Marta Beňačková (born 29 August 1953, in Bratislava) is a Slovak

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 ...

who has had an active performing career since the 1970s in concerts,

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 ...

s, and recitals.

Biography

Beňačková attended the

Bratislava Conservatory Bratislava (German: ''Pressburg'', Hungarian: ''Pozsony'') is the capital and largest city of the Slovak Republic and the fourth largest of all cities on the river Danube. Officially, the population of the city is about 475,000; however, so ...

where she earned a degree in piano performance. She pursued further studies in singing at the Slovakia: Academy of Music and Dramatic Arts (VŠMU). She began her career as a member of the ancient music ensemble Musica Aeterna. She left the group to pursue a solo career, and has since performed in a wide array of works from the concert repertoire that encompasses symphonic, oratorio and vocal pieces from the 17th through the 21st centuries. She has appeared in concert with the

Czech Philharmonic Orchestra The Czech Philharmonic () is a symphony orchestra based in Prague. Its principal performing venue is the Rudolfinum concert hall. History The name "Czech Philharmonic Orchestra" appeared for the first time in 1894, as the title of the orche ...

Prague Symphony The Symphony No. 38 in D major, K. 504, was composed by Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart in late 1786. It premiered in Prague on January 19, 1787, ISMN M-006-20466-3 during Mozart's first visit to the city. Because it was first performed in Prague, it i ...

Czech National Symphony Orchestra The Czech National Symphony Orchestra (ČNSO or CNSO) () is a Czech symphony orchestra based in Prague. The orchestra principally gives concerts at the Smetana Hall, Municipal House (''Smetanova síň Obecního domu''). The CNSO also performs at ...

Prague Radio Symphony Orchestra The Prague Radio Symphony Orchestra (''Symfonický orchestr Českého rozhlasu'', Czech acronym SOČR, English acronym PRSO) is a Czech broadcast orchestra based in Prague, the Czech Republic. The SOČR performs concerts at the Dvořák Hall of ...

, and the

Slovak Philharmonic Orchestra The Slovak Philharmonic or Slovak State Philharmonic (Slovenská filharmónia) is a Slovak symphony orchestra based in Bratislava. Founded in 1949, the orchestra has resided since the 1950s in the Baroque-era Reduta Bratislava concert hall const ...

among other ensembles. On the opera stage, Beňačková has particularly excelled in portraying roles in operas by

Verdi Giuseppe Fortunino Francesco Verdi ( ; ; 9 or 10 October 1813 – 27 January 1901) was an Italian composer best known for his operas. He was born near Busseto, a small town in the province of Parma, to a family of moderate means, recei ...

and

Puccini Giacomo Puccini (22 December 1858 29 November 1924) was an Italian composer known primarily for his operas. Regarded as the greatest and most successful proponent of Italian opera after Verdi, he was descended from a long line of composers, s ...

. She has sung a number of roles with the

Prague State Opera The State Opera (Czech: Státní opera) is an opera house in Prague, Czech Republic. It is part of the National Theatre of the Czech Republic, founded by Ministry of Culture of the Czech Republic in 1992. The theatre itself originally opened ...

, including Ulrica in Verdi's '' Un ballo in maschera'' with conductor

Martin Turnovský Martin Turnovský (29 September 1928 – 19 May 2021) was a Czech conductor whose career flourished under the guidance of George Szell, but was hampered by the communist regime. Biography Turnovský was born in Prague. As a boy, he showed promi ...

and the title role in

Antonio Vivaldi Antonio Lucio Vivaldi (4 March 1678 – 28 July 1741) was an Italian composer, virtuoso violinist, impresario of Baroque music and Roman Catholic priest. Regarded as one of the greatest Baroque composers, Vivaldi's influence during his lif ...

's ''

Orlando Furioso ''Orlando furioso'' (; ''The Frenzy of Orlando'') is an Italian epic poem by Ludovico Ariosto which has exerted a wide influence on later culture. The earliest version appeared in 1516, although the poem was not published in its complete form ...

''. She has also appeared several times at the National Theatre in

Prague Prague ( ; ) is the capital and List of cities and towns in the Czech Republic, largest city of the Czech Republic and the historical capital of Bohemia. Prague, located on the Vltava River, has a population of about 1.4 million, while its P ...

, portraying roles like the Countess in '' The Queen of Spades'' and the Witch 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 ...

''. Beňačková is currently on the music faculty at the Bratislava Conservatory. She is not related to the famous soprano Gabriela Beňačková.

Sources

Bio of Marta Beňačková at bach-cantatas.com
1953 births Living people Czech operatic mezzo-sopranos 20th-century Slovak women opera singers Czechoslovak women opera singers {{Slovakia-singer-stub