(Ger. Pilsen).
City in the Czech Republic. It is the industrial and cultural centre of West Bohemia and shares with Brno the richest Czech theatre tradition after Prague. The first permanent theatre was constructed in 1832. Operas were staged only sporadically; a permanent Czech opera ensemble, the first outside Prague, started to perform there in 1869, the year that Smetana's The Bartered Bride was conducted there by Mořic Anger (1844–1905). Since then there has been a tradition of dressing the characters in that opera in folk costumes of the Plzeň region. A number of Czech premičres of foreign works were produced in Plzeň around that time, including Tannhäuser in 1888, three years before it was staged in Prague. The Velké Divadlo (Great Theatre) opened in 1902 with Smetana's Libuše; it was reconstructed between 1980 and 1987 (550 seats). Since 1955 it has been called Divadlo J.K. Tyla. Small-scale operas were performed between 1945 and 1965 in the Malé Divadlo (Small Theatre), a former German theatre built in 1869. In 1966 the Komorní Divadlo (Chamber Theatre) was opened. Of several notable conductors (including Karel Kovařovic, 1886–7, and Václav Talich, 1912–15), it was Bohumír Liška (1955–67) who presided over the city's most remarkable operatic era, with a repertory of both Czech and foreign operas, especially the modern ones. The most important productions included Hanuš's Flames (1956 premičre), Prokofiev's The Gambler (1957), Britten's Albert Herring (1958), Nejedlý's The Weavers (1961 premičre), Jeremiáš's Enšpígl (1962) and the premičre of Hurník's The Lady and the Robbers (1966). Thanks to the long-term activities of the opera scene and the systematic work of the municipal musical school (founded in 1920) a large body of listeners formed in Plzeň and a number of composers, musicians and theorists lived there.
In 1909 the Sdružení pro Komorní Hudbu (Chamber Music Association) was founded; during its 40 years of existence it organized 249 concerts, featuring 27 orchestras, with guests including Rubinstein, Casals, Ansorge and Ada Sari. The Hudební Odbor Osvětového Svazu (Musical Section of the Educational Association) was formed in 1908; under its aegis Václav Talich founded the first symphony orchestra in Plzeň. In 1934 it became the Plzeňská Filharmonie; from 1984 it was called the Komorní Orchestr (Chamber Orchestra). In 1946 the Plzeňský Rozhlasový Orchestr (Plzeň RO) was formed. The Plzeň conservatory (founded 1961) has its own symphony orchestra.
The mixed choir Hlahol was founded in 1862. It became a centre of the Dvořák cult, performing his Stabat mater in 1884; in 1900 it made tours to Paris, Brussels and elsewhere. Part of the Hlahol choir separated to form the Smetana choir in 1901. Other choral groups include the Pěvecké Sdružení Učitelů Plzeňska (Teachers' Choir of the Plzeň Region, 1907–15), Pěvecké Sdružení Západočeských Učitelů (West Bohemian Teachers' Choir, 1929–51), Česká Píseň (Czech Song), Ženský Akademický Sbor (Women's Academic Choir, 1962–92) and children's choirs.
IV. pěvecká župa plzeňská 1898–1948: 50 let spolupráce západočeských pěveckých spolků [Fourth Singers’ Association in Plzeň 1898–1948: 50 years of cooperation between West Bohemian choirs] (Plzeň, 1949)
A. Špelda: Průvodce hudební Plzní [A guide to musical Plzeň] (Plzeň, 1960)
100 let českého divadla v Plzni [100 years of the Czech theatre in Plzeň] (Plzeň, 1965)
A. Špelda: ‘Organizace hudebního života v Plzni 1900–68’ [Organization of musical life in Plzeň], ‘Plzeňská zpěvohra ve čtyřletí 1918–22’ [Opera in Plzeň between 1918 and 1922], Padesátiletí západočeské kultury (Plzeň, 1969), 163–81, 187–200
J. Fiala: Západočeská vlastivěda [History and geography of West Bohemia] (Plzeň, 1995)
EVA HERRMANNOVÁ