Jaroslava Maxová (born 6 April 1957; Jaroslava Horská, Jaroslava Horská-Maxová) is a Czech

mezzo-soprano A mezzo-soprano (, ), or mezzo ( ), is a type of classical music, classical female singing human voice, voice whose vocal range lies between the soprano and the contralto voice types. The mezzo-soprano's vocal range usually extends from the A bel ...

opera Opera is a form of History of theatre#European theatre, Western theatre in which music is a fundamental component and dramatic roles are taken by Singing, singers. Such a "work" (the literal translation of the Italian word "opera") is typically ...

singer and

vocal coach A vocal coach, also known as a voice coach (though this term often applies to those working with speech and communication rather than singing), is a music teacher, usually a piano accompanist, who helps singers prepare for a performance, often al ...

Biography

Jaroslava Maxová was born on 6 April 1957 in

Moravská Třebová Moravská Třebová (; ) is a town in Svitavy District in the Pardubice Region of the Czech Republic. It has about 9,600 inhabitants. The historic town centre is well preserved and is protected as an urban monument reservation. Administrative di ...

Moravia Moravia ( ; ) is a historical region in the eastern Czech Republic, roughly encompassing its territory within the Danube River's drainage basin. It is one of three historical Czech lands, with Bohemia and Czech Silesia. The medieval and early ...

and studied singing at the

Bratislava Bratislava (German: ''Pressburg'', Hungarian: ''Pozsony'') is the Capital city, capital and largest city of the Slovakia, Slovak Republic and the fourth largest of all List of cities and towns on the river Danube, cities on the river Danube. ...

Academy in

Slovakia Slovakia, officially the Slovak Republic, is a landlocked country in Central Europe. It is bordered by Poland to the north, Ukraine to the east, Hungary to the south, Austria to the west, and the Czech Republic to the northwest. Slovakia's m ...

. She made her Slovak National Opera début already during her studies and became a soloist there in 1986. She sang principal roles throughout the next eight years and since 1994 continued to do so at the Prague National Opera Theatre. Her repertoire includes Strauss‘ Octavian in ''

Der Rosenkavalier (''The Knight of the Rose'' or ''The Rose-Bearer''), Op. 59, is a comic opera in three acts by Richard Strauss to an original German libretto by Hugo von Hofmannsthal. It is loosely adapted from Louvet de Couvrai's novel ''Les amours du cheva ...

'', Offenbach's Niklausse in '' Les contes d’Hoffmann'', Verdi's Amneris in ''

Aida ''Aida'' (or ''Aïda'', ) is a tragic opera in four acts by Giuseppe Verdi to an Italian libretto by Antonio Ghislanzoni. Set in the Old Kingdom of Egypt, it was commissioned by Cairo's Khedivial Opera House and had its première there on 24 De ...

'', Fenena in ''

Nabucco ''Nabucco'' (; short for ''Nabucodonosor'' , i.e. "Nebuchadnezzar II, Nebuchadnezzar") is an Italian-language opera in four acts composed in 1841 by Giuseppe Verdi to an Italian libretto by Temistocle Solera. The libretto is based on the biblic ...

'', Maddalena in ''

Rigoletto ''Rigoletto'' is an opera in three acts by Giuseppe Verdi. The Italian libretto was written by Francesco Maria Piave based on the 1832 play '' Le roi s'amuse'' by Victor Hugo. Despite serious initial problems with the Austrian censors who had c ...

'', Preziosilla in '' La forza del destino'', Mozart's Dorabella in ''

Così fan tutte (''Women are like that, or The School for Lovers''), Köchel catalogue, K. 588, is an opera buffa in two acts by Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart. It was first performed on 26 January 1790 at the Burgtheater in Vienna, Austria. The libretto was written ...

'', Cherubino and Marcellina in ''

Le nozze di Figaro ''The Marriage of Figaro'' (, ), 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 premiered at the Burgtheater in Vienna ...

'' and Sesto in ''

La clemenza di Tito (''The Clemency of Titus''), K. 621, is an ''opera seria'' in two acts composed by Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart to an Italian libretto by Caterino Mazzolà, after Pietro Metastasio. Mozart completed the work in the midst of composing ''Die Zauberfl ...

'', Rossini's Berta in ''

Il barbiere di Siviglia ''The Barber of Seville, or The Useless Precaution'' ( ) is an ''opera buffa'' (comic opera) in two acts composed by Gioachino Rossini with an Italian libretto by Cesare Sterbini. The libretto was based on Pierre Beaumarchais's French comedy '' ...

'', Tchaikovsky's Olga in ''

Eugene Onegin ''Eugene Onegin, A Novel in Verse'' (, Reforms of Russian orthography, pre-reform Russian: Евгеній Онѣгинъ, романъ въ стихахъ, ) is a novel in verse written by Alexander Pushkin. ''Onegin'' is considered a classic of ...

'', Bizet's Mercedes in ''

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 O ...

'', Mascagni's Lola in ''

Cavalleria rusticana ''Cavalleria rusticana'' (; ) is an opera in one act by Pietro Mascagni to an Italian libretto by Giovanni Targioni-Tozzetti and Guido Menasci, adapted from an 1880 Cavalleria rusticana (short story), short story of the same name and subsequent ...

'', Martinů’s Filoména in '' Alexander Twice'', Gluck's Orpheus in ''

Orpheus and Eurydice In Greek mythology, the legend of Orpheus and Eurydice () concerns the pitiful love of Orpheus of Thrace, located in northeastern Greece, for the beautiful Eurydice. Orpheus was the son of Oeagrus and the Muse Calliope. It may be a late addition ...

'', Dvořák's Witch in ''

Rusalka In Slavic folklore, the rusalka (plural: rusalki; , plural: русалки; , plural: ''rusałki'') is a female entity, often malicious toward mankind and frequently associated with water. It has counterparts in other parts of Europe, such as th ...

'' and Kate in ''

The Devil and Kate ''The Devil and Kate'', Op. 112, B. 201, (''Čert a Káča'' in Czech) is an opera in three acts by Antonín Dvořák to a Czech libretto by Adolf Wenig. It is based on a farce by Josef Kajetán Tyl, and the story also had been trea ...

'', Smetana's Radmila in ''

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 ...

'' and Háta in ''

The Bartered Bride ''The Bartered Bride'' (, ''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 development of Czech music. It ...

'', Handel's Ulysses in '' Deidamia'', Purcell's Witch in ''

Dido and Aeneas ''Dido and Aeneas'' (Z. 626) is an opera in a prologue and three acts, written by the English Baroque music, Baroque composer Henry Purcell with a libretto by Nahum Tate. The dates of the composition and first performance of the opera are uncer ...

'', Britten's Miss Jessel in ''

The Turn of the Screw ''The Turn of the Screw'' is an 1898 gothic horror novella by Henry James which first appeared in serial format in '' Collier's Weekly'' from January 27 to April 16, 1898. On October 7, 1898, it was collected in ''The Two Magics'', publis ...

'', Janáček's Varvara in ''

Káťa Kabanová ''Káťa Kabanová'' (also known in various spellings including ''Katia'', ''Katja'', ''Katya'', and ''Kabanowa'') is an opera in three acts, with music by Leoš Janáček to a libretto by the composer based on ''The Storm (Ostrovsky), The Storm'' ...

'', Kedruta in '' The Excursions of Mr Brouček'' and Pastuchyňa (Herdswoman) 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 (theatre), play ''Její pastorkyňa'' by Gabriela Preissová. It was ...

''.

Discography

*1986 Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart: ''

Requiem A Requiem (Latin: ''rest'') or Requiem Mass, also known as Mass for the dead () or Mass of the dead (), is a Mass of the Catholic Church offered for the repose of the souls of the deceased, using a particular form of the Roman Missal. It is ...

'' deněk Košler, conductor D Czechoslovakia: Opus *1989 Perosi, Lorenzo: ''Stabat Mater, Dies Iste, L'Inno della Pace''. rturo Sacchetti, conductor D Vaticano, Italy: Frequenz *1997 Zandonai, Riccardo: ''

Francesca da Rimini Francesca da Rimini or Francesca da Polenta (died between 1283 and 1286) was an Italian noblewoman of Ravenna, who was murdered by her husband, Giovanni Malatesta, upon his discovery of her affair with his brother, Paolo Malatesta. She was a ...

''. abio Luisi, conductor D Vienna, Austria: KOCH International *1997 Donizetti, Gaetano: ''Messa da Requiem''. lexander Rahbari, conductor D Vienna, Austria: KOCH International *2002 Klusák, Jan: ''Zpráva pro akademii, Bertram a Mescalinda''. Přemysl Charvát, conductor">Přemysl_Charvát.html" ;"title="Přemysl Charvát">Přemysl Charvát, conductor D Prague, Czech Republic: National theatre. *2005 Wagner, Richard: ''Der Ring des Nibelungen'' [John Fiore, conductor] D Prague, Czech Republic: National theatre *2009 Alexander Goldscheider, Goldscheider, Alexander: ''The Song of Songs''. D London, United Kingdom: Romantic Robot

Collaboration with composers

Peter Maxwell Davies Sir Peter Maxwell Davies (8 September 1934 – 14 March 2016) was an English composer and conductor, who in 2004 was made Master of the Queen's Music. As a student at both the University of Manchester and the Royal Manchester College of Music ...

Jan Klusák Jan Klusák (born 18 April 1934 in Prague as Jan Porges) is a contemporary Czech composer, author of film, television and incidental music. Life Klusák was born to a Czech Jewish family, who owned a farm in Prosek, Prague. After he graduated ...

* Alexander Goldscheider * Alexander Rudajev

Sources

Theatre Institute; Jaroslava Maxova (in English, p. 44)National Theatre; archive; Jaroslava Maxova (in Czech)Muzikus; Jaroslava Maxova (in Czech)The Free Library; Report on the condition of opera in the Czech Republic; Jaroslava Maxova (in English)

Literature

*Janota, Dalibor; Kučera, Jan P. ''Malá encyklopedie české opery''. Prague (Czech Republic), Litomyšl (Czech Republic): Paseka, 1999. *Poledňák, Ivan. ''Vášeň rozumu''. Olomouc (Czech Republic): Univerzita Palackého, 2004.

External links

Jaroslava Maxova's Website
* * *
Romantic RobotThe Song of Songs (Alexander Goldscheider) on Last.fm
{{DEFAULTSORT:Maxova, Jaroslava 1957 births Living people Czech music educators Czech women music educators Voice teachers 21st-century Czech women opera singers 20th-century Czech women opera singers Operatic mezzo-sopranos People from Moravská Třebová Palacký University Olomouc alumni