Kudykam

Kudykam, a 1,600 verse-long song text with music by Petr Hapka staged at the Prague State Opera is a theatrical play in verse, part sung, part spoken: a “one-poem play,“ one might label it with a touch of an overstatement.

The story deals with the inner journey of the hero (Martin), who is seen at the beginning in his small room at the “Guesthouse World.” Should he be content with what he has and can take for granted, or had he rather step out into uncertainty and into the maelstrom of opportunities and perils that he rightly assumes lurks behind the door of his lodgings? Ought he to follow in the footsteps of his uncle who is said to have set out on such an expedition a long time ago, and who is believed to have reached up from the fifth underground level to immeasurable heights, perhaps even as high as  the ground floor? And if he chooses likewise, will he know whitherward (kudy kam) to go? As soon as he poses himself these questions, Martin finds himself face in face with the embodiment of his wish, in the form of Kudykam/Whitherward, who instantly offers himself as Martin’s guide. He promises to submit to Martin suggestions of progress at each stage of his journey, yet will leave up to him the choice of specific individual steps to take. Martin agrees and so becomes the disciple of a truly bizarre Master. He will encounter many hurdles on his way, but the hardest battle he is to fight will be with himself.

The musical part of the spectacle is the work of composer Petr Hapka, with orchestration by Ondřej Brzobohatý. In all, the play contains nineteen songs. While some of them   including the opener, V Penziónu Svět / At the Guesthouse World   are the product of earlier collaboration of Michal Horáček and Petr Hapka, most are new. The most prominent new numbers are Hladiny / Surfaces; Tante cose da veder (both Kudykam); and Havrani na sněhu / Rooks on Snow (Martin).

Premiere: Oct 22, 2009