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The Czech soprano, Pavla Vykopalová, graduated from the Prague State Conservatory in 1993. During her studies she was invited to work with Opera Mozart. Shortly after graduating, she joined the opera company in Plzeň where she sung, among other parts, the title role in Purcell’s Dido and Aeneas. She further honed her singing technique as a mezzo-soprano with Professor Jiří Kotouč, switching smoothly to soprano roles in 2006. Currently she is privately coached by Professor Marie Urbanová.
Pavla Vykopalová's repertoire ranges from Baroque to Romantic opera, including oratorios, cantatas and songs spanning in style from the Baroque period through to contemporary music. Since 1999 she has been a regular guest artist of the National Theatre in Prague, performing most of the leading roles in W.A. Mozart’s operas such as Zerlina, Donna Elvira, Pamina, Fiordiligi, Vitellia and the Countess. In 2003 she made her successful debut at the Théâtre du Châtelet in Paris as Karolka in Janáček’s Jenufa. Her regular guest appearances at the Prague State Opera have included performing the roles of Rusalka in Rusalka, Mimì in La bohème and Desdemona in Othello.
In January 2009, Pavla Vykopalová joined the National Theatre of Brno as a regular soloist, starring there as Mařenka in Smetana´s opera The Bartered Bride staged by Ondřej Havelka. Especially for this role she was nominated for a prestigious theatrical award Thalia 2006. She has also performed Lauretta in Puccini´s Gianni Schicchi, Nedda in Leoncavallo´s I Pagliacci, the title role in Martinu´s Juliette, Rosina in The Barber of Seville, Liú in Puccini´s Turandot, Micaela in Georges Bizet's Carmen, the title role in Dvořák´s Water Nymph, Jenufa by Janáček, Míla in Janáček´s Fate, Káťa in Janáček´s Káťa Kabanová, Vendulka in Smetana´s Kiss, Rosalinda in Strauss´s Die Fledermaus, The Countess in W.A. Mozart's Le nozze di Figaro, Liù in Turandot, Clémence in Saariaho´s Love on Distance, Sister Pascalina in Martinu´s Miracle of Our Lady, Mimi in Puccini´s La Bohéme, Antonia in Offenbach´s Tales of Hoffman and Katerina in Martinu´s Miracle of Our Lady.
Pavla Vykopalová also has an extensive concert activity both at home and abroad, including sacred works and songs. In numerous concerts and opera performances, she has collaborated with world famous Czech and foreign conductors, such as Jiří Bělohlávek, Jiří Kout, Eliahu Inbal, Iván Fischer, Jakub Hrůša, Kaspar Zehnder, Sylvian Cambreling, Leopold Hager, and Asher Fisch. Pavla has sung on the concert stages with the Czech Philharmonic Orchestra, Radio Symphonic Orchestra, Brno Philharmonic Orchestra, Sachsische Staatskapelle Dresden, Budapest Festival Orchestra, Tokyo Symphony Orchestra and Frankfurt Radio Symphony Orchestra.
In June 2012, accompanied by the Czech Philharmonic Orchestra, Pavla Vykopalová performer the song cycle Shéhérazade by M. Ravel and sang the soprano solo in Leonard Bernstein's Kaddish Symphony under the conductor Eliahu Inbal. She also gave a recital of Samuel Pisaro. In 2014, still in the same cast, she gave a rerun of the soprano solo in Kaddish in the Alte Oper at Frankfurt, and in 2016 she performed in the Suntory Hall in Japanese Tokyo. In autumn 2011 she managed to master with a great success the role Jenufa done by three French theatres: Rennes, Limoges and Reims. In 2012 she was nominated for Thalia award for her title role Mila in Janáček´s Fate. In autumn 2013 she mastered the title role in Janáček´s opera Káťa Kabanová in the Danish National Opera. In May 2014 she took part in a concert tour with the conductor Iván Fischer and the Budapest Festival Orchestra, starring in the title role of Dvořák´s Water Nymph. In October 2016 at the National Theatre of Brno, Pavla mastered the title role of Káťa Kabanová under the supervision of the Canadian director Robert Carsen. For this role she was also awarded the Thalia award. At the National Theatre of Brno she was given the title role of Clémence in the contemporary opera Love on Distance composed by Kaia Saariho of Finnish-French origin. It is an unconvential piece of art which was for the first time staged in the Czech Republic.
Also Pavla Vykopalová's activity, regarding developing recordings for various record companies, is quite wide and large. Recorded by her were e.g. such pieces as Czech Christmas Mass by J. J. Ryba (Multisonic), Lenora by A. Rejcha (Orfeo), and various music compositions for organ and singing by Bedřich Antonín Wiedermann (Rosa). At Supraphon she recorded Miloslav Kabeláč´s The Symphony Drammatica and created also another CD with Bohuslav Martinu´s Cantatas.
In December 2018 she studied the title role in Janáček´s opera Káťa Kabanová at the Metropolitan Teatro di San Carlo. It was produced under Juraj Valčuha and staged by Willy Decker. In 2022, on the occasion of the French-Czech co-production, she performs the role of Alcina in George Frideric Handel's Alcina with the Collegium 1704 under the conductor Václav Luks at the National theatre in Brno. She currently lives in Prague, Czech Republic. |
