Daniel Hůlka (born 1 June 1968) is 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, ...
actor and
baritone who is known for his performances in
musical theatre, film, and opera. He has won both the
Český slavík
Český slavík ( en, Czech Nightingale) is a Czech award meant to recognize outstanding achievement and annual popularity in the Czech music industry. It was established in 1996 as the successor to the Zlatý slavík awards, which was establishe ...
and the
Anděl Award
Andel or Anděl may refer to:
* Andel, Netherlands, a village in the municipality of Altena
* Angel Award (Czech music) (Czech: ''cena Anděl'')
* Anděl (neighborhood), a part of the Czech capital Prague
* Anděl (Prague Metro), a metro station in ...
multiple times and has released several recordings on
EMI
EMI Group Limited (originally an initialism for Electric and Musical Industries, also referred to as EMI Records Ltd. or simply EMI) was a British transnational conglomerate founded in March 1931 in London. At the time of its break-up in 2012, ...
.
Life and career
Music and film
Born 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 ...
, Hůlka took the flute, clarinet, and piano in grade school, and played volleyball in high school, while also singing and playing guitar in a band with friends. He went on to study at the
Prague Conservatory
The Prague Conservatory or Prague Conservatoire ( cs, Pražská konzervatoř) is a music school in Prague, Czech Republic, founded in 1808. Currently, Prague Conservatory offers four or six year study courses, which can be compared to the level ...
and then briefly at the
Academy of Performing Arts in the class of
Magdalena Hajossyova
Magdalena may refer to:
* Magdalena (given name), a given name derived from Mary Magdalene (including a list of people with the name)
Entertainment
* Magdalena (comics), an American comic book superheroine
* ''Magdalena'' (film), a 1920 Czech ...
, before embarking on an opera career in the early 1990s. He first drew wide acclaim portraying the title role in
Karel Svoboda's 1995 musical ''
Dracula
''Dracula'' is a novel by Bram Stoker, published in 1897. As an epistolary novel, the narrative is related through letters, diary entries, and newspaper articles. It has no single protagonist, but opens with solicitor Jonathan Harker taki ...
''. He has since appeared in numerous musical productions in Prague, portraying such roles as
Javert
Javert (), no first name given in the source novel, is a fictional character and the main antagonist of Victor Hugo's 1862 novel '' Les Misérables.'' He was presumably born in 1780 and died on June 7, 1832. First a prison guard, and then a pol ...
in
Claude-Michel Schönberg
Claude-Michel Schönberg (born 6 July 1944, in Vannes) is a French record producer, actor, singer, songwriter, and musical theatre composer, best known for his collaborations with lyricist Alain Boublil. Major works include ''La Révolution Fran� ...
's ''
Les Misérables
''Les Misérables'' ( , ) is a French historical novel by Victor Hugo, first published in 1862, that is considered one of the greatest novels of the 19th century.
In the English-speaking world, the novel is usually referred to by its original ...
'' and the title role in
Frank Wildhorn
Frank Wildhorn (born November 29, 1958) is an American composer of both musicals and popular songs. His musical '' Jekyll & Hyde'' ran for four years on Broadway. He also wrote the #1 International hit song " Where Do Broken Hearts Go" for Whi ...
's ''
Jekyll & Hyde
''Strange Case of Dr Jekyll and Mr Hyde'' is a 1886 Gothic novella by Scottish author Robert Louis Stevenson. It follows Gabriel John Utterson, a London-based legal practitioner who investigates a series of strange occurrences between his old ...
'', among others.
As an opera singer, Hůlka has performed leading roles at the
Estates Theatre
The Estates Theatre or Stavovské divadlo is a historic theater in Prague, Czech Republic. The Estates Theatre was annexed to the National Theatre in 1948 and currently draws on three artistic ensembles, opera, ballet, and drama, which perform a ...
; the
Hudební divadlo Karlín, where he also sang under the direction of internationally acclaimed conductor
Alexander Frey
Alexander Frey, KM ( SMOM), KStJ, is an American symphony orchestra conductor, virtuoso organist, pianist, harpsichordist and composer. Frey is in great demand as one of the world's most versatile conductors, and enjoys success in the conce ...
; the
J. K. Tyl Theatre
Josef Kajetán Tyl Theatre ( cs, Divadlo Josefa Kajetána Tyla) is a main theatre in Plzeň, Czech Republic. The theatre was built between 1899 and 1902 in the neo-renaissance style with some art nouveau elements to the design of Antonin Balsanek ...
; the Liberec Theatre; the Městské divadlo Ústí nad Labem; and the
Prague National Theatre, among others. Some of the roles he has portrayed on stage include Escamilio in
Georges Bizet
Georges Bizet (; 25 October 18383 June 1875) was a French composer of the Romantic era. Best known for his operas in a career cut short by his early death, Bizet achieved few successes before his final work, '' Carmen'', which has become ...
's ''
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 novella of the same title by Prosper Mérimée. The opera was first performed by the Opér ...
'', Kalina 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 Secret'', Silvio 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 h ...
'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 ...
'', and the title roles in
Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart
Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart (27 January 17565 December 1791), baptised as Joannes Chrysostomus Wolfgangus Theophilus Mozart, was a prolific and influential composer of the Classical period. Despite his short life, his rapid pace of composition r ...
's ''
Don Giovanni
''Don Giovanni'' (; K. 527; Vienna (1788) title: , literally ''The Rake Punished, or Don Giovanni'') is an opera in two acts with music by Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart to an Italian libretto by Lorenzo Da Ponte. Its subject is a centuries-old Spani ...
'' and Mozart's ''
The Marriage of 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 pre ...
''.
In 1997, Hůlka released his debut solo album, ''Daniel Hůlka''. In 1999, he made his first film appearance in the movie ''
Z pekla štěstí
Z (or z) is the 26th and last letter of the Latin alphabet, used in the modern English alphabet, the alphabets of other western European languages and others worldwide. Its usual names in English are ''zed'' () and ''zee'' (), with an occasi ...
'' by
Zdeněk Troška
Zdeněk Troška (born 18 May 1953) is a Czech film director and screenwriter. He mainly directs comedies and fairy-tale films.
Personal life
Troška is deeply connected with the South Bohemian Region. He was born in the hospital in Strakonice, bu ...
. In December of the same year, he travelled as a member of a delegation to hand over a Christmas tree to the
Pope
The pope ( la, papa, from el, πάππας, translit=pappas, 'father'), also known as supreme pontiff ( or ), Roman pontiff () or sovereign pontiff, is the bishop of Rome (or historically the patriarch of Rome), head of the worldwide Cathol ...
in the Vatican, and on this occasion, he sang in
St. Peter's Square
Saint Peter's Square ( la, Forum Sancti Petri, it, Piazza San Pietro ,) is a large plaza located directly in front of St. Peter's Basilica in Vatican City, the papal enclave inside Rome, directly west of the neighborhood (rione) of Borgo. Both ...
. In 2001, he appeared in ''
Z pekla štěstí 2'', the sequel to the 1999 film.
Political activity
In the
2013 Czech legislative election
Early legislative elections were held in the Czech Republic on 25 and 26 October 2013, seven months before the constitutional expiry of the elected parliament's four-year legislative term.
The government elected in May 2010 led by Prime Minis ...
, Hůlka ran as the leader of the
Party of Civic Rights
The Party of Civic Rights ( cs, Strana Práv Občanů, SPO), also referred to as Zemanovci, is a centre-left, left-wing populist social-democratic political party in the Czech Republic founded in October 2009 by Miloš Zeman, the former prime mini ...
in the
Hradec Králové Region
Hradec Králové Region ( cs, Královéhradecký kraj, ; pl, Kraj hradecki) is an administrative unit ( cs, kraj) of the Czech Republic located in the north-eastern part of the historical region of Bohemia. It is named after its capital Hradec ...
, but didn't win a seat.
He was previously an admirer of
Miloš Zeman
Miloš Zeman (; born 28 September 1944) is a Czech politician serving as the third and current President of the Czech Republic since 2013. He previously served as the Prime Minister of the Czech Republic from 1998 to 2002. As leader of the Czec ...
, supporting him in both presidential elections. However, in an open letter dated 12 October 2020, Hůlka reconsidered his position and ended his friendship with Zeman. He also announced that on Czech National Day, 28 October 2020, he would return the
Medal of Merit Several countries award a military or civil medal called Medal of Merit:
* Medal of Merit (Czech Republic)
* Medal of Merit (Denmark)
* Medal of Merit of the Dominican Woman
* Medal of Merit of the National People's Army (East Germany)
* Medal of M ...
that he had received from the president in 2016.
Selected discography
* ''Daniel Hůlka'' (1997)
* ''Mise'' (1998)
* ''Živé Obrazy'' (1999)
* ''Rozhovor'' (2000)
* ''Gold'' (2001)
* ''Bravo, Pane Hrabě'' (2001)
* ''Ještě Jednu Árii, Pane Hrabě!'' (2002)
* ''Dílem Já'' (2004)
Filmography
Awards and recognition
Český slavík
Český slavík ( en, Czech Nightingale) is a Czech award meant to recognize outstanding achievement and annual popularity in the Czech music industry. It was established in 1996 as the successor to the Zlatý slavík awards, which was establishe ...
* First place (1998)
* Second place (1997, 1999, 2000, 2001)
* Third place (2002)
Anděl Award
Andel or Anděl may refer to:
* Andel, Netherlands, a village in the municipality of Altena
* Angel Award (Czech music) (Czech: ''cena Anděl'')
* Anděl (neighborhood), a part of the Czech capital Prague
* Anděl (Prague Metro), a metro station in ...
* First place, Best Singer (1997)
* Third place, Best Singer (1998, 1999)
Others
* TÝTÝ Poll – Second place (1997, 1998, 1999, 2000)
* Zlatý Otto – Gold (1997); Silver (1998); Bronze (1999)
* National
Medal of Merit Several countries award a military or civil medal called Medal of Merit:
* Medal of Merit (Czech Republic)
* Medal of Merit (Denmark)
* Medal of Merit of the Dominican Woman
* Medal of Merit of the National People's Army (East Germany)
* Medal of M ...
(2016) –
References
External links
*
*
{{DEFAULTSORT:Hulka, Daniel
1968 births
Living people
Czech male film actors
Czech opera singers
Czech male stage actors
Operatic baritones
Prague Conservatory alumni
Czech baritones
Male actors from Prague
Musicians from Prague
Recipients of Medal of Merit (Czech Republic)