Libuše Domanínská

Libuše Domanínská
Publicity shot of dark-haired, middle-aged woman with short, bouffant hairdo and a half-smile
Libuše Domanínská, in the 1970s
Born
Libuše Klobásková

(1924-07-04)4 July 1924
Brno, Czechoslovakia
Died2 February 2021(2021-02-02) (aged 96)
Hodonín, Czech Republic
Other namesLibuše Vyčichlová
OccupationOperatic soprano
Organizations

Libuše Domanínská (née Klobásková, married Vyčichlová;[1] 4 July 1924 – 2 February 2021) was a Czech classical soprano 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, Káťa Kabanová and The Cunning Little Vixen. She was instrumental in making the composer's operas known internationally, both in recordings and guest appearances.

Life and career

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Libuše Klobásková was born in Brno, Czechoslovakia, on 4 July 1924.[2] Her father was a wine expert, and her family moved from Moravia to Košice in the Slovakian part, where she first performed on a stage in an amateur theatre show at age five.[3] 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.[3] In 1940, she was accepted, and studied with Hana Pírková and Bohuslaw Sobeský.[4] 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 with her. She appeared more often on radio which in the 1940s meant live performances.[3]

After World War II, she continued her singing studies,[3] also with Marie Řezníčková,[1] and at the same time appeared at the Brno National Theatre.[3] 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.[3] Her soprano voice, described as a warm spinto "gifted in cantilena and capable of delicate expressive nuances",[1] was suitable to roles by Smetana and Janáček's Jenůfa, Káťa Kabanová and The Cunning Little Vixen. She became a member of the Prague National Theatre in 1955,[1] performing 50 roles,[2][5] including besides the Czech repertoire also Mozart operas,[1] Italian repertoire such as Verdi's Aida and Elisabetta in Don Carlos,[4] and Russian operas.[1][5] She performed in all of Janáček's operas.[3]

With the Prague company, she toured to Moscow in 1955, to the Holland Festival in 1959,[4] and to the Edinburgh Festival,[1] 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 and Káťa Kabanová.[4][6] The company also performed at the Sibelius Festival in Helsinki.[1] She sang as a guest at the Komische Oper Berlin in 1956, at both the Teatro Colón in Buenos Aires and the Teatro di San Carlo in Naples in 1968, and regularly at the Wiener Volksoper from 1958 to 1965.[1][4]

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.[3] 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."[7] She performed alongside Naděžda Kniplová as the Kostelnicka, Ivo Žídek as Steva, and Vilém Přibyl as Laca, conducted by Bohumil Gregor.[7]

In concert, she performed oratorios and masses by Bach, Handel, Haydn, Mozart, Beethoven and Dvořák, and Lieder. She sang the soprano solo of Janáček's Glagolitic Mass at La Scala in Milan.[1]

Domanínská died in Hodonín on 2 February 2021, at the age of 96.[2][8]

Roles in Prague

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The roles that Domanínská performed in Prague include:[5]

Composer Opera Opera in English Role Year
Foerster Eva Eva 1949
Smetana Hubička The Kiss Vendulka 1950
Dvořák Rusalka Rusalka 1950
Dmitry Kabalevsky Tarasova rodina The Taras Family Nasťa 1952
Mussorgsky Boris Godunov Xénie 1953
Bizet Carmen Micaela 1953
Smetana Libuše Libussa Krasava 1953
Janáček Příhody lišky Bystroušky The Cunning Little Vixen Lišák 1954
Smetana Dalibor Jitka 1954
Janáček Její pastorkyňa Jenůfa Jenůfa 1954
Smetana Prodaná nevěsta The Bartered Bride Mařenka 1954
Dvořák Rusalka Rusalka 1954
Janáček Věc Makropulos The Makropulos Affair Kristýnka 1955
Verdi Aida Aida 1956
Boleslav Vomáčka [cs] Boleslav I Běla 1956
Janáček Káťa Kabanová Káťa 1956
Mozart Kouzelná flétna The Magic Flute First Lady 1956
Dvořák Král a uhlíř King and Charcoal Burner Liduška 1956
Tchaikovsky Piková dáma Queen of Spades Eliza 1956
Fibich Šárka Libyna 1956
Mozart Ženy jsou ženy Così fan tutte Fiordiligi 1957
Handel Acis y Galathea Acis and Galatea Galathea 1958
Verdi Don Carlos Eisabetta 1959
Gluck Orfeo ed Eurydice Eurydice 1959
Smetana Braniboři v Čechách The Brandenburgers in Bohemia Ludiše 1960
Dvořák Jakobín Terinka 1960
Prokofiev Příběh opravdového člověka The Story of a Real Man Varja 1960
Jaroslav Doubrava Balada o lásce Kateřina 1961
Verdi Othello Desdemona 1964
Verdi Nabucco Abigail 1965
Dvořák Čert a Káča The Devil and Kate Káča 1965
Puccini Madama Butterfly Čo-Čo-San 1966
Martinů Hry o Marii The Tales of Mary Mariken z Niměgue 1968
Tchaikovsky Evžen Oněgin Eugene Onegin Larina 1969
Offenbach Hoffmannovy povídky The Tales of Hoffmann Giulietta 1970
Prokofiev Vojna a mír War and Peace Paní Peronská 1970
Strauss Arabela Arabella Kartářka 1971
Wagner Valkýra Die Walküre Waltraute 1971
Karminskij Deset dnů, které otřásly světem [cs] Bolševička 1972
Suchoň Krútňava The Whirlpool Žena 1972
Smetana Tajemství The Secret Hospodská 1972

References

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  1. ^ a b c d e f g h i j Němcová, Alena (2008). "Domanínská [Klobásková, Vyčichlová], Libuše". In Williams Macy, Laura (ed.). The Grove Book of Opera Singers. Oxford University Press. pp. 126–127. ISBN 978-0-19-533765-5.
  2. ^ a b c "Zemřela pěvkyně Libuše Domanínská, emeritní sólistka opery ND" (in Czech). Prague National Opera. 3 February 2021. Retrieved 4 February 2021.
  3. ^ a b c d e f g h Manethová, Eva (15 October 2005). "Libuse Domanínská, intérprete sin par de música de Janácek" (in Spanish). Radio Prague. Retrieved 5 February 2021.
  4. ^ a b c d e Nowotny, Walter (July 2019). "Geburtstage im Juli 2019". Online Merker. Retrieved 4 February 2021.
  5. ^ a b c "Libuše Domanínská". Prague National Opera Archive (in Czech). Retrieved 4 February 2021.
  6. ^ "Libuše Domanínská". operascotland.org. 2021. Retrieved 4 February 2021.
  7. ^ a b Warrack, John (December 1995). "Janácek Jenufa". Gramophone. Retrieved 3 February 2021.
  8. ^ "Oznámení o úmrtí emeritní sólistky Opery ND, Libuše Domanínské". narodni-divadlo.cz (in Czech). 3 February 2021. Retrieved 3 February 2021.
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