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Scheduled to open April 8, 2004, "Nagano, the Birth of a Legend" â€â€? commissioned by the Czech National Theater â€â€? is billed as "an opera in three periods and one overtime
The Czechs were the underdogs in Nagano, Japan, but defeated the United States and Canada before beating archrival Russia 1-0 to win the first Olympic tournament with NHL players
"I haven't attended an opera performance before," Ruzicka said in recent editions of the Mlada Fronta daily
The Nagano piece combines a libretto written by Czech standup comedian Jaroslav Dusek, music by contemporary composer Martin Smolka and a stage design by Borek Sipek, an architect who used to work for Havel "
"Czech operas traditionally have a libretto based on heroic moments of this nation's history," said Pavel Petranek, the program manager for the theater's opera
The score is expected to be finished in the next two months
"I'll take my wife with me Czech Opera to Celebrate 1998 Olympic Win
Mar 19, 8:47 AM EST
Coming soon to an opera house in Prague: a celebration of the country's hockey gold medal at the 1998 Nagano Olympics
Vladimir Ruzicka, the captain of the 1998 team, said he was curious about it
"It's a bit of a comical opera, which plays with irony," Petranek said
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Characters featured in the opera include Czech hockey stars Dominik Hasek and Jaromir Jagr, as well as former President Vaclav Havel, who sent congratulations to the team as he was recovering from throat surgery "Nagano certainly was one of them "
It will be the first Czech opera about a sports event, and Petranek hopes it will attract new audiences |