Pavol Gábor (1 December 1932 – 28 August 2003) was a Slovak

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 libr ...

tic

tenor A tenor is a type of classical male singing 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 low extreme for tenors is wide ...

who had an active international career during the 1960s through the 1990s. He had a lengthy and fruitful partnership at the

Slovak National Theatre The Slovak National Theater ( sk, Slovenské národné divadlo, abbr. SND) is the oldest professional theatre in Slovakia, consisting of three ensembles: opera, ballet, and drama. Its history begins shortly after the establishment of the first ...

which lasted for over three decades.

Biography

Born in

Varín Varín ( hu, Várna) is a village and municipality in Žilina District in the Žilina Region of northern Slovakia. It is located at the Malá Fatra National Park and also serves as a tourist resort. Etymology The name is derived from Proto-Slavic ...

, Gábor studied at the Bratislava Conservatory under

Ida Černecká Ida or IDA may refer to: Astronomy *Ida Facula, a mountain on Amalthea, a moon of Jupiter *243 Ida, an asteroid *International Docking Adapter, a docking adapter for the International Space Station Computing *Intel Dynamic Acceleration, a techno ...

and then at the

Academy of Performing Arts in Bratislava The Academy of Performing Arts in Bratislava ( sk, Vysoká škola múzických umení v Bratislave, abbr. VŠMU) is a university founded on June 9, 1949. The university consists of three faculties: *''Theatre Faculty'' (Acting, Directing, Dramat ...

with Anna Korínska and in his final year of study Janko Blaho. He was a leading performer at the

for 35 years, making his debut at the house on New Years Day 1960. He particularly excelled in comic roles. Among his signature parts were Count Almaviva in ''

The Barber of Seville ''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 based ...

'', Basilio in '' The Marriage of Figaro'', Triquet in ''

Eugene Onegin ''Eugene Onegin, A Novel in Verse'' (Reforms of Russian orthography, pre-reform Russian: ; post-reform rus, Евгений Оне́гин, ромáн в стихáх, p=jɪvˈɡʲenʲɪj ɐˈnʲeɡʲɪn, r=Yevgeniy Onegin, roman v stikhakh) is ...

'', Puk in '' A Midsummer Night's Dream'', the Minister in Juraj Beneš's ''

The Emperor's New Clothes "The Emperor's New Clothes" ( da, Kejserens nye klæder ) is a literary Folklore, folktale written by Danish author Hans Christian Andersen, about a vain emperor who gets exposed before his subjects. The tale has been translated into over 100 l ...

'', Smelkov in

Ján Cikker Ján Cikker (29 July 1911 – 21 December 1989) was a Slovak composer, a leading exponent of modern Slovak classical music. He was awarded the title ''National Artist'' in Slovakia, the Herder Prize (1966) and thIMC-UNESCO International Music Pri ...

's ''

Vzkriesenie ''Vzkriesenie'' (1960) is an opera by Ján Cikker. It is based on Leo Tolstoy's last novel, ''Resurrection Resurrection or anastasis is the concept of coming back to life after death. In a number of religions, a dying-and-rising god is a ...

'', and Vašek 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 ...

''. The biggest success of his career came in 1966 when he portrayed the title role in ''

Albert Herring ''Albert Herring'', Op. 39, is a chamber opera in three acts by Benjamin Britten. Composed in the winter of 1946 and the spring of 1947, this comic opera was a successor to his serious opera ''The Rape of Lucretia''. The libretto, by Eric Croz ...

''. Gábor was also active on the international stage, singing as a guest artist at the National Theatre in

Prague Prague ( ; cs, Praha ; german: Prag, ; la, Praga) is the capital and List of cities in the Czech Republic, largest city in the Czech Republic, and the historical capital of Bohemia. On the Vltava river, Prague is home to about 1.3 milli ...

La Monnaie The Royal Theatre of La Monnaie (french: Théâtre Royal de la Monnaie, italic=no, ; nl, Koninklijke Muntschouwburg, italic=no; both translating as the "Royal Theatre of the Mint") is an opera house in central Brussels, Belgium. The National O ...

, and with opera houses in Germany, Greece, and Iran. He was notably committed to the Hamburg State Opera from 1967 to 1968 and performed at almost all of the opera houses in his home nation. He also toured with the Slovak National Theatre for performances in the Soviet Union, the Netherlands, Germany, Spain, Bulgaria, Romania, and Yugoslavia. In addition to his work in opera, Gábor was an active concert performer and recitalist. He performed with most of the major orchestras in his nation and Czech Republic during his career. He was also an admired performer of Slovak folk music and was interested in the traditional folk dances of his country. Gábor gave his last public singing performance on New Year's Eve 1995. He died in Bratislava at the age of 70.

Sources

Biography of Pavol Gábor at slavni.terchova-info.sk (in Slovak)
{{DEFAULTSORT:Gabor, Pavol 1932 births 2003 deaths People from Žilina District Slovak operatic tenors Czechoslovak male opera singers 20th-century Slovak male opera singers