Favorite Songs and Arias of Czech Prima Donnas – The Songs and Arias They Sang. Concert accompanying the exhibition "Czech Prima Donnas at the Met Opera".
Free registration here.
Ada Bílková (mezzo-soprano) and Lucie Laubová (soprano) – voice
Isabel Keleti – piano
Dr. Veronika Vejvodová – commentary
Ada Bílková (mezzo-soprano)
Ada Bílková studied mezzo-soprano under the direction of Vlasta Hudecová in Bratislava and is a recent graduate from the Academy of Performing Arts in Prague where she studied under prof. Ivan Kusnjer. She is the winner of the 1st prize of the Bohuslav Song Contest Martinů, at the Mozart Dušek competition in Prague where she won 2nd place. She has performed concerts all over the Czech Republic and abroad and since 2019, she has been performing as a soloist in the Love of Czech music project which represents Czech music primarily focused on Antonín Dvořák and Leoš Janáček. Since 2020, she has regularly worked with Písecká brána and the Krása pomoci foundation which enables concerts in social facilities throughout the Czech Republic. In 2021, Ada presented herself in Dejvice Theater as Princes Libuše in the performance "Zítra to spustíme" from Václav Havel. Since the same year, she has also been cooperating with the city Karlovy Vary, where she performs regularly. Ada Bílková focuses on Czech music with the aim of spreading its legacy here and abroad.
Photo credit: Juan Cevallos
Lucie Laubová (soprano) is a graduate of the Conservatory of the Evangelical Academy in Olomouc and recently completed her master's degree at the Music Academy of Performing Arts in Prague in the class of prof. MgA. Magdalena Hajóssyová. During her studies she developed a rich concert activity. In addition to solo recitals and a number of chamber projects, she also collaborated solo with the Moravian Philharmonic in Olomouc and the Bohuslav Martinů Philharmonic in Zlín. She can be heard regularly at concerts in Prague's Klementinum or in the church of St. Francis of Assisi in Prague. She is the winner of the 3rd prize at the International singing competition Premio internazionale di Canto Lirico (Fasano – Italy) and many awards for interpretation in song and opera work (the last one – Karlovy Vary International Competition 2022 – Jiří Štilec ArcoDiva Award, Karlovy Vary International Competition 2023 – Award Antonín Dvořák for the best interpretation).
Isabel Keleti is an award-winning classical pianist, originally from Kansas and currently based in NYC. Isabel received a Fulbright award, allowing her to study in the Czech Republic with Professor Jan Jiraský at the Janáček Academy of Music and Performing Arts in Brno. Isabel has performed at a variety of concert venues across Asia, the US, and Europe, including Xian Concert Hall in Xian, Renmin University in Beijing, the National Museum in Prague, and Weill Recital Hall at Carnegie Hall. She received her Masters of Music at Mannes under the direction of Vladimir Valjarević and her Bachelors from KU School of Music studying with Dr. Jack Winerock. She is a musician-owner of Groupmuse, a platform which connects classical musicians with local audiences through house concerts.
Dr. Veronika Vejvodová studied musicology and history at Masaryk University in Brno, where she also earned her doctorate with the thesis Dvořák's last opera Armida, Op. 115: Genesis and Reception. After her studies she worked as a curator of the Janáček Archive in the Department of Music History at the Moravian Museum in Brno and since 2013 as a curator and later as head of the Antonín Dvořák Museum – Czech Museum of Music – National Museum of the Czech Republic in Prague. She is the author of editions of works by L. Janáček and A. Dvořák. She has participated in projects of processing the online catalogue of Leoš Janáček's speech melodies and Janáček's correspondence. Together with Kateřina Nová she published the recollections on Dvořák by Josef J. Kovařík, composer’s collaborator Three Years with the Maestro: An American remembers Antonín Dvořák (2016). She is the author of the online catalogue of Dvořák's correspondence (https://antonindvorak.nm.cz) and of catalogues for the exhibitions Famous Czech Composers (together with S. Bergmannová, 2020) and Antonín Dvořák: My life and work (editor, 2023), an exhibit prepared on the occasion of the inscription of the Archive of Antonín Dvořák to the UNESCO International Memory of the World Register.
Photo credit: Bára Alex Kašparová
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