Cultura

Music, fine art, and architecture are an integral part of our daily lives, bringing beauty and joy into our experience. Through art, we can gain a deeper understanding of human history and the meaning of life. Many people find art to be psychologically heating and they participate in music therapy, dance therapy, drama therapy and art therapy.

Cultural life in our town is rich. There are many ways of spending leisure time. We can go to the cinema, to the theatre, dancing, or we can stay at home and listen to the radio, watch television or read books.

There are two multiplex cinemas in Pilsen; their repertory is focused on presenting commercial, action films, which do not interest more demanding cinemagoers.  There are two smaller cinemas in Pilsen, I prefer their repertory. They have a special program – a Film club – they show old classical Czech films directed by my favourite directors such as Kachyňa, Herz, Vávra or Menzel. My best-loved old film is Obchod na Korze. The film was based on a book by Ladislav Grosmann and directed by Kádár and Klos. The film was made in 1965 and it received the American film award Oscar.  I like unknown or alternative films directed by for example Věra Chytilová, Woody Allen or Fellini… These films are mostly difficult to understand.  I like psychological dramas or films, where there are more time lines or plots and the end of the film is not so definite (21grams, Hearts in Atlantis, Butterfly effect, Magnolia, Clocks…).

On television I will not let slip the opportunity to watch famous films, which won the Oscar or another award at festivals and with such stars as Katherine Hepburn, Meryl Streep, Tom Hanks or Woody Allen. I prefer foreign films which are not dubbed but provided only with subtitles because it is a good opportunity for me to test my knowledge of English. The channel CT2 show these films mostly late in the evening.

There are many theatres in our town; the best known is the Theatre of J.K. Tyl, and the Theatre of Miroslav Hornicek. I am not a theatre-goer. I was at the Theatre of J.K. Tyl on a comedy Prachy! Prachy! and on a historical drama Cyrano from Bergerac. When I was a school kid, we often went to the theatres in Prague. We were in the National Theatre, Semafor or Kalich.

I like going to the theatre, but I don’t go often because I have no time. To the theatre people usually come dressed up. They take off their coats in the cloakroom.

The main parts of the theatre are a stage and an auditorium. These parts are divided by a curtain. It is usually beautifully painted. The curtain rises in the beginning of the performance. In the end of the performance the curtain falls down. The ground floor in the auditorium is called a pit and there is an orchestra pit too. The stalls are in rows.  The first floor in the theatre is called a dress-circle. Then there are an upper circle and a gallery – the highest level of seats. There are boxes around the auditorium. These areas are separate form where other people are sitting – usually for important people. If we want to see actors in details, we can hire opera glasses.

If the performance is a drama, actors and actresses play their roles. If it is an opera, there are singers and soloists who are accompanied by a chorus and an orchestra conducted by a conductor. If it is a ballet, the roles are played by ballet dancers and a ballet ensemble.

During the interval, between two acts, we can walk in the foyer, buy some refreshments and share opinions of the performance with our friends. When the performance is over, the audience bursts into applause.

Kinds of performance: play, drama, comedy, tragedy, musical, ballet, musical comedy, opera, pantomime, puppet show, stage version or farce.

Music plays an important role in the cultural life of cities and towns. Many large cities have their own symphonic orchestras with world renowned conductors. Some cities have large beautiful concert halls and opera houses, and hold music festivals. Prague holds the world famous festival of classical music the Prague Springs Music Festival. The city stadiums are the places where famous pop and rock-n-roll stars hold their concerts.

I like to listen to music on the radio at home where I can choose from a variety of music on the different stations. On TV I watch music programmes and live concerts. I was at the concert of classical music – listened to the Czech Philharmonic Orchestra.

When I do not feel like going anywhere I watch television and listen to the radio or read books. I am not a TV addict and am not one of those who spend hours in front of the screen. Some people need a radio or TV as a background noise and they hardly know what is on the programme. I like to watch TV news, natural science programmes and good old films and sports programme.

When we read for pleasure, we usually pick up a book of fiction, such as novels (science fiction, western, travel books, thrillers, crime fiction, psychological and historical novels, adventure tales, love stories), short stories and tales or poetry. There are various ways to choose a book for reading. Some of us read a book for its subject and setting, others for the author or on personal recommendation. Also reasons why we read may be different – we read for relaxation and pleasure, or we look for information and advice. We can buy books, or we can borrow them from friends and from a library.

I like reading very much. It is really relax for me. I think that the greatest advantage of the book compared to the film is that we can imagine the plot of the  book ourselves; we can use fully our imagination.