His training as a carpenter, painter and architect, in combination with his fascination for theatre, made Josef Svoboda a famous stage director, not only in his own country but all over the world. In 1946 he started his career in the Czech National Theatre. At that time experiments and innovation were not
tolerated by the regime, but he still managed 60 productions. Later, he experimented with Alfred Radok with multiple screens, live performance, film and other audiovisual forms for the Brussels World Fair in 1958 (Polyekran and Laterna Magika). Since then this form of ‘theatre of miracles’ had been adopted worldwide. He worked in the New York Metropolitan Opera, London’s Covent Garden and La Scala in Milan. He also worked with Milos Forman, designing the sets for the Oscarwinning film Amadeus. He won honorary doctorates from the Royal College of Arts in London. He was made a Chevalier de l’Ordre des Arts et des Lettres in Paris and received the French Legion d’Honneur in 1993.