Janáčkova organizační činnost v Družstvu Národního divadla v Brně

Leoš Janáček has joint the Družstvo committee of the Czech National Theater in Brno altogether three times. For the first time, not long after the Czech National Theater in Brno was opened, he was elected an alternate member of the curie of active and contributing members on 16th January 1887. He was not elected an active member of the committee until the general meeting held on 12th April 1891. When participating in the committee he boosted for instance orchestra pit widening, increasing the number of orchestra members, establishing a music archive or a musical instruments purchase. He voluntarily quitted the committee on 26th May 1896 and did not return until 13th March 1909 when the committee was raving with a major crisis caused by a dispute about the location of a new building of the Czech National Theater. The committee chiefs were even accused of manipulative negotiations, trading with Germans and non-transparent financial transactions. Among those who criticized this intrigue was Leoš Janáček. In the newly established committee he mainly urged for directing the theater by the committee itself and also for building a theater in the Lužánky park. Since he did not succeed in either, he resigned again on 16th June 1913. For the third and last time he joint the committee in the rapid days of 1918. Janáček was elected at the general meeting on 8th December 1918. Although Alois Mrštík was nominated as the head, the actual leader was Janáček himself. Among his major achievements we could name appointing František Neumann the opera director and participation of a negotiation committee in transferring the German City Theater under the Czech National Theater. Janáček handed in his third and last resignation at the committee meeting on 21st June 1920. Janáček's co-operation with the Družstvo committee of the National Theater in Brno was diverse and mutually beneficial. Presumably, his most significant success was appointing František Neumann the opera director in 1919. This important conductor together with organization skills and pragmatic reasoning of the director Václav Štech led the institution to a dramaturgically progressive, thriving and modern Central European stage. Details can be found in the following document: Zahrádka, Jiří: Theater must not be comedy for the people. Leoš Janáček and the National Theater in Brno. Moravian Museum, Brno 2012.