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Libuše Domanínská (née Klobásková, married Vyčichlová; 4 July 1924 – 2 February 2021) was a Czech classical
soprano A soprano () is a type of classical singing voice and has the highest vocal range of all voice types. The soprano's vocal range (using scientific pitch notation) is from approximately middle C (C4) = 261 Hertz, Hz to A5 in Choir, choral ...
who had a career in concert and opera from the 1940s through the 1970s. She was a leading member of the Brno National Theatre and later the Prague National Theatre where she sang a repertoire of 50 roles, especially as Janáček's
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 ...
,
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'' ...
and
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 ...
. She was instrumental in making the composer's operas known internationally, both in recordings and guest appearances.


Life and career

Libuše Klobásková was born in
Brno Brno ( , ; ) is a Statutory city (Czech Republic), city in the South Moravian Region of the Czech Republic. Located at the confluence of the Svitava (river), Svitava and Svratka (river), Svratka rivers, Brno has about 403,000 inhabitants, making ...
,
Czechoslovakia Czechoslovakia ( ; Czech language, Czech and , ''Česko-Slovensko'') was a landlocked country in Central Europe, created in 1918, when it declared its independence from Austria-Hungary. In 1938, after the Munich Agreement, the Sudetenland beca ...
, on 4 July 1924. Her father was a wine expert, and her family moved from
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 ...
to
Košice Košice is the largest city in eastern Slovakia. It is situated on the river Hornád at the eastern reaches of the Slovak Ore Mountains, near the border with Hungary. With a population of approximately 230,000, Košice is the second-largest cit ...
in the Slovakian part, where she first performed on a stage in an amateur theatre show at age five. At age eight, she was nicknamed "the lark of Košice" when she sang for a local radio. When an independent Slovakia was proclaimed in 1939 under the Nazis, Czechs were expelled from Slovakia, and her family moved to Brno. At age 15, she applied for studies at the conservatory, but was regarded as not strong enough for singing. In 1940, she was accepted, and studied with Hana Pírková and Bohuslaw Sobeský. The conductor Bretislav Bakala let her perform with his orchestra for the Brno radio in her third year of studies. He would study the role of
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'' ...
with her. She appeared more often on radio which in the 1940s meant live performances. After World War II, she continued her singing studies, also with Marie Řezníčková, and at the same time appeared at the Brno National Theatre. She made her stage debut as Blaženka in Smetana's '' The Secret'' in August 1945 and became a leading member at the house, where she remained for ten seasons. Her
soprano A soprano () is a type of classical singing voice and has the highest vocal range of all voice types. The soprano's vocal range (using scientific pitch notation) is from approximately middle C (C4) = 261 Hertz, Hz to A5 in Choir, choral ...
voice, described as a warm
spinto Spinto ( Italian for "pushed") is a vocal term used to characterize a soprano or tenor voice of a weight between lyric and dramatic that is capable of handling large musical climaxes in opera at moderate intervals. (Sometimes the terms ' or ' a ...
"gifted in cantilena and capable of delicate expressive nuances", was suitable to roles by Smetana and Janáček's
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 ...
,
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'' ...
and
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 ...
. She became a member of the Prague National Theatre in 1955, performing 50 roles, including besides the Czech repertoire also Mozart operas, Italian repertoire such as Verdi's
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 ...
and Elisabetta in ''
Don Carlos ''Don Carlos'' is an 1867 five-act grand opera composed by Giuseppe Verdi to a French-language libretto by Joseph Méry and Camille du Locle, based on the 1787 play '' Don Karlos, Infant von Spanien'' (''Don Carlos, Infante of Spain'') by Fried ...
'', and Russian operas. She performed in all of Janáček's operas. With the Prague company, she toured to Moscow in 1955, to the
Holland Festival The Holland Festival () is the oldest and largest performing arts festival in the Netherlands. It takes place every June in Amsterdam. It comprises theatre, music, opera and modern dance. In recent years, multimedia, visual arts, film and architec ...
in 1959, and to the
Edinburgh Festival __NOTOC__ This is a list of Arts festival, arts and cultural festivals regularly taking place in Edinburgh, Scotland. The city has become known for its festivals since the establishment in 1947 of the Edinburgh International Festival and the ...
, where she appeared in 1964 in roles from Czech operas: Jitka in Smetana's '' Dalibor'' in the English premiere of the opera, and the title roles in Dvořák's ''
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 ''Káťa Kabanová''. The company also performed at the Sibelius Festival in Helsinki. She sang as a guest at the
Komische Oper Berlin The Komische Oper Berlin is a German opera company based in Berlin. The company produces operas, operettas and musicals. The opera house is located on Behrenstraße, near Unter den Linden. Since 2004, the Komische Oper Berlin, along with the Be ...
in 1956, at both the
Teatro Colón The Teatro Colón () is a historic opera house in Buenos Aires, Argentina. It is considered one of the ten best opera houses in the world by National Geographic. According to a survey carried out by the acoustics expert Leo Beranek among leadin ...
in Buenos Aires and the
Teatro di San Carlo The Real Teatro di San Carlo ("Royal Theatre of Saint Charles"), as originally named by the Bourbon monarchy but today known simply as the Teatro (di) San Carlo, is a historic opera house in Naples, Italy, connected to the Royal Palace and ...
in Naples in 1968, and regularly at the
Wiener Volksoper The Vienna Volksoper (''Volksoper'' or ''Vienna People's Opera'') is an opera house in Vienna, Austria. It produces three hundred performances of twenty-five German language productions of opera, operetta, musicals, and ballet, during an annual s ...
from 1958 to 1965. Domanínská recorded the title role of ''Jenůfa'' in 1970. It was the first stereo recording of the opera, paving the way for more recordings of Janáček's operas and for greater recognition of his work around the world. A reviewer of ''Gramophone'' wrote when it was reissued in 1995: "Libuse Domaninska is a tender Jenufa, vulnerable near the start but also in her own way deepening in human understanding as the drama develops; and her response to the music at the end, as she forgives the Kostelnicka and takes Laca, is true to Janacek's soaring melodic phrases." She performed alongside
Naděžda Kniplová Naděžda Kniplová (née Pokorná; 18 April 1932 – 14 January 2020) was a Czech operatic soprano who had an active international career from the 1950s through the 1980s. Kniplová possessed a large voice with a sonorous, metallic, dark timbre ...
as the Kostelnicka,
Ivo Žídek Ivo Žídek (4 June 1926, Kravaře – 19 May 2003, Prague) was a Czech lyric tenor, known for his vivid portrayals of character roles in the operas of Smetana, Dvořák and Janáček. Early life Ivo Žídek was born in Kravaře, Czechosl ...
as Steva, and
Vilém Přibyl Vilém Přibyl (born Náchod, 10 April 1925 – died Brno, 21 July 1990) was a Czech operatic tenor. he made his professional debut at the age of 34 in Ústí nad Labem, in 1958. Life and career After serving during World War II, Přibyl trained ...
as Laca, conducted by
Bohumil Gregor Bohumil Gregor (Prague, 14 July 1926 – 4 November 2005) was a Czech conductor. Gregor studied double bass at the Prague Conservatory. He made his conducting debut on October 26, 1947, at the Divadlo 5. května (Theatre of the Fifth of May, now t ...
. In concert, she performed
oratorio An oratorio () is a musical composition with dramatic or narrative text for choir, soloists and orchestra or other ensemble. Similar to opera, an oratorio includes the use of a choir, soloists, an instrumental ensemble, various distinguisha ...
s and
mass Mass is an Intrinsic and extrinsic properties, intrinsic property of a physical body, body. It was traditionally believed to be related to the physical quantity, quantity of matter in a body, until the discovery of the atom and particle physi ...
es by Bach, Handel, Haydn, Mozart, Beethoven and Dvořák, and
Lied In the Western classical music tradition, ( , ; , ; ) is a term for setting poetry to classical music. The term is used for any kind of song in contemporary German and Dutch, but among English and French speakers, is often used interchangea ...
er. She sang the soprano solo of Janáček's '' Glagolitic Mass'' at
La Scala La Scala (, , ; officially , ) is a historic opera house in Milan, Milan, Italy. The theatre was inaugurated on 3 August 1778 and was originally known as (, which previously was Santa Maria della Scala, Milan, a church). The premiere performa ...
in Milan. Domanínská died in
Hodonín Hodonín (; ) is a town in the South Moravian Region of the Czech Republic. It has about 24,000 inhabitants. Geography Hodonín is located about southeast of Brno, on the border with Slovakia. It lies in a flat landscape of the Lower Morava Va ...
on 2 February 2021, at the age of 96.


Roles in Prague

The roles that Domanínská performed in Prague include:


References


External links

* * * Martina Klausová
Pěvkyně Libuše Domanínská
(in Czech, pictured) classicpraha.cz 12 September 2019
Libuše Domanínská
goout.net
Libuše Domanínská
(recordings) supraphonline.cz * {{DEFAULTSORT:Domaninska, Libuse 1924 births 2021 deaths Czechoslovak women opera singers Czech operatic sopranos Musicians from Brno Brno Conservatory alumni Recipients of the Thalia Award