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Credits
Point 5 of 60 of 6 completed
The opera walks outside
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49.2037, 16.6028
On arrival
On Janáčkovo náměstí, find the tall stylised vixen figure leaning against the tree-like form on its circular pedestal.
Look closer
Look for the pointed ears, tail and deliberately hybrid human-animal body rather than expecting a naturalistic fox.
Voice became notation, notation became opera, and the opera eventually walked back into the street.
A few steps away, an opera character has escaped the theatre. Jiří Marek's Cunning Little Vixen sculpture was unveiled in 1993 and stands close to the house where Janáček lived. The figure is not just a generic fox: TIC BRNO identifies it as Bystrouška, the protagonist of the opera Janáček built from Rudolf Těsnohlídek's story. The opera premiered in Brno in 1924 and moves constantly between human and animal worlds. That makes this public sculpture useful for the route's logic. A newspaper story became libretto and music; decades later, the character became something you can meet on a square. Sound has acquired a body.
Accessibility at this stop
The sculpture can be understood from public exterior space. Exact pavement approach and step-free viewing position still need human or on-site verification.
These notes describe known conditions at this stop. Urban conditions can change, so assess the situation on site.
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5. The opera walks outside
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