Josepha Chekova

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Chekova in 1948

Josepha Chekova, sometimes given as Josefa Chekova and also known by her married name Josepha Domansky, (26 May 1900 – 25 February 1968) was a Czech-American

Prague State Opera prior to becoming a leading soprano with the New York Opera Company in 1933. She was a leading soprano at Radio City Music Hall in 1930s, and toured with the San Carlo Opera Company in 1935-1936. She worked regularly with the Steel Pier Opera Company in Atlantic City from the mid 1930s into the early 1940s, and also appeared as a guest artist with opera companies in Washington D.C., Cincinnati, and Chicago. From 1940-1942 she toured with Armand Bagarozy
's Columbia Opera Company, and in 1948 she gave a concert tour of Czechoslovakia.

In addition to her work as a soprano, Chekova also translated opera libretti into to English. She notably translated Eugene Zador's opera Christopher Columbus from German into English for the work's world premiere in 1939. Her English language translation was later used by the American Symphony Orchestra for their 1975 recording of that work.

Vocal training and career

The daughter of Czech immigrants to the United States,[1] Josepha Chekova was born on 26 May 1900 in New York City.[2]

She was performing in

Thomas A. Edison's music company to perform a program of Czech music on WRNY in June 1928 with the Edison Orchestra.[11]

In May 1927 Chekova performed in the variety show Oh, Teacher at the Oriental Theatre in Chicago.[12] The following October she won a singing competition held by the Bel Canto Studio, Inc. of New York; the prize of which was free vocal training for at least one year, and possibly as long as three years, and a trip to Italy.[13] She later studied singing with Estelle Liebling in New York City.[14] In 1929 she recorded the duet "Love Me Tonight" for the Victor Talking Machine Company with singer Dennis King.[15]

Chekova had a minor part in the ensemble of the 1931

Prague State Opera in The Bartered Bride.[17][18] In 1933 she was a leading soprano with the New York Opera Company.[19]

In 1934 Chekova was engaged at

NBC Radio.[22] That same year she portrayed the title role Georges Bizet's Carmen[23] and the role of Leonora in Giuseppe Verdi's Il trovatore at the Steel Pier Theatre in Atlantic City.[24]

Chekova was engaged with the touring San Carlo Opera Company for the 1935-1936 season in which she performed the role of Nedda in Pagliacci, Marguerite in Faust and Micaëla in Carmen.[25]

In 1936 Chekova performed at

Robin Hood Dell in Philadelphia.[27] Staged by H. Maurice Jacquet's short lived American Opera Company, the opera was also performed in Trenton, New Jersey.[28][29]

In 1939 Chekova portrayed Leonora in Il trovatore opposite Florence Foster Jenkins as Azucena with the Verdi Club in New York City,[30] and returned to the RCMH as Musetta.[31]

Chekova translated the original German language libretto to

NBC Blue Network program Music Hall of the Air but also in front of a sold out audience at the theatre. Her translation was later recorded by the American Symphony Orchestra under conductor Laszlo Halasz in 1975. It was released by the Cambria record label in 1997.[32] Her translation was also used with the Tucson Symphony Orchestra performed the opera in 1956.[33]

From 1940-1942 Chekova was a leading soprano with

Victoria Daily Times on March 10, 1948.[40]

In 1955 she recorded the duet duet “Dio Ti Giocondi” from Verdi's Otello with tenor Mario Lanza. That recording was used in the soundtrack for the 1956 film Serenade.

Later life

Josepha Chekova died at Christian Science Hospital in Boston at the age of 68 on 25 February 1968.[17] Her husband, the concert manager Vladimir Domansky, had died a month earlier on 14 January 1968.[17]

References

  1. ^ Mila Rechcigl (2016). "Josepha Chekova". Encyclopedia of Bohemian and Czech-American Biography, Volume I. AuthorHouse.
  2. ^ Josepha Domansky in the U.S., Social Security Death Index, 1935-2014
  3. ^ M. H. Shapiro, ed. (May 30, 1925). "Critic Picks the 12 Best Acts of Season". Billboard. p. 12.
  4. Republican and Herald
    . May 18, 1925. p. 3.
  5. ^ "Radio Programs Scheduled for the Current Week". The New York Times. August 8, 1926. p. 16.
  6. ^ "Today's Radio Programs". The New York Times. December 1, 1926. p. 22.
  7. ^ "Today's Radio Programs". The New York Times. September 18, 1926.
  8. ^ "A Month's Features at WRNY". Radio News. October 1926. p. 435-436.
  9. ^ "Today's Radio Programs". The New York Times. January 26, 1927. p. 52.
  10. ^ "Today's Radio Programs". The New York Times. February 2, 1927.
  11. ^ "Turn of the Dial". Musical America. June 2, 1928. p. 34.
  12. Exhibitors Herald
    : 38. May 7, 1927.
  13. The Musical Courier
    . October 20, 1927. p. 14.
  14. ^ "Liebling Pupils Make Many Public Appearances". Musical America. June 1935. p. 33.
  15. ^ "Josepha Chekova". Discography of American Historical Recordings. University of California, Santa Barbara. Retrieved July 25, 2024.
  16. ^ Burns Mantle, ed. (1931). The Best Plays of 1930-31 : and the Yearbook of the Drama in America. Dodd, Mead & Co. p. 541.
  17. ^
    The Courier-News
    . March 13, 1968. p. 40.
  18. The Musical Courier
    . February 5, 1942. p. 120.
  19. ^ "New York Forces to Open Season in Easton". Musical America. Vol. 53, no. 15. October 10, 1933. p. 8.
  20. ^ The Skirt (June 19, 1934). "Among the Women". Variety. p. 73.
  21. ^ "Opera is Innovation at Radio City Music Hall". Musical America. Vol. 54, no. 10. May 25, 1934. p. 34.
  22. The Musical Courier
    : 35. July 13, 1935.
  23. The Musical Courier
    . September 14, 1935.
  24. The Musical Courier
    . August 17, 1935. p. 28.
  25. The Musical Courier
    . 111 (5): 18. October 5, 1935.
  26. The Musical Courier
    . 112 (1): 20. January 4, 1936.
  27. The International Musician
    . 36 (3): 6. September 1937.
  28. ^ Chekova, Josepha (June 11, 1937). "Trenton Will Hear Premiere of Opera". Evening Courier. Vol. 54, no. 10. Camden, NJ. p. 11 – via Newspapers.com.
  29. ^ Beck, Henry C., ed. (August 13, 1937). "Dell To Close Season in Park Next Week: Opera Comique, Solo Appearance of Iturbi on Final Programs". Evening Courier. Vol. 54, no. 63. Camden, NJ. p. 9 – via Newspapers.com.
  30. The Musical Courier
    . Vol. 119, no. 8. April 15, 1939. p. 30.
  31. The International Musician
    . Vol. 37, no. 10. April 1939.
  32. ^ Eugene Zador: Christopher Columbus, liner notes. Cambria. 1997.
  33. The Musical Courier
    . Vol. 154, no. 6. November 15, 1956. p. 7.
  34. The Musical Courier
    . Vol. 12, no. 6. March 15, 1940. p. 15.
  35. ^ "Baltimore Hears Columbia Opera". Musical America. Vol. 61, no. 16. October 25, 1941. p. 19.
  36. ^ "Columbia Opera in Detroit". Variety. January 28, 1942. p. 36.
  37. ^ "Columbia Opera Group to Tour Upstate New York". Musical America. Vol. 61, no. 7. April 10, 1941. p. 21.
  38. ^ "Rochester Opera Offers La Boheme". Musical America. 6 (19): 41. December 10, 1941.
  39. ^ "Radio City Stages Puccini's "Madama Butterfly"". Musical America. 61 (10). May 25, 1941.
  40. Victoria Daily Times
    .
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