Looking for unique pieces for exhibition
The biggest eye-catchers for visitors to the Prague exhibition are three costumes from the former Cinderella film production: a pink beaded dress with embroidered sleeves, in which the main actress once enchanted her fairytale prince at the court ball, as well as the wedding dresses of the future bride and groom.
The curator of the Prague exhibition, Jana Sommerová, found the costumes in television and theater stores. “I didn’t want to show newly sewn things, I wanted to show the originals and I managed to do that. There were over 100 costumes and they are all unique,” she says in an interview with the MDR Eastern Europe editorial team.
Not only three hazelnuts, but also three shoes
The costumes for the Cinderella classic were once sewn in Prague’s Barrandov film studios. The famous shoe should not be missing from the exhibition, which runs until January 1st. There were three copies of the shoe, says Sommerová: “In the film, the prince held the smallest variant in his hand, about shoe size 35. The variant on the stairs of Moritzburg Castle near Dresden had to be larger. And there was a spare shoe.” In a showcase at the end of the hall you can also find the traditional Cinderella costume – a coarse linen dress, with an apron and a shaggy fur waistcoat for all the scenes in which the main actress Šafránková played the stepmotherly maid.
Fairytale costumes are Sommerová’s passion. She also wanted a homage to the “eternal princess”, as actress Libuše Šafránková is still called in the Czech Republic because of her many roles in fairy tales. The curator would have liked to have planned the exhibition together with Šafránková, but the actress succumbed to a long-standing cancer last summer.
Cinderella-Broadcast will be drawn
At Christmas time, “Three Hazelnuts for Cinderella” is broadcast on many German channels, but it is only shown once on Czech television: on Christmas Eve. The winner of the film will be drawn at random. This time it is the private Czech broadcaster Nova: The fairy tale is not shown in one go, but with commercial breaks. A good quarter of Czechs sit in front of their screens on December 24th every year – all those for whom Christmas without Cinderella is unthinkable.