Opava native Jiří Rajniš returns to his home country to present a unique song program full of lyricism, passion and deep introspection at the Silesian Theatre. Accompanied by Júlia Grejtáková on the piano.

Composer Erich Wolfgang Korngold was only nine years old when Gustav Mahler—composer and director of the Vienna Court Opera—declared him a genius. The extraordinarily gifted young composer, a native of Brno, still had his entire career ahead of him. His works achieved success not only in Europe but also in the United States, where he was forced to emigrate because of his Jewish origins. An unfailing instinct for combining music and drama runs through Korngold’s output, from solo songs and operas to his celebrated Hollywood film scores. This is true both of the early Twelve Songs, Op. 5 (1910–1911), bearing the telling motto “So Gott und Papa will,” and of the mature Shakespeare songs from the 1940s.

Although Gustav Mahler is today better known as a symphonist, he remained closely connected to song throughout his life. Many musical ideas in his monumental symphonies originate in his songs. While the Rückert songs from 1901 form an emotionally powerful statement embodying Mahler’s longing for solitude, the songs from Des Knaben Wunderhorn (1892–1898), based on German folk poetry from the collection of the same name, reveal Mahler’s richly varied musical language, echoing sounds of nature, folk bands, and military marches.

Neapolitan songs unite the fiery temperament and passion of southern Italian folk music with the traditions of classical bel canto. The canzone napoletana represents a distinctive genre that captivated many Italian composers and has enjoyed lasting popularity with singers and audiences alike since the mid-19th century. In the interpretation of baritone Jiří Rajniš, a selection of the most famous Neapolitan songs by composers such as Tosti, Denza, Falvo, de Curtis, Gastaldon, Bixio, and Cannio will be heard.