Betty Fibichová (16 March 1846 – 20 May 1901) was an opera singer and the wife of composer

Zdeněk Fibich Zdeněk Fibich (, 21 December 1850 in Všebořice – 15 October 1900 in Prague) was a Czech composer of classical music. Among his compositions are chamber works (including two string quartets, a piano trio, piano quartet and a quintet for pia ...

. The greatest Czech operatic

contralto A contralto () is a classical music, classical female singing human voice, voice whose vocal range is the lowest of their voice type, voice types. The contralto's vocal range is fairly rare, similar to the mezzo-soprano, and almost identical to ...

of her day, she enjoyed close artistic partnerships with both

Antonín Dvořák Antonín Leopold Dvořák ( ; ; 8September 18411May 1904) was a Czech composer. He frequently employed rhythms and other aspects of the folk music of Moravia and his native Bohemia, following the Romantic-era nationalist example of his predec ...

and

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 ...

in addition to collaborating frequently with her husband.

Biography

Born Betty Hanušová in

Jilemnice Jilemnice (; ) is a town in Semily District in the Liberec Region of the Czech Republic. It has about 5,400 inhabitants. The historic town centre is well preserved and is protected as an Cultural monument (Czech Republic)#Monument zones, urban monu ...

, Fibichová made her professional opera debut at the Provisional Theatre in 1868. Later that year

became her artistic manager, and she became highly involved with his group of artists that would later be established at the Prague National Theatre. She notably sang at the opening of the theatre on 11 June 1881 as Radmilla in the world premiere of Smetana's ''

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

''; a performance given in honor of the visit of Crown Prince Rudolf of Austria. A fire broke in the new theatre on the following 12 August 1881 which destroyed the copper dome, the auditorium and stage of the theatre. The theatre was repaired and reopened on 18 November 1883 with a reprisal of ''Libuše'' with the same cast. Fibichová sang in two more premieres of operas by Smetana at the New Czech Theatre during her career. On 18 September 1878 she portrayed Panna Roza in the world premiere of '' The Secret'' at the Nové České Divadlo (New Czech Theatre). She then appeared as Záviš in the first production of '' The Devil's Wall'' on 29 October 1882. Fibichová also sang in a number of world premieres of works by Antonín Dvořák. On 17 April 1876 she sang the role of Homena in the premiere of ''

Vanda ''Vanda'', abbreviated in the horticultural trade as ''V.,'' is a genus in the orchid family, Orchidaceae. There are 90 species, and the genus is commonly cultivated for the marketplace. This genus and its allies are considered to be among the ...

''. She sang the role of Veruna in the first performance of ''

The Cunning Peasant ''The Cunning Peasant'' () is an opera by Antonín Dvořák. The Czech libretto is by Josef Otakar Veselý. Composition and reception ''The Cunning Peasant'' was written at a time when there was a lack of high-quality Czech dramatic writers. In h ...

'' in Prague in 1878. On 2 October 1881 she starred as Říhová in the first production of '' The Stubborn Lovers''. In 1887 she portrayed Anna in the first performance of the revised version of ''

King and Charcoal Burner ''King and Charcoal Burner'' (; sometimes translated as "King and Collier"), Op. 14 ( B. 21, revised under B. 151), is a Czech comic opera in three acts, divided into 23 scenes, with music by Antonín Dvořák. History Dvořák compo ...

'', a role she had previously sung in the work's premiere on 24 November 1874. In 1875 Fibichová married Zdeněk Fibich who, while less known than Dvořák or Smetana, was one of the greatest Czech composers of the day. She sang in the premieres of a number of operas by her husband, most notably Isabella in ''

The Bride of Messina ''The Bride of Messina'' (, ) is a tragedy by Friedrich Schiller; it premiered on 19 March 1803 in Weimar. It is one of the most controversial works by Schiller, due to his use of elements from Greek tragedies (which were considered obsolete at t ...

'' in Prague on 28 March 1884. Other roles she originated for her husband were Eliška in '' Bukovín'' and Perchta in ''

Blaník Blaník (Czech: ) is a mountain in the Czech Republic near Louňovice pod Blaníkem. The hill and surrounding area is a Protected areas of the Czech Republic, protected landscape area. The Blaník massif consists of two forested rocky hills, Vel ...

''. The couple separated in 1895, after which point Fibich lived with his lover and frequent artistic collaborator, librettist Anežka Schulzová. Fibichová also sang works from the French, Italian, German, and Russian opera repertories during her career. She was also an active concert soloist. She retired from the stage in 1900, the same year that her husband died. She died in Prague in May the following year at the age of 55.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Fibichova, Betty 1846 births 1901 deaths Women singers from Austria-Hungary 19th-century Czech women opera singers Operatic contraltos People from Jilemnice