Jiřina Šejbalová (17 September 1905–23 August 1981) was a Czech

actress An actor or actress is a person who portrays a character in a performance. The actor performs "in the flesh" in the traditional medium of the theatre or in modern media such as film, radio, and television. The analogous Greek term is (), lit ...

of the stage, television, and film. For many years she taught theatre classes at the

Janáček Academy of Music and Performing Arts The Janáček Academy of Music and Performing Arts ( cs, Janáčkova akademie múzických umění v Brně; abbreviation in Czech: JAMU) is a public university with an artistic focus in Brno, Czech Republic. It was established in 1947 and consis ...

. Born in Prague, Šejbalová came from a family of clerks. After studying 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 ...

, she began her career as an

opera singer 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 libret ...

at the National Theatre in Brno in the mid-1920s. During the 1927-1928 season she abandoned her opera career and began working as a dramatic actress at that house in avant-garde plays directed by

Jiří Frejka Jiří (; ''YI-RZHEE''), the Czech is a masculine given name, equivalent to English George, may refer to: Given name B * Jiří Antonín Benda * Jiří Baborovský * Jiří Barta * Jiří Bartoška *Jiří Bicek *Jiří Bobok * Jiří Bubla * ...

. She became a member of the National Theatre 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 ...

in 1928. She performed as a stage actress at that theatre up until her retirement in 1971. Šejbalová made her first foray into Czech film as the title character in the 1929 movie '' Hanka a Jindra''. She appeared in over 35 Czech

feature film A feature film or feature-length film is a narrative film (motion picture or "movie") with a running time long enough to be considered the principal or sole presentation in a commercial entertainment program. The term ''feature film'' originall ...

s over the next five decades, with her last appearance being in the 1978 movie '' Sólo pro starou dámu''. Her two most important films were '' Morálka paní Dulské'' (1958) and ''

Zlatá svatba Zlatá is a municipality and village in Prague-East District in the Central Bohemian Region of the Czech Republic The Czech Republic, or simply Czechia, is a landlocked country in Central Europe. Historically known as Bohemia, it is ...

'' (1972). She also appeared is several Czech

television movie A television film, alternatively known as a television movie, made-for-TV film/movie or TV film/movie, is a feature-length film that is produced and originally distributed by or to a television network, in contrast to theatrical films made for ...

s and television programs from 1961 through 1980. She died in Prague at the age of 75.

Selected filmography

*'' The Mystery of the Blue Room'' (1933)

External links

* {{DEFAULTSORT:Sejbalova, Jirina 1905 births 1981 deaths 20th-century Czech women opera singers Czech film actresses Czech stage actresses Czech television actresses Actresses from Prague 20th-century Czech actresses Prague Conservatory alumni