Jaroslava Maxová (born 6 April 1957; Jaroslava Horská, Jaroslava Horská-Maxová) is a Czech

mezzo-soprano A mezzo-soprano or mezzo (; ; meaning "half soprano") is a type of classical female singing voice whose vocal range lies between the soprano and the contralto voice types. The mezzo-soprano's vocal range usually extends from the A below middle C ...

opera Opera is a form of theatre in which music is a fundamental component and dramatic roles are taken by singers. Such a "work" (the literal translation of the Italian word "opera") is typically a collaboration between a composer and a librett ...

singer and

vocal coach A vocal coach, also known as a voice coach (though this term often applies to those working with speech and communication rather than singing), is a music teacher, usually a piano accompanist, who helps singers prepare for a performance, often al ...

Biography

Jaroslava Maxová was born on 6 April 1957 in

Moravská Třebová Moravská Třebová (; german: Mährisch Trübau) is a town in Svitavy District in the Pardubice Region of the Czech Republic. It has about 9,700 inhabitants. The historic town centre is well preserved and is protected by law as an urban monument ...

Moravia Moravia ( , also , ; cs, Morava ; german: link=yes, Mähren ; pl, Morawy ; szl, Morawa; la, Moravia) is a historical region in the east of the Czech Republic and one of three historical Czech lands, with Bohemia and Czech Silesia. The me ...

and studied singing at the

Bratislava Bratislava (, also ; ; german: Preßburg/Pressburg ; hu, Pozsony) is the Capital city, capital and largest city of Slovakia. Officially, the population of the city is about 475,000; however, it is estimated to be more than 660,000 — approxim ...

Academy in

Slovakia Slovakia (; sk, Slovensko ), officially the Slovak Republic ( sk, Slovenská republika, links=no ), is a landlocked country in Central Europe. It is bordered by Poland to the north, Ukraine to the east, Hungary to the south, Austria to the s ...

. She made her Slovak National Opera début already during her studies and became a soloist there in 1986. She sang principal roles throughout the next eight years and since 1994 continued to do so at the Prague National Opera Theatre. Her repertoire includes Strauss‘ Octavian in ''

Der Rosenkavalier (''The Knight of the Rose'' or ''The Rose-Bearer''), Op. 59, 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'' ...

'', Offenbach’s Niklausse in '' Les contes d’Hoffmann'', Verdi’s Amneris in ''

Aida ''Aida'' (or ''Aïda'', ) is an opera in four acts by Giuseppe Verdi to an Italian libretto by Antonio Ghislanzoni. Set in the Old Kingdom of Egypt, it was commissioned by Cairo's Khedivial Opera House and had its première there on 24 December ...

'', Fenena in ''

Nabucco ''Nabucco'' (, short for Nabucodonosor ; en, " Nebuchadnezzar") is an Italian-language opera in four acts composed in 1841 by Giuseppe Verdi to an Italian libretto by Temistocle Solera. The libretto is based on the biblical books of 2 Kings, ...

'', Maddalena in ''

Rigoletto ''Rigoletto'' is an opera in three acts by Giuseppe Verdi. The Italian libretto was written by Francesco Maria Piave based on the 1832 play ''Le roi s'amuse'' by Victor Hugo. Despite serious initial problems with the Austrian censors who had cont ...

'', Preziosilla in ''

La forza del destino ' (; ''The Power of Fate'', often translated ''The Force of Destiny'') is an Italian opera by Giuseppe Verdi. The libretto was written by Francesco Maria Piave based on a Spanish drama, ' (1835), by Ángel de Saavedra, 3rd Duke of Rivas, wi ...

'', Mozart’s Dorabella in ''

Così fan tutte (''All Women Do It, or The School for Lovers''), K. 588, is an opera buffa in two acts by Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart. It was first performed on 26 January 1790 at the Burgtheater in Vienna, Austria. The libretto was written by Lorenzo Da Ponte w ...

'', Cherubino and Marcellina in ''

Le nozze di Figaro ''The Marriage of Figaro'' ( it, Le nozze di Figaro, links=no, ), K. 492, is a ''commedia per musica'' (opera buffa) in four acts composed in 1786 by Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart, with an Italian libretto written by Lorenzo Da Ponte. It premie ...

'' and Sesto in ''

La clemenza di Tito ' (''The Clemency of Titus''), K. 621, is an '' opera seria'' in two acts composed by Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart to an Italian libretto by Caterino Mazzolà, after Pietro Metastasio. It was started after most of ' (''The Magic Flute''), the last of ...

'', Rossini’s Berta in ''

Il barbiere di Siviglia ''The Barber of Seville, or The Useless Precaution'' ( it, Il barbiere di Siviglia, ossia L'inutile precauzione ) is an ''opera buffa'' in two acts composed by Gioachino Rossini with an Italian libretto by Cesare Sterbini. The libretto was base ...

'', Tchaikovsky’s Olga in ''

Eugene Onegin ''Eugene Onegin, A Novel in Verse'' ( pre-reform Russian: ; post-reform rus, Евгений Оне́гин, ромáн в стихáх, p=jɪvˈɡʲenʲɪj ɐˈnʲeɡʲɪn, r=Yevgeniy Onegin, roman v stikhakh) is a novel in verse written by Ale ...

'', Bizet’s Mercedes in ''

Carmen ''Carmen'' () is an opera in four acts by the French composer Georges Bizet. The libretto was written by Henri Meilhac and Ludovic Halévy, based on the Carmen (novella), novella of the same title by Prosper Mérimée. The opera was first perfo ...

'', Mascagni‘s Lola in ''

Cavalleria rusticana ''Cavalleria rusticana'' (; Italian for "rustic chivalry") is an opera in one act by Pietro Mascagni to an Italian libretto by Giovanni Targioni-Tozzetti and Guido Menasci, adapted from an 1880 short story of the same name and subsequent play b ...

'', Martinů’s Filoména in '' Alexander Twice'', Gluck’s Orpheus in ''

Orpheus and Eurydice The ancient legend of Orpheus and Eurydice (, ''Orpheus, Eurydikē'') concerns the fateful love of Orpheus of Thrace for the beautiful Eurydice. Orpheus was the son of Apollo and the muse Calliope. It may be a late addition to the Orpheus myths ...

'', Dvořák’s Witch in ''

Rusalka In Slavic folklore, the rusalka (plural: rusalky/rusalki; ; pl, rusałka}) is a typically feminine entity, often malicious toward mankind and frequently associated with water, with counterparts in other parts of Europe, such as the French Melus ...

'' and Kate in ''

The Devil and Kate ''The Devil and Kate'', Op. 112, B.201, (''Čert a Káča'' in Czech) 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 ''F ...

'', Smetana’s Radmila in ''

Libuše , Libussa, Libushe or, historically ''Lubossa'', is a legendary ancestor of the Přemyslid dynasty and the Czech people as a whole. According to legend, she was the youngest but wisest of three sisters, who became queen after their father died; s ...

'' and Háta in ''

The Bartered Bride ''The Bartered Bride'' ( cz, Prodaná nevěsta, links=no, ''The Sold Bride'') is a comic opera in three acts by the Czech composer Bedřich Smetana, to a libretto by Karel Sabina. The work is generally regarded as a major contribution towards the ...

'', Handel’s Ulysses in '' Deidamia'', Purcell’s Witch in ''

Dido and Aeneas ''Dido and Aeneas'' (Z. 626) is an opera in a prologue and three acts, written by the English Baroque composer Henry Purcell with a libretto by Nahum Tate. The dates of the composition and first performance of the opera are uncertain. It was co ...

'', Britten’s Miss Jessel in ''

The Turn of the Screw ''The Turn of the Screw'' is an 1898 horror novella by Henry James which first appeared in serial format in ''Collier's Weekly'' (January 27 – April 16, 1898). In October 1898, it was collected in ''The Two Magics'', published by Macmill ...

'', Janáček’s Varvara in ''

Káťa Kabanová ''Káťa Kabanová'' (also known in various spellings including ''Katia'', ''Katja'', ''Katya'', and ''Kabanowa'') is an opera in three acts, with music by Leoš Janáček to a libretto by the composer based on '' The Storm'', a play by Alexander ...

'', Kedruta in '' The Excursions of Mr Brouček'' and Pastuchyňa (Herdswoman) in ''

Jenůfa ''Její pastorkyňa'' (''Her Stepdaughter''; commonly known as ''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 ...

''.

Discography

*1986 Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart: ''

Requiem A Requiem or Requiem Mass, also known as Mass for the dead ( la, Missa pro defunctis) or Mass of the dead ( la, Missa defunctorum), is a Mass of the Catholic Church offered for the repose of the soul or souls of one or more deceased persons, ...

'' deněk Košler, conductor D Czechoslovakia: Opus *1989 Perosi, Lorenzo: ''Stabat Mater, Dies Iste, L'Inno della Pace''. rturo Sacchetti, conductor D Vaticano, Italy: Frequenz *1997 Zandonai, Riccardo: ''

Francesca da Rimini Francesca da Rimini or Francesca da Polenta (died between 1283 and 1286) was a medieval noblewoman of Ravenna, who was murdered by her husband, Giovanni Malatesta, upon his discovery of her affair with his brother, Paolo Malatesta. She was a co ...

''. abio Luisi, conductor D Vienna, Austria: KOCH International *1997 Donizetti, Gaetano: ''Messa da Requiem''. lexander Rahbari, conductor D Vienna, Austria: KOCH International *2002 Klusák, Jan: ''Zpráva pro akademii, Bertram a Mescalinda''. řemysl Charvát, conductor D Prague, Czech Republic: National theatre. *2005 Wagner, Richard: ''

Der Ring des Nibelungen (''The Ring of the Nibelung''), WWV 86, is a cycle of four German-language epic music dramas composed by Richard Wagner. The works are based loosely on characters from Germanic heroic legend, namely Norse legendary sagas and the '' Nibe ...

'' ohn Fiore, conductor D Prague, Czech Republic: National theatre *2009 Goldscheider, Alexander: ''The Song of Songs''. D London, United Kingdom: Romantic Robot

Collaboration with composers

Peter Maxwell Davies Sir Peter Maxwell Davies (8 September 1934 – 14 March 2016) was an English composer and conductor, who in 2004 was made Master of the Queen's Music. As a student at both the University of Manchester and the Royal Manchester College of Music ...

Jan Klusák Jan Klusák (born 18 April 1934 in Prague as Jan Porges) is a contemporary Czech composer, author of film, television and incidental music. Life Klusák was born to a Czech Jewish family, who owned a farm in Prosek, Prague. After he graduated ...

Alexander Goldscheider Alexander Goldscheider (born June 22, 1950) is a Czech-born British composer, music producer, writer and computer specialist. Life and career He read music at Charles University in Prague, and received a PhD for his analysis of the music of ''The ...

* Alexander Rudajev

Sources

Theatre Institute; Jaroslava Maxova (in English, p. 44)National Theatre; archive; Jaroslava Maxova (in Czech)Muzikus; Jaroslava Maxova (in Czech)The Free Library; Report on the condition of opera in the Czech Republic; Jaroslava Maxova (in English)

Literature

*Janota, Dalibor; Kučera, Jan P. ''Malá encyklopedie české opery''. Prague (Czech Republic), Litomyšl (Czech Republic): Paseka, 1999. *Poledňák, Ivan. ''Vášeň rozumu''. Olomouc (Czech Republic): Univerzita Palackého, 2004.

External links

Jaroslava Maxova's Website
* * *
Romantic RobotThe Song of Songs (Alexander Goldscheider) on Last.fm
{{DEFAULTSORT:Maxova, Jaroslava 1957 births Living people Czech educators Voice teachers 21st-century Czech women opera singers 20th-century Czech women opera singers Operatic mezzo-sopranos People from Moravská Třebová Palacký University Olomouc alumni Women music educators