Who will be the hero of the twelfth Prague Spring Debut?

Since 2014, Prague Spring has seen eleven exciting Prague Spring Debuts, a project supporting young conductors, which was founded by Jiří Bělohlávek. The twelfth festival hero will be Ondřej Soukup, a graduate of the Royal College of Music in London, the Royal Danish Academy of Music in Copenhagen, and winner of the Ionel Perlea International Conducting Competition. This likeable artist, who enjoys cycling through European cities, has already gained a wide range of experience, for example with the BBC National Orchestra of Wales and the English National Opera.

Together with the Prague Philharmonia orchestra, he will literally get the Dvořák Hall of the Rudolfinum dancing on May 18, 2026, with suites from the ballets Rodeo by Aaron Copland and Estancia by Alberto Ginastera. The outstanding Slovak soprano Simona Šaturová will perform as soloist in Samuel Barber’s impressive work Knoxville: Summer of 1915, based on an autobiographical text by Pulitzer Prize winner James Agee. The American music collection will be rounded off by Antonín Dvořák’s charming “American” suite.

The Prague Spring 2026 Debut will offer an energetic program that will fully showcase Ondřej’s temperament. Come support him and enjoy an exceptionally beautiful and interesting evening of music. Bring your dancing shoes!