome atrocities and horrors. Fuks’s bizarre, decadent poetics, abounding in fantasy and phantasmagoria, served as inspiration for making a quizzical cabaret, in which joy and spontaneous entertainment foreshadow the future tragic fates of the protagonists, who had no inkling they would fall victim to the most shameful failure of humanity in European history. The title of the concert refers to Fuks’s 1953 tale Věneček z vavřínu (The Laurel Garland), depicting the suffering and humiliation people are exposed to on the part of self-appointed leaders and victors.
The story is unfurls at a quiet café. Seeking a break from his busy work schedule, Felix Veverka enters the room, adorned with a sculpture of a faun. Soon three strange figures walk in. “The first was brown, hairy, with short legs, heavy buttocks, arms with pendent paws poised in front of the belly, and a head turned to the side as though tied to a chain and about to dance the Cancan. The second was huge, hairless, with fat column-like legs, ears like sails and a long trunk. Its thudding step made the whole room shake. The third figure, entering last, was inaudible. Donning a brown-black striped fur coat, the flat-nosed creature with a bristly moustache slowly and silently padded along, its blinking eyes dropped down.” The guests just peep at the odd newcomers, yet remain aloof, even when they begin behaving inappropriately. Before long, the three figures resort to violence, attacking, offending and threatening all those present. They bite through the telephone wire and smash the faun statue to pieces. As the rampage goes on, people are scared and shut themselves away. Mr. Veverka immerses himself into work even more deeply than previously, thinking of his own well-being and believing he is also doing it for society. He need not be afraid, for his “profile” is “clean”, politically and racially alike. What is the lesson to be learned? We should not ignore when witnessing arrogance, someone degrading others, and should bear in mind that work is not the only purpose of our life, that we should also occasionally relax, and have a good time and fun. Serving as an example in this respect are those whom a large proportion of society branded as unwelcome and unadaptable. Those whose “profile” was not clean.
Programme
Erwin Schulhoff (1894–1942)
Sonata erotica (1919)
Mauricio Kagel (1931–2008)
A piece from Zehn Märsche um den Sieg zu verfehlen (Ten Marches to Miss the Victory)
Fritz Grünbaum (1880–1941) | arranged by Petr Kofroň (1955)
Ich hab das Fräulein Helen baden sehn (I Saw Miss Helen Bathing)
Mauricio Kagel
A piece from Zehn Märsche um den Sieg zu verfehlen
Robert Stolz (1880–1975) | arranged by Trevor Grahl (1984)
“Du sollst der Kaiser meiner Seele sein” (You Should be the Emperor of My Soul) from the operetta Der Favorit
Mauricio Kagel
A piece from Zehn Märsche um den Sieg zu verfehlen
Jean Gilbert (David Robert Winterfeld, 1899–1978) | arranged by Marek Piaček (1972)
“Is es wahr, was alle sagen?” (Is it True What Everyone Says?) from the operetta Die keusche Susanne (Chaste Susanne)
Mauricio Kagel
A piece from Zehn Märsche um den Sieg zu verfehlen
Erich Wolfgang Korngold (1897–1957) | arranged by Trevor Grahl
Straussiana, for orchestra
Mauricio Kagel
A piece from Zehn Märsche um den Sieg zu verfehlen
Jaromír Weinberger (1896–1967) | arranged by Marek Piaček
The Outcast of Poker Flat (selected parts from the opera)
Mauricio Kagel
A piece from Zehn Märsche um den Sieg zu verfehlen
Hugo Haas (1901–1968) / Pavel Haas (1899–1944) |arranged by Peter Graham (1952)
Život je pes (Life’s a Bitch)
