Milada Šubrtová
Encyclopedia
Milada Šubrtová was a Czech opera
tic soprano
who had a lengthy career at the National Theatre
in Prague
from 1948 through 1991. She was part of an instrumental group of the post-World War II
Czech opera singers that was responsible for popularizing Czech opera internationally. She drew particular acclaim for her portrayals of the title heroines in Leoš Janáček
's Jenůfa
and Antonín Dvořák
's Rusalka
. Her voice is preserved on a few complete opera recordings made on the Supraphon
label. In 1998 she was honored with a Thalia Award.
, Šubrtová moved to Prague and studied singing with Zdeněk Knittl, while working as a secretary in the civil service. She made her professional opera debut in 1946 as Giulietta in Jacques Offenbach
's The Tales of Hoffmann at the “Grand Opera of 5th May”. She became a principal artist at the Prague National Theatre in 1948 where she was committed for the rest of her career until her retirement in 1991.
Having made her debut at Moscow's Bolshoi Theater as the title role of Rusalka
in 1953, she sang at Berlin State Opera House in 1956 and Teatro la Fenice di Venezia in 1958. She sang the part of Milada in Smetana
's Dalibor
and the title role in Rusalka
at Edinburgh Festival in 1964. But she sang mainly at the Prague National Theatre, where she enjoyed exceptional popularity and the affection of her audiences. She married Czech conductor Jan Hus Tichý and sang under his conducting frequently.
Thanks to her all-round abilities she was the leading soprano there for more than 20 years. In 1954 she was awarded the Emmy Destinn and Karel Burian prize at the singing competition of the International Prague Spring Festival at which she performed arias including “Depuis le jour” from Charpentier’s Louise. Her secure technique enabled her to interpret both light coloratura roles as well as dramatic parts. Her vast repertory included more than 80 roles such as Abigaile in Nabucco
, both Agathe and Ännchen in Der Freischütz
, Cio-Cio-San in Madama Butterfly
, Donna Anna in Don Giovanni
, Elisabetta in Don Carlos
, Elsa Lohengrin
, Fiordiligi in Così fan tutte
, Gilda in Rigoletto
, Konstanze in Die Entführung aus dem Serail
, Lady Macbeth in Macbeth
, Leonora in Il trovatore
, Lisa in The Queen of Spades
, Lyudmila in Ruslan and Lyudmila, Marguerite in Faust
, Micaëla in Carmen
, both Mimì and Musetta in La bohème
, Pamina in The Magic Flute
, Santuzza in Cavalleria rusticana
, Sieglinde in Die Walküre
, Tatyana in Eugene Onegin
, Violetta in La traviata
, and the title roles in Louise
, Tosca
, and Turandot
. But above all, she excelled in portraying roles from Czech operas by Smetana
, Dvořák
and Janáček including the title roles of Libuše
and Rusalka
and Jenůfa
, Mařenka in Prodaná nevěsta(The Bartered Bride) and Emilia Marty in Věc Makropulos(Makropulos Case).
She gave also performances in a number of operettas by Strauss, Lehár, Zeller, and in particular, Offenbach. Her concert repertoire included works from Bach to Britten and Honegger to Orff. She left just a handful recordings for the Czech record label Supraphon, but the complete recording of Rusalka
has set a standard because of the glorious conducting by Zdeněk Chalabala and Subrtova’s unequalled interpretation in the title role.
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 soprano
Soprano
A soprano is a voice type with a vocal range from approximately middle C to "high A" in choral music, or to "soprano C" or higher in operatic music. In four-part chorale style harmony, the soprano takes the highest part, which usually encompasses the melody...
who had a lengthy career 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...
from 1948 through 1991. She was part of an instrumental group of the post-World War II
World War II
World War II, or the Second World War , was a global conflict lasting from 1939 to 1945, involving most of the world's nations—including all of the great powers—eventually forming two opposing military alliances: the Allies and the Axis...
Czech opera singers that was responsible for popularizing Czech opera internationally. She drew particular acclaim for her portrayals of the title heroines in Leoš Janáček
Leoš Janácek
Leoš Janáček was a Czech composer, musical theorist, folklorist, publicist and teacher. He was inspired by Moravian and all Slavic folk music to create an original, modern musical style. Until 1895 he devoted himself mainly to folkloristic research and his early musical output was influenced by...
'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 Antonín 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 Rusalka
Rusalka (opera)
Rusalka is an opera by Antonín Dvořák. The Czech libretto was written by the poet Jaroslav Kvapil based on the fairy tales of Karel Jaromír Erben and Božena Němcová. Rusalka is one of the most successful Czech operas, and represents a cornerstone of the repertoire of Czech opera houses...
. Her voice is preserved on a few complete opera recordings made on the Supraphon
Supraphon
Supraphon Music Publishing is a Czech record label, it is oriented mainly towards publishing classical music, with an emphasis on Czech and Slovak composers.- History :...
label. In 1998 she was honored with a Thalia Award.
Biography
Born in KraloviceKralovice
Kralovice is a town in the Pilsen Region of the Czech Republic. The town is situated about in the North-East from Pilsen.Kralovice is also a Municipality with Extended Competence....
, Šubrtová moved to Prague and studied singing with Zdeněk Knittl, while working as a secretary in the civil service. She made her professional opera debut in 1946 as Giulietta in Jacques Offenbach
Jacques Offenbach
Jacques Offenbach was a Prussian-born French composer, cellist and impresario. He is remembered for his nearly 100 operettas of the 1850s–1870s and his uncompleted opera The Tales of Hoffmann. He was a powerful influence on later composers of the operetta genre, particularly Johann Strauss, Jr....
's The Tales of Hoffmann at the “Grand Opera of 5th May”. She became a principal artist at the Prague National Theatre in 1948 where she was committed for the rest of her career until her retirement in 1991.
Having made her debut at Moscow's Bolshoi Theater as the title role of Rusalka
Rusalka
In Slavic mythology, a rusalka was a female ghost, water nymph, succubus, or mermaid-like demon that dwelled in a waterway....
in 1953, she sang at Berlin State Opera House in 1956 and Teatro la Fenice di Venezia in 1958. She sang the part of Milada in Smetana
Smetana
Smetana is a Slavic loanword in English for a dairy product that is produced by souring heavy cream. Smetana is from Central and Eastern Europe, sometimes perceived to be specifically of Russian origin. It is a soured cream product like crème fraîche , but nowadays mainly sold with 15% to 30%...
's Dalibor
Dalibor
Dalibor is a Czech opera in three acts by Bedřich Smetana. The libretto was written in German by Josef Wenzig, and translated into Czech by Ervin Špindler. It was first performed at the New Town Theatre in Prague on 16 May 1868...
and the title role in Rusalka
Rusalka
In Slavic mythology, a rusalka was a female ghost, water nymph, succubus, or mermaid-like demon that dwelled in a waterway....
at Edinburgh Festival in 1964. But she sang mainly at the Prague National Theatre, where she enjoyed exceptional popularity and the affection of her audiences. She married Czech conductor Jan Hus Tichý and sang under his conducting frequently.
Thanks to her all-round abilities she was the leading soprano there for more than 20 years. In 1954 she was awarded the Emmy Destinn and Karel Burian prize at the singing competition of the International Prague Spring Festival at which she performed arias including “Depuis le jour” from Charpentier’s Louise. Her secure technique enabled her to interpret both light coloratura roles as well as dramatic parts. Her vast repertory included more than 80 roles such as Abigaile 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...
, both Agathe and Ännchen in Der Freischütz
Der Freischütz
Der Freischütz is an opera in three acts by Carl Maria von Weber with a libretto by Friedrich Kind. It premiered on 18 June 1821 at the Schauspielhaus Berlin...
, Cio-Cio-San in 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...
, Donna Anna in Don Giovanni
Don Giovanni
Don Giovanni is an opera in two acts with music by Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart and with an Italian libretto by Lorenzo Da Ponte. It was premiered by the Prague Italian opera at the Teatro di Praga on October 29, 1787...
, Elisabetta in Don Carlos
Don Carlos
Don Carlos is a five-act grand opera composed by Giuseppe Verdi to a French language libretto by Camille du Locle and Joseph Méry, based on the dramatic play Don Carlos, Infant von Spanien by Friedrich Schiller...
, Elsa Lohengrin
Lohengrin (opera)
Lohengrin is a romantic opera in three acts composed and written by Richard Wagner, first performed in 1850. The story of the eponymous character is taken from medieval German romance, notably the Parzival of Wolfram von Eschenbach and its sequel, Lohengrin, written by a different author, itself...
, Fiordiligi in Così fan tutte
Così fan tutte
Così fan tutte, ossia La scuola degli amanti K. 588, is an opera buffa by Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart first performed in 1790. The libretto was written by Lorenzo Da Ponte....
, Gilda 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...
, Konstanze in Die Entführung aus dem Serail
Die Entführung aus dem Serail
Die Entführung aus dem Serail is an opera Singspiel in three acts by Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart. The German libretto is by Christoph Friedrich Bretzner with adaptations by Gottlieb Stephanie...
, Lady Macbeth in Macbeth
Macbeth (opera)
Macbeth is an opera in four acts by Giuseppe Verdi, with an Italian libretto by Francesco Maria Piave and additions by Andrea Maffei, based on Shakespeare's play of the same name...
, Leonora in 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...
, Lisa in The Queen of Spades
The Queen of Spades (opera)
The Queen of Spades, Op. 68 is an opera in 3 acts by Pyotr Ilyich Tchaikovsky to a Russian libretto by the composer's brother Modest Tchaikovsky, based on a short story of the same name by Alexander Pushkin. The premiere took place in 1890 in St...
, Lyudmila in Ruslan and Lyudmila, Marguerite in 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...
, Micaëla in 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...
, both Mimì and Musetta in La bohème
La bohème
La bohème is an opera in four acts,Puccini called the divisions quadro, a tableau or "image", rather than atto . by Giacomo Puccini to an Italian libretto by Luigi Illica and Giuseppe Giacosa, based on Scènes de la vie de bohème by Henri Murger...
, Pamina in The Magic Flute
The Magic Flute
The Magic Flute is an opera in two acts composed in 1791 by Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart to a German libretto by Emanuel Schikaneder. The work is in the form of a Singspiel, a popular form that included both singing and spoken dialogue....
, Santuzza in Cavalleria rusticana
Cavalleria rusticana
Cavalleria rusticana is an opera in one act by Pietro Mascagni to an Italian libretto by Giovanni Targioni-Tozzetti and Guido Menasci, adapted from a play written by Giovanni Verga based on his short story. Considered one of the classic verismo operas, it premiered on May 17, 1890 at the Teatro...
, Sieglinde 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...
, Tatyana in 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....
, Violetta in La traviata
La traviata
La traviata is an opera in three acts by Giuseppe Verdi set to an Italian libretto by Francesco Maria Piave. It is based on La dame aux Camélias , a play adapted from the novel by Alexandre Dumas, fils. The title La traviata means literally The Fallen Woman, or perhaps more figuratively, The Woman...
, and the title roles in Louise
Louise (opera)
Louise is an opera in four acts by Gustave Charpentier to an original French libretto by the composer, with some contributions by Saint-Pol-Roux, a symbolist poet and inspiration of the surrealists....
, Tosca
Tosca
Tosca is an opera in three acts by Giacomo Puccini to an Italian libretto by Luigi Illica and Giuseppe Giacosa. It premiered at the Teatro Costanzi in Rome on 14 January 1900...
, and Turandot
Turandot
Turandot is an opera in three acts by Giacomo Puccini, set to a libretto in Italian by Giuseppe Adami and Renato Simoni.Though Puccini's first interest in the subject was based on his reading of Friedrich Schiller's adaptation of the play, his work is most nearly based on the earlier text Turandot...
. But above all, she excelled in portraying roles from Czech operas by Smetana
Smetana
Smetana is a Slavic loanword in English for a dairy product that is produced by souring heavy cream. Smetana is from Central and Eastern Europe, sometimes perceived to be specifically of Russian origin. It is a soured cream product like crème fraîche , but nowadays mainly sold with 15% to 30%...
, Dvořák
Dvorák
- Dvořák or Dvorak :* Ann Dvorak , American film actress* Antonín Dvořák , Czech composer of Romantic music* August Dvorak , American psychologist, co-creator of the Dvorak Simplified Keyboard...
and Janáček including the title roles of Libuše
Libuše
Libuše, Libussa or, historically Lubossa, is a legendary ancestor of the Přemyslid dynasty and the Czech people as whole. Libuše was the wisest of the three sisters and prophesied the foundation of Prague from her castle Libušín...
and Rusalka
Rusalka
In Slavic mythology, a rusalka was a female ghost, water nymph, succubus, or mermaid-like demon that dwelled in a waterway....
and 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...
, Mařenka in Prodaná nevěsta(The Bartered Bride) and Emilia Marty in Věc Makropulos(Makropulos Case).
She gave also performances in a number of operettas by Strauss, Lehár, Zeller, and in particular, Offenbach. Her concert repertoire included works from Bach to Britten and Honegger to Orff. She left just a handful recordings for the Czech record label Supraphon, but the complete recording of Rusalka
Rusalka
In Slavic mythology, a rusalka was a female ghost, water nymph, succubus, or mermaid-like demon that dwelled in a waterway....
has set a standard because of the glorious conducting by Zdeněk Chalabala and Subrtova’s unequalled interpretation in the title role.
Discography of complete opera recordings
| Record label | Composer | Work title | Part | Conductor | Recording year |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Supraphon | Leoš Janáček | Jenůfa | Jano | Jaroslav Vogel | 1952 |
| Multisonic | Antonín Dvořák | Armida | Armida | Václav Jiráček | 1956 |
| Supraphon | Bedřich Smetana | Čertova stěna(The Devil's Wall) | Hedvika | Zdeněk Chalabala | 1960 |
| Supraphon | Antonín Dvořák | Rusalka | Rusalka | Zdeněk Chalabala | 1961 |
| Supraphon | Bedřich Smetana | Braniboři v Čechách(The Brandenburgers in Bohemia) | Ludiše | Jan Hus Tichý | 1963 |
| Supraphon | Bedřich Smetana | Libuše | Krasava | Jaroslav Krombholc | 1965 |