Romain Rolland: John Christopher

John Christopher is probably the most important work of the French writer and 1915 Nobel Prize for Literature winner Romain Rolland. It is a novel cycle, conceived as a symphony, which is based on the fate of the brilliant German-born composer Krafft (whose character was probably inspired by Ludwig van Beethoven) and his artistic growth, shaped by his stay in Paris, Switzerland and Italy, a broad picture of European and especially French society in the period between the Paris Commune and the First World War. Continue reading. Translation by Nina Neklanová. Prepared by Vlasta Soudková. Directed by Karel Žalud. The cast includes Jiří Holý, Růžena Merunková, Karel Houska, Petr Svoboda, Eva Boušková and Jakub Žalud.