St John's Rapids Explained

St. John's rapids (Svatojánské proudy) was a stretch of fast flowing water on the Vltava. It was situated at the place of today's Štěchovice Reservoir.

In music

The rapids were part of the inspiration for Smetana's Má vlast,^[1] and also the title of an opera by Josef Richard Rozkošný (Svatojánské proudy).^[2]

References

49.8392°N 14.4461°W

Notes and References

1. Brian Large Smetana 1985 "'Though this may well have been important in preparing him for work on Vltava, another outing, this time to the St. John Rapids (a fast-flowing section of the river before it reaches Prague), made the inspiration indelible: Today I took.. "
2. Bedřich Smetana: letters and reminiscences Bedřich Smetana, František Bartoš, Bedřich Smetana - 1955 "Its premiere was given on October 3rd, 1871. The opera is named after the rapids which the river Vltava creates shortly before it reaches Prague. Smetana's symphonic poem Vltava also contains a part which is called "St. John's Rapids"."