Hana Hegerová (20 October 1931 – 23 March 2021) was a Slovak singer and actress. Often referred to as the Queen of Czechoslovak chanson, she gained popularity primarily as a singer of

chanson A (, ; , ) is generally any Lyrics, lyric-driven French song. The term is most commonly used in English to refer either to the secular polyphonic French songs of late medieval music, medieval and Renaissance music or to a specific style of ...

s. Outside of Czechoslovakia, Hegerová attained recognition especially in German-speaking countries.

Early life

Hegerová was born Carmen Mária Štefánia Farkašová.

Career

In 1954, Hegerová played the title role in the film ''Frona'' under the name Hana Čelková. She made her singing debut in ''Tatra Revue'' in Bratislava in 1957. After she came to

Prague Prague ( ; ) is the capital and List of cities and towns in the Czech Republic, largest city of the Czech Republic and the historical capital of Bohemia. Prague, located on the Vltava River, has a population of about 1.4 million, while its P ...

, the foremost Czech actor Jan Werich offered her an engagement in the , but she refused. Hegerová performed at the Rokoko Theatre in Prague from 1958 until 2021. From 1961 to 1966 at the Semafor Theater, she appeared in the jazz opera ''Dobře placená procházka'' by

Jiří Suchý Jiří Suchý (born 1 October 1931) is a Czechs, Czech comedian, poet, lyricist, prolific songwriter and occasional film-maker and prose writer. Plenty of his songs have become extremely popular within several successive generations. Currently he ...

(libretto) and Jiří Šlitr (music), and film '' Kdyby tisíc klarinetů'' (''If a Thousand Clarinets''). Hegerová's repertoire included many chansons by Czech and Slovak authors, and also Czech versions of songs from the repertoire of

Édith Piaf Édith Giovanna Gassion (19 December 1915 – 10 October 1963), known as Édith Piaf (), was a French singer and lyricist best known for performing songs in the cabaret and modern chanson genres. She is widely regarded as France's greatest popu ...

(''"Mylord"''),

Jacques Brel Jacques Romain Georges Brel (; 8 April 1929 – 9 October 1978) was a Belgian singer and actor who composed and performed theatrical songs. He generated a large, devoted following—initially in Belgium and France, but later throughout the world ...

(''"Ne me quitte pas"''), and songs by

Kurt Weill Kurt Julian Weill (; ; March 2, 1900April 3, 1950) was a German-born American composer active from the 1920s in his native country, and in his later years in the United States. He was a leading composer for the stage who was best known for hi ...

("Surabaya Johnny" and "The Barbara Song") and many others. In 1967, Hana Hegerová appeared at the

Paris Olympia The Olympia (; commonly known as L'Olympia or in the English-speaking world as Olympia Hall) is a concert venue in the 9th arrondissement of Paris, France, located at 28 Boulevard des Capucines, equally distancing Madeleine church and Opéra ...

. In 2002, Heregová received a Medal of Merit from Czech President

Václav Havel Václav Havel (; 5 October 193618 December 2011) was a Czech statesman, author, poet, playwright, and dissident. Havel served as the last List of presidents of Czechoslovakia, president of Czechoslovakia from 1989 until 1992, prior to the dissol ...

. In 2014, she received an

Order of Tomáš Garrigue Masaryk The Order of Tomáš Garrigue Masaryk () is an order (decoration), Order of the Czech Republic and the former Czechoslovakia. It was established in 1990 after the Velvet Revolution, and re-established in 1994 (following the dissolution of Czechosl ...

from President

Miloš Zeman Miloš Zeman (; born 28 September 1944) is a Czech politician who served as the third president of the Czech Republic from 2013 to 2023. He also previously served as the prime minister of the Czech Republic from 1998 to 2002. As leader of the Cze ...

. In August 2011, the national press announced that the diva decided to retire from the music industry, telling MusicServer: "I have decided that I no longer want it. I don't want to sing, I don't want to go public. I want to get rid of stress. Simply, the Hana Hegerová enterprise is terminated, only Hana Hegerová remains as a private person who finally wants to enjoy peaceful days with her dog. Wish me luck so that there are still lots of them left."

Illness and death

In December 2014, Hegerová was hospitalized with serious heart problems in the General University Hospital (''Všeobecná fakultní nemocnice'') in Prague. She died on 23 March 2021 at 89 years old in Prague Hospital due to complications from a

hip fracture A hip fracture is a break that occurs in the upper part of the femur (thigh bone), at the femoral neck or (rarely) the femoral head. Symptoms may include pain around the hip, particularly with movement, and shortening of the leg. Usually ...

Discography

;Studio albums * 1966: ''Šansony s Hanou Hegerovou'' * 1971: ''Recital'' * 1973: ''Recital 2'' * 1977: ''Lásko prokletá'' * 1987: ''Potměšilý host'' * 2010: ''Mlýnské kolo v srdci mém'' ;Export albums * 1967: ''Ich'' (aka ''Chansons'') * 1969: ''Hana Hegerová'' * 1972: ''So geht es auf der Welt zu'' * 1974: ''Fast ein Liebeslied'' * 1975: ''Wir für euch'' * 1987: ''Chansons'' (aka ''Wenn die Schatten'')

Filmography

Awards

Major awards

;Notes * A "Szeptem" composed by Jerzy Abratowski for lyrics by Jacek Korczakowski, and the Gold award won by "Jesienna rozłąka" sung by Anita Traversi from

Switzerland Switzerland, officially the Swiss Confederation, is a landlocked country located in west-central Europe. It is bordered by Italy to the south, France to the west, Germany to the north, and Austria and Liechtenstein to the east. Switzerland ...

. * B Hegerová shared the Bronze award along with Emil Dimitrov who entered the contest with "Arlekino". The Gold went to

Greek Greek may refer to: Anything of, from, or related to Greece, a country in Southern Europe: *Greeks, an ethnic group *Greek language, a branch of the Indo-European language family **Proto-Greek language, the assumed last common ancestor of all kno ...

Jeanne Yovanna for "Ti Krima", while Silver won by "Stav" by Ester Reichstadt from

Israel Israel, officially the State of Israel, is a country in West Asia. It Borders of Israel, shares borders with Lebanon to the north, Syria to the north-east, Jordan to the east, Egypt to the south-west, and the Mediterranean Sea to the west. Isr ...

. * C The award for the Female Singer of the Year went to

Lucie Bílá Lucie Bílá (born Hana Zaňáková on 7 April 1966) is a Czech pop singer. According to her label, EMI Czech Republic, the singer has sold over one million albums. She won the Czech musical award, Český slavík, 13 times, more than any other ...

, while the second nominee was Lucie Vondráčková. * D The category of the Album of the Year won by ''Tepláky aneb Kroky Františka Soukupa'' set by Nightwork band. ''Outlet People'' by Toxique group featured the rest of nominated works. * E According to the municipal authorities, Prague 1 awards the Honorary citizenship title only exceptionally. As such, Hegerová became the first female ever and the fifth honoree in total, respectively (following writer Josef Topol, photographer Ladislav Sitenský, conductor Jaroslav Hrnčíř and architect Josef Hyzler).

Music polls

;Notes * F The initial two editions of the Zlatý slavík poll included only one category for both, either male or female vocalists. Else in 1962, Hegerová would be ranked as the third most popular female singer, following Yvetta Simonová and Eva Pilarová. * G In 1963, Hegerová entered the poll as the second most voted female vocalist in the country, following Pilarová.

References

Sources

* *

External links

Hana Hegerová
(

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) *
Hana Hegerová
at CDmusic.cz
Hana Hegerová
on

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Hana Hegerová
at EuroPopMusic * * * {{DEFAULTSORT:Hegerova, Hana 1931 births 2021 deaths Musicians from Bratislava Slovak film actresses Slovak people of Jewish descent Recipients of the Order of Tomáš Garrigue Masaryk, 1st class Recipients of Medal of Merit (Czech Republic) Commanders of the Ordre national du Mérite 20th-century Slovak actresses 21st-century Slovak actresses Actresses from Bratislava 20th-century Slovak women singers 21st-century Slovak women singers Czechoslovak women singers Chevaliers of the Ordre des Arts et des Lettres German-language singers of Slovakia