The Vineyard Opera
Country
CzechoslovakiaCopyright
1981Production year
1981Premiere
4 June 1982Runtime
90 minDirector
Jaromil JirešCategory
filmGenre
balladTypology
featuretheatrical distributionlongOriginal title
Opera ve viniciCzech title
Opera ve viniciEnglish title
The Vineyard OperaWorking title
Mikulecké pole / Smrtka na bílém koniSummary
Musician and screenwriter Vladimír Mertawas drawn to portraying the timeless charm of Moravian folk music based on his own experiences. The hero of this poetically minded tale is a journalism student named Honza (Jan Hartl), who happens upon a unique folk song composer, František Hřebačka (played by Josef Kemr), known by the monicker of Fanoš Mikulecký. Thanks to the elder man and his songs, the young urbanite, who had only valued foreign rock music, finds a path to his natural roots. Merta, a popular singer-songwriter and graduate of Prague’s FAMU film school, long tried in vain to make his directorial debut during the “normalisation” period via the state-run Barrandov Film Studios. The realisation of his screenplay only came about thanks to Jaromil Jireš; but the experienced director, in whose work musical themes also play an important role, could not of course defend Merta’s concept from a dose of censorship.
Synopsis
The not too successful student and also rock group singer Honza dances for the sake of a bet in the centre of Prague, clad in a folk costume and paraphrasing a folk dance. Nobody takes any notice of him except Honza's rigorous teacher who passes by and recommends him not to even go to the exams. Some time ago, the leader of the rock group invited a Moravian-Slovakian band and its singers onto the stage during a concert but the audience intolerantly booed the folk musicians. Honza sets off to Moravia to meet the swaggering singer Adámek and the pretty solo singer Eva. He spends the night in the open air and, in the morning, unwittingly spoils the filming of a documentary about Moravian folklore. He is saved from trouble by the generous professor of ethnography. He appoints Honza as his assistant and introduces him to a painter of both walls and paintings, Fano Hřebačka, who uses the nickname Mikulecký. It was he who provided the ethnography professor with countless songs about wine, love and farewells over the years. Recently, the eternally ailing Fano sensed he was dying. He therefore confessed to his friends that, actually, he himself composed most of the songs, using the motifs of Moravian folk melodies. Honza decides to employ the subject of folklore in his university thesis and to arrange copyright and royalties for Fano at the Society for the Protection of the Rights of Music Authors and Publishers. Eva not only flirts with the singer Adámek and his eternal rival, the forester Ondra, but also with Honza. But the student does not fulfill her wish to be taken away from Moravia. Fano recognizes his songs in a broadcast from a Brno radio station. He attends a performance of Mozart's Don Giovanni. He decides to write a theatre play with songs and entitles it The Rebel from Prechov. He casts his fellow-citizens in the roles and choirs, staging the performance for the entire village. Adámek as the Forest Robber and Ondra as the Count reckon with each other during the reharsals. Fano is haunted by the chimera of death but he lives to see the premiere. Honza and the ethnography professor are invited to the wedding of Eva and Adámek. But the wedding guests, all dressed in folk costumes, are sad. Fano's friend projects amateur shots from his funeral onto a white canvas. The place where the author of so many beautiful songs wanted to be burried is, however, now intersected by a highway.
Note
The film was dedicated to the inhabitants of the Lusatian Basin in Moravia.
Photos
Cast
Josef Kemr
Fanoš Hřebačka-Mikulecký
Jan Hartl
student Honza
Radovan Lukavský
profesor etnografie
Svatopluk Skopal
zpěvák Adámek
Oldřich Navrátil
lesník Ondra
Zdeněk Blažek
Mosela
Mnislav Hofmann
listonoš Ogara
Václav Babka
předseda družstva
Lubomír Kostelka
komediant Kocfelda
Helena Trýbová
Fanošova žena
Miroslav Zounar
právník na OSA
Rudolf Pellar
profesor
František Ringo Čech
konferenciér-kapelník
Rostislav Novák
přítel Jiří
Zdeněk Kampf
poslanec
Vlastimil Peška
archivář
Jitka Zelenohorská
technička v rozhlasu
Hana Čížková
redaktorka
dětský soubor Podlužánek
Pavel Čech
vedoucí Podlužánku
Karel Bělohradský
Kentaur
Stanislav Bruder
příslušník VB
Vladimír Mišík
vedoucí E.T.C.
Jan Hrubý
houslista skupiny E.T.C.
Jiří Veselý
basista skupiny E.T.C.
Petr Pokorný
kytarista skupiny E.T.C.
Jiří Šustera
bubeník skupiny E.T.C.
Hana Pastejříková
matka Evy
Karel Smrž
cestující ve vlaku
Josef Střecha
vrátný
Pavel Hanuš (2)
Fanoš jako chlapec
Josef Kuchinka
dirigent
Jaroslav Horáček
sólista opery
Miroslav Borský
účinkující v opeře
Ján Hadraba
účinkující v opeře
Karel Macho
účinkující v opeře
Václav Pokorný (3)
účinkující v opeře
Miroslav Šindelář
účinkující v opeře
Richard Štukheil
účinkující v opeře
Vladimír Vodeničarov
účinkující v opeře
Zbyněk Matoušek
mladý Mosela
Jaromír Kučera
rakouský turista
Přemysl Líčeník
primáš Cimbálové muziky Slovácko
Stanislav Kalužík
hudebník
Jan Križko
hudebník
Milan Maláník
hudebník
Jiří Morávek
hudebník
Pavel Pavka
hudebník
Stanislav Pavka
hudebník
Karel Prát
hudebník
Zdeněk Salajka
hudebník
Miroslav Vávra
hudebník
Zdeněk Baťka
tanečník
Ladislav Bohunský
tanečník
Josef Dvořáček
tanečník
Lubomír Dvořáček
tanečník
Miroslav Hubačka
tanečník
Miroslav Jurásek
tanečník
Jiří Kolovrátek
tanečník
Jan Kosík
tanečník
Petr Nerád
tanečník
Stanislav Výmola
tanečník
Jarmila Balůnová
tanečnice
Marta Dřevěná
tanečnice
Božena Ducháčková
tanečnice
Jaroslava Glosová
tanečnice
Ludmila Ježová
tanečnice
Věra Kocmanová
tanečnice
Lenka Králová
tanečnice
Hana Marková
tanečnice
Miloslava Pavková
tanečnice
Naďa Pindová
tanečnice
Miroslava Výmolová
tanečnice
Petr Jákl
dubl za Svatopluka Skopala
Crew and creators
Director
Second Unit Director
Assistant Director
Zdeněk Fiala
Continuity
Screenstory
Screenplay
Shooting Script
Dramaturg
Director of Photography
Second Unit Photography
Camera Operator
Production Designer
Assistent Production Designer
Art Director
Set Designer
Miloslav Dvořák, Jiří Forst, Milan Kvak, Lubomír Kafka, Pavel Svoboda
Costume Designer
Make-Up Artist
Film Editor
Assistant Film Editor
Sound Designer
Special Effects
Production Manager
Unit Production Manager
Jana Koubová, Jarmila Tomišková
Unit Production Manager
Jiří Potsch, L. Pech, Pavel Bačkovský
Consultant
Pavel Popelka, Pravomil Kotásek, Maryška Kotásková, Jan Maděrič
Cooperation
Vítězslava Marčíková (klapka), Jan Kuděla (fotograf)
Music
Music Composed by
František Hřebačka-Mikulecký, Zdeněk Pololáník, Vladimír Mišík
Selected Music
Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart (Don Giovanni /závěr/)
Music Performed by
Cimbálová muzika Slovácko (Music Conducted by Přemysl Líčeník), FISYO (Music Conducted by František Belfín), Dechovka Venkovanka, skupina ETC
Songs
Taxůvku jsme chytli
Song Composer Vladimír Mišík
Writer of Lyrics Vladimír Mišík
Singer Jan Hartl [dab]Vladimír Mišíkskupina ETC
Mikulecké pole
Song Composer František Hřebačka-Mikulecký
Writer of Lyrics František Hřebačka-Mikulecký
Singer Národopisný soubor PolajkaLenka KrálováZdeněk Baťka
Ej, eště dneskaj jako tako
Song Composer František Hřebačka-Mikulecký
Writer of Lyrics František Hřebačka-Mikulecký
Singer Národopisný soubor PolajkaLenka KrálováZdeněk Baťka
Bude večer, už zapadá slunéčko
Song Composer František Hřebačka-Mikulecký
Writer of Lyrics František Hřebačka-Mikulecký
Singer Národopisný soubor PolajkaLenka KrálováZdeněk Baťka
Zabite ňa, šak su márny
Song Composer František Hřebačka-Mikulecký
Writer of Lyrics František Hřebačka-Mikulecký
Singer Národopisný soubor PolajkaLenka KrálováZdeněk Baťka
Padá, padá rosenka
Song Composer František Hřebačka-Mikulecký
Writer of Lyrics František Hřebačka-Mikulecký
Singer Národopisný soubor PolajkaLenka KrálováZdeněk Baťka
Putovali hudci
Song Composer František Hřebačka-Mikulecký
Writer of Lyrics František Hřebačka-Mikulecký
Singer Národopisný soubor PolajkaLenka KrálováZdeněk Baťka
Kamarádi moji, tu ňa nenechajte
Song Composer František Hřebačka-Mikulecký
Writer of Lyrics František Hřebačka-Mikulecký
Singer Národopisný soubor PolajkaLenka KrálováZdeněk Baťka
Vínečko bílé
Song Composer František Hřebačka-Mikulecký
Writer of Lyrics František Hřebačka-Mikulecký
Singer Národopisný soubor PolajkaLenka KrálováZdeněk Baťka
Išlo dívča, išlo v sukni červenej
Song Composer František Hřebačka-Mikulecký
Writer of Lyrics František Hřebačka-Mikulecký
Singer Národopisný soubor PolajkaLenka KrálováZdeněk Baťka
Byly časy, byly
Song Composer František Hřebačka-Mikulecký
Writer of Lyrics František Hřebačka-Mikulecký
Singer Národopisný soubor PolajkaLenka KrálováZdeněk Baťka
Záhorácké pole
Song Composer František Hřebačka-Mikulecký
Writer of Lyrics František Hřebačka-Mikulecký
Singer Národopisný soubor PolajkaLenka KrálováZdeněk Baťka
Kosí Jano, kosí trávu
Song Composer František Hřebačka-Mikulecký
Writer of Lyrics František Hřebačka-Mikulecký
Singer Národopisný soubor PolajkaLenka KrálováZdeněk Baťka
Keď by sa ptali hodonští páni
Song Composer František Hřebačka-Mikulecký
Writer of Lyrics František Hřebačka-Mikulecký
Singer Národopisný soubor PolajkaLenka KrálováZdeněk Baťka
Janíček /Dyž jsme šli na hody bylo nás jedenáct/
Song Composer František Hřebačka-Mikulecký
Writer of Lyrics František Hřebačka-Mikulecký
Singer Národopisný soubor PolajkaLenka KrálováZdeněk Baťka
Ej, mája mája, vysoká mája
Song Composer František Hřebačka-Mikulecký
Writer of Lyrics František Hřebačka-Mikulecký
Singer Národopisný soubor PolajkaLenka KrálováZdeněk Baťka
Přespolní šuhajku, nechoď k méj galánce
Song Composer František Hřebačka-Mikulecký
Writer of Lyrics František Hřebačka-Mikulecký
Singer Národopisný soubor PolajkaLenka KrálováZdeněk Baťka
Ej, huska, sivá huska
Song Composer František Hřebačka-Mikulecký
Writer of Lyrics František Hřebačka-Mikulecký
Singer Národopisný soubor PolajkaLenka KrálováZdeněk Baťka
Ej, zazpívaj, slavíčku
Song Composer František Hřebačka-Mikulecký
Writer of Lyrics František Hřebačka-Mikulecký
Singer Národopisný soubor PolajkaLenka KrálováZdeněk Baťka
Chodníček bělavý mezi vinohrady
Song Composer František Hřebačka-Mikulecký
Writer of Lyrics František Hřebačka-Mikulecký
Singer skupina Moravanka
Production info
Original Title
Opera ve vinici
Czech Title
Opera ve vinici
English Title
The Vineyard Opera
Working Title
Mikulecké pole / Smrtka na bílém koni
Category
film
Typology
featuretheatrical distribution
Genre
ballad
Origin country
Czechoslovakia
Copyright
1981
Production Year
1981
Production specifications
literary Screenplay approved 24 March 1980
start of filming 11 February 1981
technical Screenplay approved 19 March 1981
end of filming 26 October 1981
projection approval 4 December 1981
withdrawal from distribution 31 December 1987
Premiere
premiere 4 June 1982 /suitable for youths/
Production
Copyright Holders
Studio
Distribution
Creative Group
Dramaturgická skupina Drahoslava Makovičky, Drahoslav Makovička (vedoucí dramaturgické skupiny)
Technical info
Duration typology
feature film
Duration in minutes
90 min
Original length in metres
2 520 meters
Distribution carrier
16mm, 35mm
Aspect ratio
1:1,37
Colour
colour
Sound
sound
Sound system/format
mono
Versions
Czech
Dialogue languages
Czech
Subtitles languages
without subtitles
Opening/End credits languages
Czech
Awards
Vítěz
Festival: 20. festival českých a slovenských filmů Ústí nad Labem
1982
Ústí nad Labem / Czechoslovakia
Emil Sirotek st.
