Abstract
In Laterna magika's sixty-year-old history, a long list of well-known composers collaborated on its performances representing a broad spectrum of approaches both in terms genre and style. Given its relation and connection to some older types of theatre stage forms containing music, the creative work for this institution could be generally categorised as theatre music, however, its constitutive usage of fi lm projection and related synchronization of music with fi lm picture, fi xed to a fi lm copy, also connects it with fi lm art.
Th e resulting multi-media stage fi gure is (viewed from the perspective of music) mostly derived from the traditional forms such as ballet, opera, revue, musical comedy or scenic oratorio. In many cases, a strong inspiration by instruments of fi lm music expression can be followed.
Th e beginnings of the artistic approach of Laterna magika's founders, Alfréd Radok and Josef Svoboda, could be found in their work at the 5th May Th eatre (Divadlo 5. května), where they coworked with the conductor and composer Václav Kašlík. While early performances of Laterna magika in the fi ft ies and sixties were based on the concepts of revue shows, from the seventies on, one can observe the shift towards dramatically integrated forms.
Th ese eff orts culminated in the second half of the 1980s when noticeable inspirations by non-artifi cial music are observed in the musical approach. At the same time, a dramaturgical approach oriented towards increasing dance expression was asserted, brought even to the form of visually attractive ballet performances, which have prevailed from 1989 to the present day.
From the 1970s, in relation to establishing cooperation with the sound master Ivo Špalj, one can also observe a considerable development of work with the sound component, strengthened with the introduction of innovative sound technologies. Among the specifi cs of the music work at Laterna magika, apart from the ones mentioned above, we can also include the exclusive use of reproduced sound, absence of a permanent musical ensemble, numerous uses of classical music (initially not intended for theatre purposes) or balancing the boundary between the worlds of artifi cial and popular music.