Čert a Káča (The Devil and Kate, Op. 112) is a comic opera by Antonín Dvořák to a libretto by Adolf Wenig, first performed at the National Theatre in Prague on 23 November 1899. The plot draws on a Czech folk tale: the headstrong Kate invites a devil named Marbuel to dance at a village party and is dragged off to hell, from which the clever shepherd Jirka eventually rescues her. Dvořák built the score as a continuous through-composed flow of waltzes and polkas, marking a clear break from his earlier operatic style; together with Rusalka, it is one of the very few of his operas to hold a firm place in the repertory.
The Moravian Theatre Olomouc is preparing a premiere of a new opera production on September 4, 2026, directed by Dominik Beneš, starring Anna Moriová and Kateřina Jalovcová in the leading role.
The Prague Opera Studio presented The Devil and Káča in June 2025 in the exteriors of the Antonín Dvořák Memorial in Vysoká u Příbrami on three different stages in an English park.
The Slovak National Theatre production directed by Zuzana Fischer was streamed on the OperaVision platform in March 2025 as the first broadcast from the new Bratislava stage of the SND.
The National Theatre in Prague renewed the musical study of the opera under the baton of Robert Jindra; the first revival on December 17, 2022, was dedicated to the memory of singer Lenka Šmídová.
