Jana Sýkorová
Encyclopedia
Jana Sýkorová is a Czech opera
tic contralto
. She has been a leading soloist with the Prague State Opera
since 1999. Since 2002 she has been a permanent guest at the National Theatre
in Prague
and was made a permanent guest at the National Theatre
in Brno
in 2006.
, Sýkorová studied under Brigita Šulcová at the Prague Conservatory
. She has won several singing competitions, including first prize at the International Singing Contest of Carlsbad in 1997 and the "Förderpreis für junge Künstler" in 1998. While still a student she made her professional opera debut at the National Theatre
in Prague in a small role in Richard Strauss
's Der Rosenkavalier
under the baton of Jiří Kout in 1997. Shortly thereafter she made her first appearance at the Prague State Opera as La Cieca in Amilcare Ponchielli
's La Gioconda
. In 1998 she joined the roster of principal singers at the Liberec Theatre where she was committed for one year.
In 1999 Sýkorová became a member of the Prague State Opera which remains her principal home to this day. She made her debut with the company in the title role of Georges Bizet
's Carmen
, a role which she has since become particularly associated. Some performance highlights with the company include the world premiere of Emil Viklický
's Phaedra, Pallas in a concert version of Camille Saint-Saëns
's Hélène
, the title role in the Czech premiere of Antonio Vivaldi
’s Orlando Furioso
, and the Elephant Man in the world premiere of Laurent Petitgirard
's Joseph Merrick dit Elephant Man. Other roles she has performed on the stage of the Prague State Opera include Anitra in Edvard Grieg
's Peer Gynt, Maddalena in Rigoletto
, Fenena in Nabucco
, Suzuki in Madame Butterfly, Ulrica in Un ballo in maschera
, and Ursula in Béatrice et Bénédict
.
In 2002 Sýkorová was made a permanent guest artist at the Prague National Theatre. Her roles at this theatre include Carmen, Kate in The Devil and Kate
, and Panna Roza in The Secret
. She is also a permanent guest artist at the Brno National Theatre where she is a much loved Carmen. On the international stage she sang Grimgerde in Die Walküre
at the Wagner Festival Wels in 2000 and 2001. In 2002 she sang the Elephant Man in the French premiere of Joseph Merrick dit Elephant Man at Opéra de Nice
. She made her first appearance in Berlin in 2001 in a production of Viklický's Death and that same year sang Fenena at the Aspendos International Opera and Ballet Festival
. She made her debut in the Royal Opera House
, Covent Garden
as Maddalena and returned there in 2008 to portray Mercedes in Carmen.
As a concert Sýkorová has performed numerous times with the Czech Philharmonic, Prague Symphony Orchestra
, Prague Radio Symphony Orchestra
, and other orchestras in her native country. She has also performed with major symphony orchestras in Denmark, Norway, France, Italy, Great Britain, Spain, Poland, Hungary, Slovak Republic and Japan.
Opera
Opera is an art form in which singers and musicians perform a dramatic work combining text and musical score, usually in a theatrical setting. Opera incorporates many of the elements of spoken theatre, such as acting, scenery, and costumes and sometimes includes dance...
tic contralto
Contralto
Contralto is the deepest female classical singing voice, with the lowest tessitura, falling between tenor and mezzo-soprano. It typically ranges between the F below middle C to the second G above middle C , although at the extremes some voices can reach the E below middle C or the second B above...
. She has been a leading soloist with the Prague State Opera
Prague State Opera
The Prague State Opera , is an opera and ballet company in Prague, Czech Republic. The theatre was originally founded in 1888 as the New German Theatre and from 1949 to 1989 it was known as the Smetana Theatre....
since 1999. Since 2002 she has been a permanent guest at the National Theatre
National Theatre (Prague)
The National Theatre in Prague is known as the Alma Mater of Czech opera, and as the national monument of Czech history and art.The National Theatre belongs to the most important Czech cultural institutions, with a rich artistic tradition which was created and maintained by the most distinguished...
in Prague
Prague
Prague is the capital and largest city of the Czech Republic. Situated in the north-west of the country on the Vltava river, the city is home to about 1.3 million people, while its metropolitan area is estimated to have a population of over 2.3 million...
and was made a permanent guest at the National Theatre
National Theatre (Brno)
The National Theatre in Brno is the major theatre house in Brno. It was established in 1884 by model of the National Theatre in Prague.Nowadays it consists of three stages:...
in Brno
Brno
Brno by population and area is the second largest city in the Czech Republic, the largest Moravian city, and the historical capital city of the Margraviate of Moravia. Brno is the administrative centre of the South Moravian Region where it forms a separate district Brno-City District...
in 2006.
Biography
Born in Karlovy VaryKarlovy Vary
Karlovy Vary is a spa city situated in western Bohemia, Czech Republic, on the confluence of the rivers Ohře and Teplá, approximately west of Prague . It is named after King of Bohemia and Holy Roman Emperor Charles IV, who founded the city in 1370...
, Sýkorová studied under Brigita Šulcová at the Prague Conservatory
Prague Conservatory
Prague Conservatory, sometimes also Prague Conservatoire, in Czech Pražská konzervatoř, is a Czech secondary school in Prague dedicated to teaching the arts of music and theater acting.- Instruction :...
. She has won several singing competitions, including first prize at the International Singing Contest of Carlsbad in 1997 and the "Förderpreis für junge Künstler" in 1998. While still a student she made her professional opera debut at the National Theatre
National Theatre (Prague)
The National Theatre in Prague is known as the Alma Mater of Czech opera, and as the national monument of Czech history and art.The National Theatre belongs to the most important Czech cultural institutions, with a rich artistic tradition which was created and maintained by the most distinguished...
in Prague in a small role in Richard Strauss
Richard Strauss
Richard Georg Strauss was a leading German composer of the late Romantic and early modern eras. He is known for his operas, which include Der Rosenkavalier and Salome; his Lieder, especially his Four Last Songs; and his tone poems and orchestral works, such as Death and Transfiguration, Till...
's Der Rosenkavalier
Der Rosenkavalier
Der Rosenkavalier is a comic opera in three acts by Richard Strauss to an original German libretto by Hugo von Hofmannsthal. It is loosely adapted from the novel Les amours du chevalier de Faublas by Louvet de Couvrai and Molière’s comedy Monsieur de Pourceaugnac...
under the baton of Jiří Kout in 1997. Shortly thereafter she made her first appearance at the Prague State Opera as La Cieca in Amilcare Ponchielli
Amilcare Ponchielli
Amilcare Ponchielli was an Italian composer, largely of operas.-Biography:Born in Paderno Fasolaro, now Paderno Ponchielli, near Cremona, Ponchielli won a scholarship at the age of nine to study music at the Milan Conservatory, writing his first symphony by the time he was ten years old.Two years...
's La Gioconda
La Gioconda (opera)
La Gioconda is an opera in four acts by Amilcare Ponchielli set to an Italian libretto by Arrigo Boito, based on Angelo, tyran de Padoue, a play in prose by Victor Hugo, dating from 1835...
. In 1998 she joined the roster of principal singers at the Liberec Theatre where she was committed for one year.
In 1999 Sýkorová became a member of the Prague State Opera which remains her principal home to this day. She made her debut with the company in the title role of Georges Bizet
Georges Bizet
Georges Bizet formally Alexandre César Léopold Bizet, was a French composer, mainly of operas. In a career cut short by his early death, he achieved few successes before his final work, Carmen, became one of the most popular and frequently performed works in the entire opera repertory.During a...
's Carmen
Carmen
Carmen is a French opéra comique by Georges Bizet. The libretto is by Henri Meilhac and Ludovic Halévy, based on the novella of the same title by Prosper Mérimée, first published in 1845, itself possibly influenced by the narrative poem The Gypsies by Alexander Pushkin...
, a role which she has since become particularly associated. Some performance highlights with the company include the world premiere of Emil Viklický
Emil Viklický
Emil Viklický is a Czech jazz pianist and composer. In 1971 he graduated from Palacký University with a degree in mathematics. While a student he devoted much time to playing jazz piano. In 1974, he was awarded the prize for best soloist at the Czechoslovak Amateur Jazz Festival, and that same...
's Phaedra, Pallas in a concert version of Camille Saint-Saëns
Camille Saint-Saëns
Charles-Camille Saint-Saëns was a French Late-Romantic composer, organist, conductor, and pianist. He is known especially for The Carnival of the Animals, Danse macabre, Samson and Delilah, Piano Concerto No. 2, Cello Concerto No. 1, Havanaise, Introduction and Rondo Capriccioso, and his Symphony...
's Hélène
Hélène (opera)
Hélène is a poème lyrique or opera in one act by composer Camille Saint-Saëns. It is the first opera for which Saint-Saëns wrote his own French libretto which is based on the classic story of Helen of Troy and Paris from Greek mythology. The opera premiered at the Opéra de Monte-Carlo in Monaco on...
, the title role in the Czech premiere of Antonio Vivaldi
Antonio Vivaldi
Antonio Lucio Vivaldi , nicknamed because of his red hair, was an Italian Baroque composer, priest, and virtuoso violinist, born in Venice. Vivaldi is recognized as one of the greatest Baroque composers, and his influence during his lifetime was widespread over Europe...
’s Orlando Furioso
Orlando furioso (Vivaldi)
Orlando furioso is an opera in three acts by Antonio Vivaldi to an Italian libretto by Grazio Braccioli, based on the poem of the same name by Ariosto. The first performance of the opera was at Teatro San Angelo, Venice, in 1727....
, and the Elephant Man in the world premiere of Laurent Petitgirard
Laurent Petitgirard
Laurent Petitgirard is a French classical composer and conductor.- Biography and career :Laurent Petitgirard studied piano with Serge Petitgirard and composition with Alain Kremski...
's Joseph Merrick dit Elephant Man. Other roles she has performed on the stage of the Prague State Opera include Anitra in Edvard Grieg
Edvard Grieg
Edvard Hagerup Grieg was a Norwegian composer and pianist. He is best known for his Piano Concerto in A minor, for his incidental music to Henrik Ibsen's play Peer Gynt , and for his collection of piano miniatures Lyric Pieces.-Biography:Edvard Hagerup Grieg was born in...
's Peer Gynt, Maddalena in Rigoletto
Rigoletto
Rigoletto is an opera in three acts by Giuseppe Verdi. The Italian libretto was written by Francesco Maria Piave based on the play Le roi s'amuse by Victor Hugo. It was first performed at La Fenice in Venice on March 11, 1851...
, Fenena in Nabucco
Nabucco
Nabucco is an opera in four acts by Giuseppe Verdi to an Italian libretto by Temistocle Solera, based on the Biblical story and the 1836 play by Auguste Anicet-Bourgeois and Francis Cornue...
, Suzuki in Madame Butterfly, Ulrica in Un ballo in maschera
Un ballo in maschera
Un ballo in maschera , is an opera in three acts by Giuseppe Verdi with text by Antonio Somma. The libretto is loosely based on an 1833 play, Gustave III, by French playwright Eugène Scribe who wrote about the historical assassination of King Gustav III of Sweden...
, and Ursula in Béatrice et Bénédict
Béatrice et Bénédict
Béatrice et Bénédict is an opera in two acts by Hector Berlioz. Berlioz wrote the French libretto himself, based closely on Shakespeare's Much Ado About Nothing....
.
In 2002 Sýkorová was made a permanent guest artist at the Prague National Theatre. Her roles at this theatre include Carmen, Kate in The Devil and Kate
The Devil and Kate
The Devil and Kate, Op. 112, B.201, is an opera in three acts by Antonín Dvořák to a Czech libretto by Adolf Wenig. It is based on a farce by Josef Kajetán Tyl, and the story also had been treated in the Fairy Tales of Božena Němcová...
, and Panna Roza in The Secret
The Secret (opera)
The Secret is a comic opera in three acts by Bedřich Smetana. The libretto was written by Eliška Krásnohorská. The premiere took place September 18, 1878 at the Nové České Divadlo in Prague.-Background:...
. She is also a permanent guest artist at the Brno National Theatre where she is a much loved Carmen. On the international stage she sang Grimgerde in Die Walküre
Die Walküre
Die Walküre , WWV 86B, is the second of the four operas that form the cycle Der Ring des Nibelungen , by Richard Wagner...
at the Wagner Festival Wels in 2000 and 2001. In 2002 she sang the Elephant Man in the French premiere of Joseph Merrick dit Elephant Man at Opéra de Nice
Opéra de Nice
The Opéra de Nice is the principal opera venue in Nice, France.The théâtre municipal of Nice was inaugurated 7 February 1885 with a performance of Verdi's Aida. In 1902 the théâtre municipal became the Opéra de Nice.-References:...
. She made her first appearance in Berlin in 2001 in a production of Viklický's Death and that same year sang Fenena at the Aspendos International Opera and Ballet Festival
Aspendos International Opera and Ballet Festival
The Aspendos International Opera and Ballet Festival has been organized by the Turkish State Opera and Ballet directorate since 1994 with international participation by opera and ballet companies from several different countries...
. She made her debut in the Royal Opera House
Royal Opera House
The Royal Opera House is an opera house and major performing arts venue in Covent Garden, central London. The large building is often referred to as simply "Covent Garden", after a previous use of the site of the opera house's original construction in 1732. It is the home of The Royal Opera, The...
, Covent Garden
Covent Garden
Covent Garden is a district in London on the eastern fringes of the West End, between St. Martin's Lane and Drury Lane. It is associated with the former fruit and vegetable market in the central square, now a popular shopping and tourist site, and the Royal Opera House, which is also known as...
as Maddalena and returned there in 2008 to portray Mercedes in Carmen.
As a concert Sýkorová has performed numerous times with the Czech Philharmonic, Prague Symphony Orchestra
Prague Symphony Orchestra
The Prague Symphony Orchestra was founded in 1934 by Rudolf Pekárek. In the 1930s the orchestra performed the scores for many Czech films, and also appeared regularly on Czech radio. An early promoter of the orchestra was Dr...
, Prague Radio Symphony Orchestra
Prague Radio Symphony Orchestra (SOCR)
The Prague Radio Symphony Orchestra is based in Prague in the Czech Republic.- History :Regular radio broadcasting began in the Czech Republic in May, 1923. Live classical musical broadcasts became very popular...
, and other orchestras in her native country. She has also performed with major symphony orchestras in Denmark, Norway, France, Italy, Great Britain, Spain, Poland, Hungary, Slovak Republic and Japan.