7 Best Performing Arts Venues in Stare Mesto (Old Town), Prague

The group's nickname, FOK, stands for Film-Opera-Koncert. They started in 1934, but it wasn't until 1952 that they became the official city orchestra. In the 1930s they did music for many Czech films, although they don't do much opera and film anymore. The ensemble tours extensively and has a large back catalog of recordings. Programs tend to be quite diverse, from Beethoven to Bruckner. 

Austrian Crown Prince Rudolf lent his name to this neo-Renaissance concert space and exhibition gallery built in 1884; it's only been open to the public since 1992. The impressive building has an interesting history: after 1918 it was converted into the parliament of the newly independent Czechoslovakia, until German invaders reinstated it as a space for music in 1939. The large concert hall, named for Antonín Dvořák, who conducted here, hosts concerts with the Czech Philharmonic. The smaller Josef Suk Hall, on the opposite side of the building, is used for chamber concerts. Rival theaters may have richer interiors, but the acoustics here are excellent (and the exterior is also pretty fancy, with some of the cleanest, brightest stonework in the city). Tours are available, but hearing live music here is what it is all about.

Built in the 1780s in the classical style, this opulent, green palais hosted the world premiere of Mozart's opera Don Giovanni in October 1787 with the composer himself conducting. Savvy Prague audiences were quick to acknowledge Mozart's genius: the opera was an instant hit here, though it flopped nearly everywhere else in Europe. Mozart wrote some of the opera's second act in Prague at the Villa Bertramka (in Smíchov), where he was a frequent guest. The program these days is mixed, incorporating demanding Czech drama alongside opera, ballet, and musical performances. You must attend a performance to see inside, although the interior, the history, and the quality of the shows here combined make it absolutely worth it; buy tickets via the National Theater.

This is an excellent venue for organ concerts thanks to the church's organ itself, which was finished in 1709 and restored in the early 1980s to its original tone structure. All those years later, it's still one of the best in town.

The big daddy in town: Antonín Dvořák conducted the orchestra's first performance back in 1896, and guest conductors have included Gustav Mahler and Leonard Bernstein. Performances are of a consistently high quality, and most programs include some works by Czech composers. They also offer public dress rehearsals for a mere 160 Kč (book early though, because they are an understandably popular bargain).

One of the most well-respected ensembles in town, Collegium Marianum is your best bet if you are looking to explore baroque music. They often revive seldom-heard works from archives and perform them on period instruments. Performances are usually organized around a historical or geographical theme.

Black-light theater—shows using black backgrounds, UV-light and fluorescent paints to create visual spectacles via the acrobatic arts of the performers—has found something of a home in Prague, although its simplistic style isn't for everyone. If it appeals, this venue is probably the best place to see some, namely in a show called Aspects of Alice, based loosely on Alice in Wonderland, that has run here almost daily for more than 2,000 performances. The theater was established in Florida in 1981, and moved to Prague after the Velvet Revolution. It's been running at its current address, a minor baroque palace, since 1993.

If you are more interested in the world-leading multimedia theater pioneered by Laterna Magika back in 1958, which does include some black-light elements, check out the National Theater's New Stage instead.