Václav Zítek (24 March 1932 – 18 December 2011) was a

Czech Czech may refer to: * Anything from or related to the Czech Republic, a country in Europe ** Czech language ** Czechs, the people of the area ** Czech culture ** Czech cuisine * One of three mythical brothers, Lech, Czech, and Rus' Places * Czech, ...

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 ...

singer. A lyric baritone with a beautiful timbre and a wide

vocal range Vocal range is the range of pitches that a human voice can phonate. A common application is within the context of singing, where it is used as a defining characteristic for classifying singing voices into voice types. It is also a topic of st ...

, he was one of the leading Czech singers of the postwar generation. He particularly excelled in portraying Janáček and Smetana heroes. His voice is preserved on numerous opera recordings made with 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. ...

record label.

Biography

Born in Tisá, Zítek studied singing privately with E. Matoušková, M. Linka, D. Levytský, and Zdeněk Otava. Between 1955 and 1959, he worked on the staff 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 ...

and sang in some smaller roles. In 1959–1960, he worked as a principal artist at the Zdeněk Nejedlý Theatre in

Ostrava Ostrava (; pl, Ostrawa; german: Ostrau ) is a city in the north-east of the Czech Republic, and the capital of the Moravian-Silesian Region. It has about 280,000 inhabitants. It lies from the border with Poland, at the confluences of four riv ...

. He then was a leading baritone at the opera house in

Ústí nad Labem Ústí nad Labem (, , ) is a city in the Czech Republic. It has about 92,000 inhabitants. It is the capital of its eponymous region and district. It is a major industrial centre and, besides being an active river port, is an important railway ju ...

from 1960 to 1969. While there he also appeared occasionally as a guest artist at the Prague National Theatre. He eventually left Ústí nad Labem for that house, singing as a leading baritone at the National Theatre from 1969 through 1991. Among Zítek's signature roles are several parts in operas by

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 ...

, including Kalina in '' The Secret'', Tomeš in '' The Kiss'', Vladislav in '' Dalibor'', Lord Vok in ''

The Devil's Wall ''The Devil's Wall'' ( cs, Čertova stěna) is a comic-romantic opera in three acts, with music by Bedřich Smetana and libretto by Eliška Krásnohorská, in their third operatic collaboration. The subtext of the plot is a Czech legend of a shee ...

'', and Přemysl in '' Libuše''; the latter of which he sang for the reopening of the Prague National Theater in 1983. He is also known for the role of Prince Vasilij Šujský in Antonín Dvořák's ''

Dimitrij Dimitrij is a masculine given name related to Demetrius Demetrius is the Latinized form of the Ancient Greek male given name ''Dēmḗtrios'' (), meaning “Demetris” - "devoted to goddess Demeter". Alternate forms include Demetrios, Dimitr ...

'' and for several Janáček heroes, including Stárek 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 ...

'', Forester in ''

The Cunning Little Vixen ''The Cunning Little Vixen'' (original title ''Příhody lišky Bystroušky'' or ''Tales of Vixen Sharp-Ears'' in English), is a three-act Czech-language opera by Leoš Janáček completed in 1923 to a libretto the composer himself adapted from a ...

'', and Baron Jaroslav Prus in ''

The Makropulos Affair ''Věc Makropulos'' is a Czech play written by Karel Čapek. Its title—literally ''The Makropulos Thing''—has been variously rendered in English as ''The Makropulos Affair'', ''The Makropulos Case'', or ''The Makropulos Secret'' (Čapek's o ...

''. His recording of the role of Alexandr Petrovič Gorjančikov in Janáček's ''

From the House of the Dead ''From the House of the Dead'' () is an opera in three acts by Leoš Janáček. The libretto was translated and adapted by the composer from the 1862 novel by Fyodor Dostoevsky. It was the composer's last opera, premiered on 12 April 1930 at ...

'' won the

Grammy Award for Best Opera Recording The Grammy Award The Grammy Awards (stylized as GRAMMY), or simply known as the Grammys, are awards presented by the Recording Academy of the United States to recognize "outstanding" achievements in the music industry. They are regarded by m ...

in 1982. Other roles in his repertory include Count Almaviva in '' The Marriage of Figaro'', the title role in '' Don Giovanni'', Escamillo in '' Carmen'', and the title hero 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 ...

''. Zítek's appearances on the international stage include performances at the Bolshoi Theatre, the

Grand Théâtre de Bordeaux The Grand Théâtre de Bordeaux is an opera house in Bordeaux, France, first inaugurated on 17 April 1780. It was in this theatre that the ballet '' La fille mal gardée'' premiered in 1789, and where a young Marius Petipa staged some of his fir ...

, the

Romanian National Opera, Bucharest The Romanian National Opera, Bucharest ( ro, Opera Națională București) is one of the four national opera and ballet companies of Romania. The company is headquartered in Bucharest, near the Cotroceni neighbourhood. History In 1877, Romanian ...

, and at the State Opera,

Deutsche Oper The Deutsche Oper Berlin is a German opera company located in the Charlottenburg district of Berlin. The resident building is the country's second largest opera house (after Munich's) and also home to the Berlin State Ballet. Since 2004, the D ...

, and

Komische Oper The Komische Oper Berlin is a German opera company based in Berlin. The company produces opera, operetta and musicals. The opera house is located on Behrenstraße, just a few steps from Unter den Linden. Since 2004, the Komische Oper Berlin, alo ...

Berlin Berlin ( , ) is the capital and List of cities in Germany by population, largest city of Germany by both area and population. Its 3.7 million inhabitants make it the European Union's List of cities in the European Union by population within ci ...

. In 1988 he had a major triumph singing Alexandr Petrovič Gorjančikov with the

Opéra National de Paris The Paris Opera (, ) is the primary opera and ballet company of France. It was founded in 1669 by Louis XIV as the , and shortly thereafter was placed under the leadership of Jean-Baptiste Lully and officially renamed the , but continued to be ...

. In 1985 Zítek was made a People's Artist of the ČSSR. In 2007 he was honored with a Thalia Award. He died in Prague, aged 79.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Zitek, Vaclav 1932 births 2011 deaths Czech opera singers Operatic baritones People from Ústí nad Labem District Recipients of the Thalia Award