Soňa Červená

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Soňa Červená
Červená in 2012
Born(1925-09-09)9 September 1925
Prague, Czechoslovakia
Died7 May 2023(2023-05-07) (aged 97)
Prague, Czech Republic
Occupations
Organizations
TitleKammersängerin
Parent
RelativesVáclav František Červený (great-grandfather)
AwardsAlfréd Radok Award

Soňa Červená (9 September 1925 – 7 May 2023) was a Czech operatic mezzo-soprano, actress and writer. She had an international career as a singer from the 1950s, first at the Berlin State Opera in East Berlin and from 1962 in the West, mainly at the Oper Frankfurt and the San Francisco Opera. She was known for Bizet's Carmen, her signature role, and the title role in Der Rosenkavalier by Richard Strauss, but also performed in world premieres, and promoted Leoš Janáček's operas in Czech.

After her singing career, she turned to acting at the

The Makropulos Case at the National Theatre in Prague. She wrote an autobiography, and a biography of her great-grandfather, Václav František Červený
, who was a notable brass instrument maker.

Life and career

Family background

Born in Prague on 9 September 1925, Červená was the daughter of Czech writer

The Los Angeles Times in a 1962 interview that she believed the communist authorities killed her mother.[5]

Education, early career

Červená studied acting and singing before beginning her career in musical comedies at the age of eighteen.[5] Because her family had no money to pay for singing lessons, she worked for three years in theater saving money to obtain them.[6] She then studied voice with Robert Rozner and Lydia Wegner-Salmowá in Prague before beginning her career as a performer with an operetta ensemble in Prague. She made her professional opera debut in 1954 at the Janáček-Oper in Brno where she remained for the next three years.[2][7] She had a major success there in the title role of Der Rosenkavalier by Richard Strauss. She repeated the role at the National Theatre in Prague.[2][8]

She made her debut at the

Die lustigen Weiber von Windsor, Kontschakowna in Borodin's Fürst Igor, Olga in Tchaikovsky's Eugen Onegin, Erda and Rossweisse in Wagner's Der Ring des Nibelungen, the Second Maid in Elektra by Richard Strauss, a Kurtisane in Dessau's Die Verurteilung des Lukullus, and the title role of Jean Kurt Forest's Tai Yang erwacht.[9] She was awarded the title Kammersängerin in 1960[10] for her portrayal of Orpheus, at the time the youngest woman earning the title.[3]

Červená c. 1963

She sang in a wide variety of guest performances, including the world premiere of Rudolf Wagner-Régeny's Das Bergwerk zu Falun at the Salzburg Festival in 1961, at the Semperoper, the Vienna State Opera,[2] and the Prague Spring Festival.[7] In 1961, she recorded Bizet's Carmen (which became her signature role) with the Leipzig Opera conducted by Herbert Kegel and sung in German.[11]

Western Europe and the United States

Červená escaped to West Berlin in January 1962,[12] and said that she could not sing in a country that was not free.[13] She was first engaged at the Deutsche Oper Berlin[3] and then became a principal artist at the Oper Frankfurt,[2] taking residence there.[12] She appeared there as Carmen in 1963.[14] Her roles also included the Fortuneteller in Prokofiev's The Fiery Angel, and the Kabanicha in Janáček's Káťa Kabanová.[7] The latter was staged in 1978 by Volker Schlöndorff in his first operatic production, starring Hildegard Behrens in the title role, and was presented at the Edinburgh Festival.[15] She took part in the first production in Frankfurt of Luigi Nono's Al gran sole carico d'amore in 1977.[16]

She appeared at La Scala in Milan,[7] in Amsterdam and Paris, the Bayreuth Festival and the Glyndebourne Festival,[3] as well as in Los Angeles and Chicago. She collaborated with conductors such as Pierre Boulez, Herbert von Karajan, Rafael Kubelík, Charles Mackerras and Francesco Molinari Pradelli.[12] Červená made several appearances at the Bayreuth Festival, including as Floßhilde in Der Ring des Nibelungen in 1960, Rossweisse in 1966 and 1967, and as a Flower Maiden in Parsifal (1962–63 and 1966–67).[17] She appeared as Countess Geschwitz in Alban Berg's Lulu in a 1966 production of the Staatsoper Stuttgart, directed by Wieland Wagner and alongside Anja Silja in the title role.[18] It was also presented at the Edinburgh Festival, where she also performed as Baba the Turk in Stravinsky's The Rake's Progress in 1967, and as Carolina in Henze's Elegy for Young Lovers several times.[7]

As Berta, 1963

Throughout the 1960s, 1970s, and 1980s, she traveled widely, performing all over the Western world. She appeared as Clairon at the 1963 and 1964 Glyndebourne Festivals. With the London Symphony Orchestra she performed as a soloist in Beethoven's Missa solemnis. In 1971 she made her debut at the Lyric Opera of Chicago as Herodias. In 1981 she sang in the world premiere of Antonio Bibalo's Ghosts at the Opernhaus Kiel. In 1983 she again portrayed Kabanicha, at La Monnaie.[2] She was instrumental in promoting Janáček's operas in Czech.[19]

San Francisco Opera

As Quickly, 1966

In 1962, Červená made her United States debut at the

Il barbiere di Siviglia was noted as a "standout" comedic interpretation in a cast of comedians.[23] Her versatility in drastically changing her appearance and lack of fear of appearing ugly, as well as her acting training and singing ability, gave her the opportunity to play varied characters.[6]

Cavalleria Rusticana, and Starenka Buryjovka in Janáček's Jenůfa.[28]

Acting career after retirement from opera

Červená in 2007

After retiring from the opera stage, Červená moved to

The Makropulos Case, directed by Wilson, at the National Theatre in Prague.[3][8][13]

Červená performed on 29 September 2022 in Jan Zástěra [de]'s oratorio Saint Ludmila at the Lateran Basilica in Rome on the occasion of the Czech presidency of the Council of the European Union.[12]

Personal life

Červená authored a memoir, published in 1999, Heimweh verboten – Mein Stück Theater- und Weltgeschichte (Homesickness Forbidden: My Piece of Theatre and World History). She also wrote a biography of her great-grandfather Václav František Červený, one of the most important brass instrument makers of the 19th century, entitled "Grüß Gott, Herr Cerven".[3]

Červená died in a hospital in Prague on 7 May 2023, at age 97.[12][13]

Awards

Červená was awarded the title

26897 Červená asteroid is named after her.[19]

References

  1. ISBN 80-900314-8-X
    .
  2. ^ a b c d e f g h i j k l Nowotny, Walter: Geburtstage im September 2020 (in German) Online Merker, 28 August 2020
  3. ^ a b c d e f g Münch, Ingo (6 March 2003). "Sona Cervena – zum Erfolg mit Disziplin und Leidenschaft". Die Welt (in German). Retrieved 12 May 2023.
  4. ^ 13. komnata Soni Červené – 13. komnata (in Czech), Czech Television, retrieved 7 May 2023
  5. ^
    newspapers.com
    .
  6. ^
    Newspapers.com
    .
  7. ^ a b c d e "Soňa Červená". Opera Scotland. 2023. Retrieved 12 May 2023.
  8. ^ a b c Gruhl, Boris (4 March 2013). "Callas, Crespin, Casapietra, Cervena". musik-in-dresden.de (in German). Retrieved 16 May 2023.
  9. ^ "Besetzungsarchiv Staatsoper Berlin – Spielzeit 1960/61". tamino-klassikforum.at (in German). 2019. Retrieved 16 May 2023.
  10. ^
    ISBN 978-3-59-844088-5
    .
  11. ^ Zimmermann, Christoph: Eine Anthologie der besonderen Art (in German) theaterpur.net September 2015
  12. ^ a b c d e f "Czech opera singer Soňa Červená dies at age 97". AP. Retrieved 10 May 2023.
  13. ^ a b c d "In memoriam: legendary opera singer Soňa Červená dies at 97". Czech Radio. 9 May 2023. Retrieved 10 May 2023.
  14. ^ "Programmheft Georges Bizet: Carmen Oper Frankfurt 1963". programmhefte24.de (in German). 2023. Retrieved 16 May 2023.
  15. ISBN 978-0-52-129853-7
    .
  16. ^ Březina, Aleš (20 August 2010). "Slzy nechť roní publikum – Soňa Červená". casopisharmonie.cz (interview) (in Czech). Retrieved 16 May 2023.
  17. ^ "Sona Cervena". Bayreuth Festival (in German). 2023. Retrieved 12 May 2023.
  18. ^ Schultz, Klaus (June 2008). "Inszenierung als Interpretation zwischen Hemnis und Antrieb". Theater der Zeit (in German). Retrieved 16 May 2023.
  19. ^ a b c d e "For Lifetime Achievements". trebbia-awards.eu. 2022. Retrieved 10 May 2023.
  20. Newspapers.com
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  21. Newspapers.com
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  22. Newspapers.com
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  23. Newspapers.com
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  24. Newspapers.com
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  25. Newspapers.com
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  26. Newspapers.com
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  27. Newspapers.com
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  28. ^ "San Francisco Opera Performance Archive". archive.sfopera.com. Retrieved 17 October 2019.
  29. ^ "Soňa Červená (1925–2023), Czech Republic Lifetime achievements". trebbia-awards.eu. Trebbia. 2023. Retrieved 15 June 2023.

External links

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