Karel Hruška (14 June 1891 – 17 October 1966) was a Czechoslovak

tenor A tenor is a type of classical music, classical male singing human voice, voice whose vocal range lies between the countertenor and baritone voice types. It is the highest male chest voice type. The tenor's vocal range extends up to C5. The lo ...

, radio personality, and actor of the stage and film. He was an unusual singer for his day in that he recorded and performed both classical and popular music. Possessing a great comic talent, he specialized in creating character parts on the

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 ...

stage. He was a much loved Principál komediantů in

Bedřich Smetana Bedřich Smetana ( , ; 2 March 1824 – 12 May 1884) was a Czech composer who pioneered the development of a musical style that became closely identified with his people's aspirations to a cultural and political "revival." He has been regarded i ...

's ''

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 ...

'', notably portraying the role a total of 855 times during his career.

Biography

Born in

Plzeň Plzeň (; German and English: Pilsen, in German ) is a city in the Czech Republic. About west of Prague in western Bohemia, it is the Statutory city (Czech Republic), fourth most populous city in the Czech Republic with about 169,000 inhabita ...

, Hruška studied singing with Josef Branzovský before making his professional opera debut as Beppe in

Ruggero Leoncavallo Ruggero (or Ruggiero) Leoncavallo ( , , ; 23 April 18579 August 1919) was an Italian opera composer and librettist. Although he produced numerous operas and other songs throughout his career it is his opera '' Pagliacci'' (1892) that remained hi ...

's ''

Pagliacci ''Pagliacci'' (; literal translation, "Clowns") is an Italian opera in a prologue and two acts, with music and libretto by Ruggero Leoncavallo. The opera tells the tale of Canio, actor and leader of a commedia dell'arte theatrical company, who m ...

'' at the J. K. Tyl Theatre in

in 1911. He was committed to that opera house for the next eight years. In 1919 he joined the roster of singers at the National Theatre in

Prague Prague ( ; cs, Praha ; german: Prag, ; la, Praga) is the capital and largest city in the Czech Republic, and the historical capital of Bohemia. On the Vltava river, Prague is home to about 1.3 million people. The city has a temperate ...

where he portrayed mainly

comprimario A comprimario is a small supporting role in an opera (or a singer who sings those roles). The word is derived from the Italian "''con primario''", or "with the primary", meaning that the ''comprimario'' role (or singer) is not a principal role (or ...

roles for many years. He notably created the role of the Executioner in the world premiere of

Jaromír Weinberger Jaromír Weinberger (8 January 1896 – August 8, 1967) was a Bohemian born Jewish subject of the Austrian Empire, who became a naturalized American composer. Biography Weinberger was born in Prague, Austria-Hungary, into a family of Jewish ori ...

's ''

Schwanda the Bagpiper ''Schwanda the Bagpiper'' ( cs, Švanda dudák), written in 1926, is an opera in two acts (five scenes), with music by Jaromír Weinberger to a Czech libretto by Miloš Kareš, based on the drama ''Strakonický dudák aneb Hody divých žen'' (' ...

'' on 27 April 1927. Between 1928-1943 Hruška made several

gramophone record A phonograph record (also known as a gramophone record, especially in British English), or simply a record, is an analog sound storage medium in the form of a flat disc with an inscribed, modulated spiral groove. The groove usually starts nea ...

recordings of popular music, including a number of recordings with

Vlasta Burian Josef Vlastimil Burian, better known as Vlasta Burian, (9 April 1891, in Liberec – 31 January 1962, in Prague) was an internationally renowned Czechoslovak film and stage actor, singer, comedian, footballer and film director. In the Czech Repu ...

. He also had his own program on

Czech Radio Český rozhlas (ČRo) is the public radio broadcaster of the Czech Republic operating since 1923. It is the oldest radio broadcaster in continental Europe and the second oldest in Europe after the BBC. The service broadcasts throughout the Cz ...

and sang on a number of complete opera recordings made on the

Supraphon Supraphon Music Publishing is a Czech record label, oriented mainly towards publishing classical music and popular music, with an emphasis on Czech and Slovak composers. History The Supraphon name was first registered as a trademark in 1932. T ...

label. Hruška made his first movie appearance in the 1913 Czech

feature film A feature film or feature-length film is a narrative film (motion picture or "movie") with a running time long enough to be considered the principal or sole presentation in a commercial entertainment program. The term ''feature film'' originall ...

Prodaná nevěsta ''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 ...

''. He appeared in seven more Czech feature films during his career: '' Červená karkulka'' (1922), ''

Josef Kajetán Tyl Josef Kajetán Tyl (4 February 180811 July 1856; ) was a significant Czech dramatist, writer, and actor. He was a notable figure in the Czech National Revival movement and is best known as the author of the current national anthem of the Czech Re ...

'' (1926), '' Podskalák'' (1929), '' Třetí zvonění'' (1938), '' Zvony z rákosu'' (1951), '' Anna proletářka'' (1953), and '' Dobrodružství na Zlaté zátoce'' (1955).

References

External links

* {{DEFAULTSORT:Hruska, Karel 1891 births 1966 deaths Musicians from Plzeň People from the Kingdom of Bohemia Czechoslovak male actors Czechoslovak radio personalities Czechoslovak male opera singers Actors from Plzeň