Kateřina Jalovcová
Encyclopedia
Kateřina Jalovcová is a Czech
opera
tic mezzo-soprano
who has had an active international career since 2004. She is currently a principal singer at the National Theatre
in Prague
.
where she studied voice under Brigita Šulcová. In 2004 she joined the roster of principal artists at the Liberec Theatre, singing roles there for two years. During this time she also worked as a guest artist at the National Theatre in Prague and the Olomouc Moravian Theatre. Among the roles she portrayed during these years were Azucena in Verdi's Il trovatore
, Ulrica in Verdi's Un ballo in maschera
, Preziosilla in Verdi's La forza del destino
, Siebel in Gounod's Faust
, and Fyodor in Mussorgsky
's Boris Godunov
.
In 2006 Jalovcová became a principal singer at the National Theatre, and has since performed a wide variety of roles at that house. Among the roles she has sung in Prague are, Annio in Mozart's La clemenza di Tito
, Cherubino in Mozart's Le nozze di Figaro, Dalila in Saint-Saëns's Samson et Dalila, Kate in Dvořák
's The Devil and Kate
, Meg Page in Verdi's Falstaff
, Olga in Tchaikovsky's Eugene Onegin
, the Shepherdess in Janáček's Jenůfa
, and Turnspit in Dvořák's Rusalka
.
In June 2007, Jalovcová was honored with the Most Talented Young Singer award at the Wexford Festival Opera
for her portrayal of the Witch in Rusalka. She returned to Wexford the following year to portray Lel in Rimsky-Korsakov's The Snow Maiden
with conductor Dmitri Jurowski. She has also made appearances at Oper Graz in the roles of Suzuki in Puccini's Madama Butterfly
and Fenena in Nabucco
.
On the concert stage Jalovcová has appeared in concert with the Prague Symphony Orchestra
on a number of occasions, most notably singing Jocaste in Stravinsky's oratorio Oedipus Rex and performing as a feature soloist in Dvořák
's Requiem
under the baton of Jiří Kout.
Czechoslovakia
Czechoslovakia or Czecho-Slovakia was a sovereign state in Central Europe which existed from October 1918, when it declared its independence from the Austro-Hungarian Empire, until 1992...
opera
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 mezzo-soprano
Mezzo-soprano
A mezzo-soprano is a type of classical female singing voice whose range lies between the soprano and the contralto singing voices, usually extending from the A below middle C to the A two octaves above...
who has had an active international career since 2004. She is currently a principal singer 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...
.
Career
Jalovcová is a graduate of the Prague ConservatoryPrague 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 :...
where she studied voice under Brigita Šulcová. In 2004 she joined the roster of principal artists at the Liberec Theatre, singing roles there for two years. During this time she also worked as a guest artist at the National Theatre in Prague and the Olomouc Moravian Theatre. Among the roles she portrayed during these years were Azucena in Verdi's Il trovatore
Il trovatore
Il trovatore is an opera in four acts by Giuseppe Verdi to an Italian libretto by Salvadore Cammarano, based on the play El Trovador by Antonio García Gutiérrez. Cammarano died in mid-1852 before completing the libretto...
, Ulrica in Verdi's 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...
, Preziosilla in Verdi's La forza del destino
La forza del destino
La forza del destino is an Italian opera by Giuseppe Verdi. The libretto was written by Francesco Maria Piave based on a Spanish drama, Don Álvaro o la fuerza del sino , by Ángel de Saavedra, Duke of Rivas, with a scene adapted from Friedrich Schiller's Wallensteins Lager. It was first performed...
, Siebel in Gounod's Faust
Faust (opera)
Faust is a drame lyrique in five acts by Charles Gounod to a French libretto by Jules Barbier and Michel Carré from Carré's play Faust et Marguerite, in turn loosely based on Johann Wolfgang von Goethe's Faust, Part 1...
, and Fyodor in Mussorgsky
Mussorgsky
Mussorgsky can refer to:*The Mussorgsky family of Russian nobility;*Modest Mussorgsky, a Russian composer belonging to that family.*Mussorgsky , a 1950 Soviet film about the composer...
's Boris Godunov
Boris Godunov (opera)
Boris Godunov is an opera by Modest Mussorgsky . The work was composed between 1868 and 1873 in Saint Petersburg, Russia. It is Mussorgsky's only completed opera and is considered his masterpiece. Its subjects are the Russian ruler Boris Godunov, who reigned as Tsar during the Time of Troubles,...
.
In 2006 Jalovcová became a principal singer at the National Theatre, and has since performed a wide variety of roles at that house. Among the roles she has sung in Prague are, Annio in Mozart's La clemenza di Tito
La clemenza di Tito
La clemenza di Tito , K. 621, is an opera seria in two acts composed by Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart to an Italian libretto by Caterino Mazzolà, after Metastasio...
, Cherubino in Mozart's Le nozze di Figaro, Dalila in Saint-Saëns's Samson et Dalila, Kate in Dvořák
Antonín Dvorák
Antonín Leopold Dvořák was a Czech composer of late Romantic music, who employed the idioms of the folk music of Moravia and his native Bohemia. Dvořák’s own style is sometimes called "romantic-classicist synthesis". His works include symphonic, choral and chamber music, concerti, operas and many...
's 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...
, Meg Page in Verdi's Falstaff
Falstaff (opera)
Falstaff is an operatic commedia lirica in three acts by Giuseppe Verdi, adapted by Arrigo Boito from Shakespeare's plays The Merry Wives of Windsor and scenes from Henry IV. It was Verdi's last opera, written in the composer's ninth decade, and only the second of his 26 operas to be a comedy...
, Olga in Tchaikovsky's Eugene Onegin
Eugene Onegin (opera)
Eugene Onegin, Op. 24, is an opera in 3 acts , by Pyotr Ilyich Tchaikovsky. The libretto was written by Konstantin Shilovsky and the composer and his brother Modest, and is based on the novel in verse by Alexander Pushkin....
, the Shepherdess in Janáček's Jenůfa
Jenufa
Jenůfa is an opera in three acts by Leoš Janáček to a Czech libretto by the composer, based on the play Její pastorkyňa by Gabriela Preissová. It was first performed at the Brno Theater, Brno, 21 January 1904...
, and Turnspit in Dvořák's Rusalka
Rusalka
In Slavic mythology, a rusalka was a female ghost, water nymph, succubus, or mermaid-like demon that dwelled in a waterway....
.
In June 2007, Jalovcová was honored with the Most Talented Young Singer award at the Wexford Festival Opera
Wexford Festival Opera
The Wexford Festival Opera is an opera festival that takes place in the town of Wexford in South-Eastern Ireland during the months of October and November.-Festival origins under Tom Walsh, 1951 to 1966:...
for her portrayal of the Witch in Rusalka. She returned to Wexford the following year to portray Lel in Rimsky-Korsakov's The Snow Maiden
The Snow Maiden
The Snow Maiden: A Spring Fairy Tale is an opera in four acts with a prologue by Nikolai Rimsky-Korsakov, composed during 1880–1881. The Russian libretto, by the composer, is based on the like-named play by Alexander Ostrovsky .The first performance of Rimsky-Korsakov's opera took place at the...
with conductor Dmitri Jurowski. She has also made appearances at Oper Graz in the roles of Suzuki in Puccini's Madama Butterfly
Madama Butterfly
Madama Butterfly is an opera in three acts by Giacomo Puccini, with an Italian libretto by Luigi Illica and Giuseppe Giacosa. Puccini based his opera in part on the short story "Madame Butterfly" by John Luther Long, which was dramatized by David Belasco...
and 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...
.
On the concert stage Jalovcová has appeared in concert with the 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...
on a number of occasions, most notably singing Jocaste in Stravinsky's oratorio Oedipus Rex and performing as a feature soloist in Dvořák
Antonín Dvorák
Antonín Leopold Dvořák was a Czech composer of late Romantic music, who employed the idioms of the folk music of Moravia and his native Bohemia. Dvořák’s own style is sometimes called "romantic-classicist synthesis". His works include symphonic, choral and chamber music, concerti, operas and many...
's Requiem
Requiem
A Requiem or Requiem Mass, also known as Mass for the dead or Mass of the dead , is a Mass celebrated for the repose of the soul or souls of one or more deceased persons, using a particular form of the Roman Missal...
under the baton of Jiří Kout.