Vilém Přibyl (born

Náchod Náchod (; ) is a town in the Hradec Králové Region of the Czech Republic. It has about 20,000 inhabitants. It is known both as a tourist destination and centre of industry. The historic town centre with the castle complex is well preserved and i ...

, 10 April 1925 – died

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 ...

, 21 July 1990) was 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 *Czech (surnam ...

operatic

tenor A tenor is a type of male singing voice whose vocal range lies between the countertenor and baritone voice types. It is the highest male chest voice type. Composers typically write music for this voice in the range from the second B below m ...

. he made his professional debut at the age of 34 in

Ústí nad Labem Ústí nad Labem (; ) is a city in the Czech Republic. It has about 91,000 inhabitants and is the capital of the Ústí nad Labem Region. It is a major industrial centre and, besides being an active river port, is an important railway junction. ...

, in 1958.

Life and career

After serving during

World War II World War II or the Second World War (1 September 1939 – 2 September 1945) was a World war, global conflict between two coalitions: the Allies of World War II, Allies and the Axis powers. World War II by country, Nearly all of the wo ...

, Přibyl trained as an electrical technician. In 1952 he took private singing lessons in Hradec Králové, and participated in amateur opera performances; his debut was the same year as Lukas in ''The Kiss'' by Smetana. Further appearances there led to an invitation to join the State Opera at Ústí nad Labem, making his professional debut there in 1959 in ''Rusalka'' as the Prince.Loppert, Max. Obituary – Vilém Přibyl. ''

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 ...

'', Vol.41 No.10, October 1990, p1189. Two years later Přibyl became a soloist of the National Theatre in Brno which became the base for the rest of his career, initially continuing his studies at the city's Janáček Academy. He also sang regularly with the Prague National Opera. In 1964 he visited Edinburgh with the Prague company, and his performance of the title role in '' Dalibor'' led to his Covent Garden debut the same year. His appearances at

Covent Garden Covent Garden is a district in London, on the eastern fringes of the West End, between St Martin's Lane and Drury Lane. It is associated with the former fruit-and-vegetable market in the central square, now a popular shopping and tourist sit ...

included Florestan in ''

Fidelio ''Fidelio'' (; ), originally titled ' (''Leonore, or The Triumph of Marital Love''), Opus number, Op. 72, is the sole opera by German composer Ludwig van Beethoven. The libretto was originally prepared by Joseph Sonnleithner from the French of ...

'' in 1964 opposite

Régine Crespin Régine Crespin (23 February 1927 – 5 July 2007) was a French soprano who had a major international career in opera and on the concert stage between 1950 and 1989. She started her career singing roles in the dramatic soprano and spinto sopran ...

, Erik in ''

Der fliegende Holländer ' (''The Flying Dutchman''), Wagner-Werk-Verzeichnis, WWV 63, is a German-language opera, with libretto and music by Richard Wagner. The central theme is redemption through love. Wagner Conducting, conducted the premiere at the Königliches Hofthe ...

'' in 1966 under

Georg Solti Sir Georg Solti ( , ; born György Stern; 21 October 1912 – 5 September 1997) was a Hungarian-British orchestral and operatic conductor, known for his appearances with opera companies in Munich, Frankfurt, and London, and as a long-servi ...

, and the tenor soloist in the Macmillan ballet Song of the Earth in 1966 with

The Royal Ballet The Royal Ballet is a British internationally renowned classical ballet company, based at the Royal Opera House in Covent Garden, London, England. The largest of the five major ballet companies in Great Britain, the Royal Ballet was founded ...

alongside mezzo Yvonne Minton, under Hans Swarowsky. He repeated his Florestan in 1967 opposite Gwyneth Jones and in 1971 opposite his compatriot Ludmila Dvořáková; in 1970 he sang as Turiddu 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 ...

'' under Lamberto Gardelli. Přibyl sang throughout Europe, the USA and Canada, his most regular operas being ''

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 ...

'', ''Dalibor'', ''

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 ...

'', ''

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 ...

'', and ''Fidelio''. Other roles in his repertory ranged from Gluck's ''Alceste'' (Admetus) to Shostakovich's ''Katerina lsmailova'' (Sergey). He made a number of recordings, among them '' Osud'' (Zivny) and '' The Excursions of Mr. Brouček'' (title role) by

Leoš Janáček Leoš Janáček (, 3 July 1854 – 12 August 1928) was a Czech composer, Music theory, music theorist, Folkloristics, folklorist, publicist, and teacher. He was inspired by Moravian folk music, Moravian and other Slavs, Slavic music, includin ...

, '' Dalibor'' (title role) by Smetana, '' The Greek Passion'' (Manolios) by Martinů. For his performance as "a lively and mellifluous" Jiří in ''

The Jacobin ''Jakobín'', or ''The Jacobin'', is an operatic pastoral comedy in three acts by Antonín Dvořák, his Op. 84 ( B. 159). Its Czech libretto by Marie Červinková-Riegrová employs characters from Alois Jirásek's story ''At the Du ...

'', ''Opera'' commended his "ageless" voice. Milnes, Rodney. Review of Supraphon LPs 'The Jacobin'. ''Opera'', Vol.31 No.1, January 1980, p64. He died of a

stroke Stroke is a medical condition in which poor cerebral circulation, blood flow to a part of the brain causes cell death. There are two main types of stroke: brain ischemia, ischemic, due to lack of blood flow, and intracranial hemorrhage, hemor ...

References

Opera plus – Vilém PřibylDivadlo.cz
{{DEFAULTSORT:Pribyl, Vilem People from Náchod 1925 births 1990 deaths Czechoslovak military personnel of World War II Czech operatic tenors Czechoslovak male opera singers