The Czech Center New York presents an evening commemorating Soňa Červená, a renowned Czech opera singer and actor who died earlier this year at the age of 97.
Opening remarks will be presented by musicologist and NYU professor Michael Beckerman, and famous arias will be performed by mezzo-soprano Markéta Cukrová and pianist Isabel Keleti. Last but not least, a documentary by Olga Sommerová will offer a glimpse into the life of this extraordinary woman.
Registration here.
Program of the evening:Opening remarks by Miroslav Konvalina, director of the Czech Center New YorkContribution of prof. Michael BeckermanTribute to Soňa Červená, performed by singer Markéta Cukrová and pianist Isabel Keleti: W. A. Mozart: Voi che sapete / Cherubino's Aria from "The Marriage of Figaro" G. Rossini: Assisa a un pie d’un salice / Desdemona's Aria from "Otello" J. Červený: Cigán (A Gipsy) / a song written by Soňa Červená's father
4. Documentary screening: film "Červená" by Olga Sommerová
Červená
Documentary. Czech Republic, Slovakia, 2017. Directed by Olga Sommerová. 83 min
Olga Sommerová’s feature-length documentary about the world-famous opera singer and actress Soňa Červená is the story of a woman whose private history as well as public life was influenced by important historical events of the 20th century in Europe. Her artistic career includes a hundred opera roles in five thousand performances on stages of six continents.
Olga Sommerová about Soňa Červená:
"She never complained. Once, when I made a fuss, she told me: “A lady never complains!” Born under the sign of Virgo, she was a bit of a neat freak, but always very thorough and reliable. And it was on this combination of great talent, which drove her ambition, along with her irrevocable decision to transform this gift from God into performance that she based her stellar career on.
She was beautiful, charming, witty, intelligent, hard-working… And to top it all off, she was blessed with a voice of such exquisite timbre that it begs the question: “What else could an artist need for a world-class career?”
Soňa Červená is a wondrous figure of Czech culture. At 90 years old, she could still astonish a crowd with her creative vitality that could only be regarded as a worldwide phenomenon. Despite the historical turbulent events of the 20th century, she held on to her honor and her majestic charm.
It feels strange now that this woman whose own historical experience spanned a century of seminal milestones, whose voice brought so much joy and beauty, whose creative vision enriched music halls all around the globe and in the Czech Republic – this Czech woman of international stature and my kind and loving friend Soňa – is no longer with us."
Photogallery:
1, 5-10: Soňa Červená in Toufar, Czech Center New York, 2015. Photo credit © Adéla Wagnerová
2, 3, 4: From the documentary "Červená" by Olga Sommerová
From the he exhibition “Czech Heroines. Important Women of Czech History and the Present”. Planned presentation during 2023.
More about the exhibition here.
Soňa Červená © Kristina Bártová
Michael Beckerman is Carroll and Milton Petrie's Professor of Music and Collegiate Professor at New York University. He is the author of six books including New Worlds of Dvořák, Martinů’s Mysterious Accident, and Janáček as Theorist, and has written widely on Czech topics, film music, Mozart, orientalism, music of the Roma, and most recently, composition in the concentration camps and the question of the relationship between form and musical meaning. Beckerman has been a regular contributor to The New York Times, has appeared on many episodes of Live From Lincoln Center, and has lectured throughout North America, Europe, Asia and Australia.
In 2021, he received the Gratias Agit Award in New York from representatives of the Czech Ministry of Foreign Affairs for his long-standing support of Czech culture, Czech music and the Czech music composers in the US.
Photo © Michael Beckerman's Archive
Mezzo-soprano Markéta Cukrová is one of the most sought-for Czech soloists in the field of historically informed music. Her name is to be frequently found in the programs of Baroque oratorios and operas, chamber music and lieder recitals, as well as music by living composers. She regularly appears at the most distinguished festivals of differing genres (Prague Spring Festival, Laus Polyphoniae, La Chaise-Dieu, Sable, Europalia, Prague Summer Festival, Brugge and Utrecht Early Music Festivals, St.Venceslas Festival, Miami Tropical Baroque, Musikverain Wien, Schleswick-Holstein Festival, Trionale).
Photo credit © Ilona Sochorová
Isabel Keleti, a young and talented pianist originally from Kansas, studied at the Mannes School of Music in New York where Bohuslav Martinů used to teach. She regularly features at the Mannes Sounds Festival at the Czech Center New York. She spent last year on a Fulbright stipend, studying with Professor Jan Jiraský at the Janáček Academy of Music in Brno, Czech Republic.
Photo credit © Hans Alcindor
