What Men Live By? Concert for the 150th Anniversary of Tomáš Baťa's Birth

This concert takes its name from Bohuslav Martinů's opera, inspired by Leo Tolstoy's short story "Where Love Is, God Is". It commemorates the 150th anniversary of Tomáš Baťa's birth and celebrates the creative connection between the renowned Czech composer and this visionary industrialist and his company.

The evening opens with Střevíček - a live musical accompaniment to the documentary film Lady's Shoe. This music was created for modern advertising and demonstrates Martinů's collaboration with the progressive world of the Baťa factories. The concert's centrepiece is a performance of the one-act pastoral opera What Men Live By? Both works will be heard together for the first time on 12 October 2026 at 20:00 in the Community Space Smíchov - an evangelical church.

The choice of opera is deliberate - the main character is named Martin, after the patron saint of the poor and many craftsmen. Like him, the poor shoemaker Martin in Martinů's opera finds Christ through selfless help to those in need. The story carries the moral legacy of Tomáš Baťa, founded on values of honest work and small acts of service to others. The church setting amplifies the work's central theme: that through love of neighbour and daily conscientious work, one encounters God directly.

The concert is held under the patronage of Jiří Drahoš, First Deputy Chairman of the Senate, and Václav Láska, Senator for Prague 5.

Program:
- Bohuslav Martinů: Střevíček - music for promotional and documentary film
- Bohuslav Martinů: What Men Live By? - pastoral opera in one act, H 336

Cast:
- Martin Avdějič: Roman Janál
- Old peasant: Martin Bělohlávek
- Stepanich: David Malát
- Woman with child: Klára Muknšnáblová
- Old woman, alto solo: Marie Svobodová
- Narrator: Ondřej Benek
- Heavenly choir: Victoria Ensemble - Viktorie Kaplanová, Klára Muknšnáblová, Michaela Králová, Ondřej Benek, Jan Kukal
- Boy: Antonín Kovařík

NeoKlasik Orchestra
Conductor: Václav Dlask
Concertmaster: Ayako Noguchi