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Jana Sýkorová, alto

Jana Sýkorová, Prague's Carmen

      Czech contralto Jana Sýkorová, "Prague's Carmen", has reprised this role in six different productions. As a leading soloist with the Prague State Opera since 1999, her performances have included the title roles Carmen, Orlando, Elephant Man, Phaedra, Death as well as Ulrica, Maddalena, La Cieca, Olga, Ježibaba (in Dvořák's Rusalka), Fenena, Suzuki, Sesto and others. Since 2002 Jana Sýkorová has been a permanent guest soloist witht the Prague National Theatre Opera having been featured a.o. as Carmen and in less known Czech repertory as Kate in Dvořák's Kate and the Devil or Panna Roza in Smetana's The Secret.

     Included among the many roles Jana Sýkorová has performed with the Prague State Opera are title roles in Prague world premieres of works by Czech contemporary composer and renowned jazz pianist Emil Viklicky, the opera Phaedra and the opera-oratorio The Ploughman and the Death, and of the opera Joseph Merrick dit Elephant Man by French contemporary composer and renowned movie music maker Laurent Petitgirard. Her performances in the follow-on French premiere of the Elephant Man with Nice Opera won acclaim of international critics as well as did the subsequently released DVD (Marco Polo label - Gramophone Magazine's DVD of the Month, February 2005). See Jana Sýkorová's reviews.

     Jana Sýkorová's guest performances have included a.o. Grimgerde ind Die Walküre at Wagner Festival in Wels, Austria, Death in Berlin, Elephant Man, and Maddalena in Nice (with Mo Marco Guidarini). In 2007 Ms Sýkorová made her successful debut with London Royal Opera House Covent Garden as Maddalena (a David McVicar production, with Mo Renato Palumbo), where she returned to perform the role of Mercédès and to cover Carmen in 2008 (a Francesca Zambello production, with Mo Daniel Oren).

     Ms Sýkorová has performed in symphonic concerts in Denmark, Norway, France, Great Britain, Italy, Germany, Spain, Poland, Slovakia and in Japan. Her concert repertoire includes great oratorios by Dvořák, Händel, Mozart, Beethoven, Schubert, Saint-Saëns, Verdi and Janáček, cantatas by Massenet, Debussy, Prokofiev, Stravinsky, vocal symphonies by Beethoven, Mahler, Skryabin, incidental Music by Falla, Grieg, lieder by Dvořák, Saint-Saëns, Berlioz, Falla, Wagner, Brahms, Mahler. See Jana Sýkorová's concert repertoire.

      Particular mention should be made in regard to her performances in Dvořák’s Stabat Mater with the Czech Philharmonic Orchestra at Tokyo Suntory Hall and with Prague Symphony Orchestra in Rome, in Dvořák’s Requiem at Trondheim Festival, Norway, in Martinu’s rarely performed lieder Nipponari with Mo Mark Stringer in Glasgow, in Massenet’s cantata Marie-Magdeleine and in de Falla’s El Amor Brujo, in Janáček’s Glagolitic Mass in Japan. Her 2008 concerts have included a.o. the song cycle Nuit Persane and Pallas Athène in Saint-Saëns’ newly rediscovered opera Hélène in solemn concerts for 120th Anniversary of Prague State Opera (formerly New German Theatre), Shostakovich’s Jewish Poetry in Brno, Beethoven’s Missa Solemnis in Spain, Dvořák's Requiem and Janáček’s Glagolitic Mass in Japan. Most recently she has performed Berio’s Folk Songs in Hradec Králové, Janáček’s Glagolitic Mass and Brahms' Alto Rhapsody with Mo Bernhard Klee in Denmark, de Falla's El Amor Brujo in Prague with Ma Joanna Carneiro, Dvořák's Moravian Duets with soprano Simona Šaturová in Budapest and Dvořák’s cantata St. Ludmila with Mo Gerd Albrecht in Holland.

     Jana Sýkorová's upcoming concerts will feature Dvořák's Requiem, Skryabin's Symphony No 1 with Mo Eliahu Inbal, Prokofiev's cantata Alexander Nevski with Mo Gerd Albrecht in Stuttgart and Janáček’s Glagolitic Mass with Sir Charles Mackerras. Her 2010 plans include both Symphony No 2 and Symphony No 3 by Mahler.

• Carmen (Bizet Carmen) in the Prague State Opera production
  
• Carmen (Bizet Carmen) in the Brno National Theatre - Janáček Opera production
  
• Carmen (Bizet Carmen) in the Pilsen City Opera production
• Maddalena (Verdi Rigoletto) Dijon Opera (an Yves Beaunesne production with Mo Roberto Rizzi Brignoli)
• Maddalena (Verdi Rigoletto) Prague State Opera
• Fenena (Verdi Nabucco) Prague State Opera
  
• Suzuki (Puccini Madama Butterfly) Prague State Opera
  

   See Jana Sýkorová's calendar.

      In addition to an extensive concert career Ms Sýkorová has recorded Dvořák's opera The Stubborn Lovers under the baton of Jiří Bělohlávek for the Supraphon label and has also recorded several oratorios as Dvořák's Stabat Mater, Ryba's Czech Christmas Mass, cantatas as Massenet’s Marie-Magdeleine and several lieder cycles of Czech contemporary composers (Eben, Lukáš, Neumann, Marek) for the Czech Broadcasting Authority. See Jana Sýkorová's list of recordings.

      Ms Jana Sýkorová was awarded many prizes:

• 1998 “Europäischer Förderpreis für junge Künstler”
• 1997 First Prize and Laureateship in Junior Category, Antonín Dvořák International Singing Contest, Karlovy Vary
• 1997 Prize awarded by the Czech Broadcasting Authority for best realization of a 20th Century Song Cycle, Antonín Dvořák International Singing Contest, Karlovy Vary
• 1997 Stanislaw Moniuszko Prize, Antonín Dvořák International Singing Contest, Karlovy Vary
• 1996 Jarmila Novotná Prize, Antonín Dvořák International Singing Contest, Karlovy Vary
• 1995 First Prize, International Contest of Conservatories of Music, Pardubice

      Jana Sýkorová studied singing at the Prague Conservatory of Music with Brigita Šulcová. She participated at master classes with Eva Randová (Stuttgart) and Mikhail Tomashov (Sofia). She worked on Baroque music with Jiří Kotouč.

Jana Sýkorová's artistic biography 200 words short

Ms. Jana Sýkorová is represented by the agency Richard Kolář, RKM Ltd. Prague
 

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