Galileo Galilei, born in 1564 in Florence, Italy, was an Italian astronomer, philosopher and physicist closely linked to the Scientific Revolution. He stood at the birth of discoveries and inventions such as the telescope, thermometer, improvement of the microscope, geometric and military compass and even the ball-point pen.
His conflict with the Roman Catholic Church is seen as the most meaningful example of the initial conflict of religion and freedom of thought, especially through science in western society.
After the phenomenal success of his musical Hamlet, Janek Ledecký was searching for a theme that would inspire him the same as that famous Shakespearean drama. Janek’s search ended when he encountered the life story of a man who was ahead of his time by several centuries, a fact that nearly cost him his life. Janek spent over a year in libraries studying historical sources. That is because he did not just want to regurgitate Galileo’s biography, but rather create a suspenseful and breathtaking drama, which his life’s fortunes represents, as nobody had done before. And the result exceeded all expectations.
The musical Galileo became the most successful, most praised and most visited musical in the Czech Republic and Slovakia. And the title track „I’ll never give up“ is still today the most played song from a musical on the local radio waves.
Not only does the story meet the audience, but so does the music and artistic concept of the production. The musical arrangement of the musical moves broadly from classic guitar pop to a large instrumental cast of a symphonic orchestra, enhanced by a mixed choir.
The artistic stylization of the presentation relates to the Italian Renaissance, i.e. the time when Galileo’s life story plays out.