"Ah! I knew right away that I had to embody an entire stormy orchestra and wind up the dancers at their feet, so they could whirl, jump, and hop with all their might, shaking every corner of the room with mighty stomps, not even sparing the piano. What could be done?"
From the diary of Bedřich Smetana

A national musical treasure in the hands of three puppeteers! The puppets will scoop up the Smetana! Or rather, ALFA Theater will merge with the world of classical music – for both serious and playful reasons.
Pilsen is inextricably linked to the tumultuous youth of the famous Czech composer Bedřich Smetana – a former high school repeater and the cousin of Josef František Smetana, an important figure in Pilsen’s political, cultural, and scientific life and the Czech national revival. In Pilsen, Bedřich Smetana not only tried to complete his secondary education but, more importantly, as a skilled pianist and sought-after dancer and companion, he graced many parties. In fact, Pilsen occupies a significant place in his diaries. And Smetana has a lasting presence in Pilsen – there's the Smetanovské dny festival, the International Smetana Piano Competition, and a street named after him… (Though be careful, the gardens are named after his cousin!)
Therefore, in the Year of Czech Music, Pilsen’s ALFA Theater will prepare a special club performance that touches on the life and work of this important Czech composer from the Romantic era. We don’t dispute that Smetana is the founder of modern Czech music, a leading representative of national culture, and a significant influence on subsequent generations of Czech composers. We know he was a co-founding member of the Umělecká beseda and the chair of its music department. However, we also want to remind everyone that he was once just a mischievous boy, a reckless teenager, not a very good student but often in love… And among other things, he was also the composer of the overture for a puppet play by the legendary Czech puppeteer Matěj Kopecký.