A Tribute to the Songs of Antonín Dvořák

Kateřina Kněžíková is one of the most promising sopranos of her generation. In addition to her opera career, she increasingly focuses on concert repertoire, achieving success both in her native Czech Republic and abroad. Her core repertoire includes works by Antonín Dvořák, Bohuslav Martinů, Leoš Janáček, as well as the art song genre. She is the recipient of the Classic Prague Awards 2018 for Best Chamber Performance and the Thalia Award 2019 for her outstanding stage portrayal in Julietta or The Key to Dreams (B. Martinů) at the National Moravian-Silesian Theatre.

A graduate of the Prague Conservatory and the Academy of Performing Arts in Prague, Kněžíková has been a permanent member of the National Theatre Opera since 2006. Her current roles there include appearances in Rusalka, Così fan tutte, Carmen, Jenůfa, The Bartered Bride, and The Cunning Little Vixen.

She has performed at numerous festivals, including the Glyndebourne Opera Festival, Prague Spring International Music Festival, Dvořák Prague International Music Festival, and Smetana’s Litomyšl. Her collaborations with leading orchestras include the BBC Symphony Orchestra, Bamberg Symphony, Camerata Salzburg, Czech Philharmonic, Deutsches Symphonie-Orchester Berlin, London Philharmonic Orchestra, Mahler Chamber Orchestra, National Polish Radio Symphony Orchestra, ORF Vienna Radio Symphony Orchestra, Rotterdam Philharmonic Orchestra, Royal Liverpool Philharmonic Orchestra, Orchestre Philharmonique de Radio France, Orchestra dell’Accademia Nazionale di Santa Cecilia, Prague Radio Symphony Orchestra, Tokyo Symphony Orchestra, among others.

She has worked under the baton of many distinguished conductors, including Jiří Bělohlávek, Semyon Bychkov, Serge Baudo, Plácido Domingo, Asher Fisch, Manfred Honeck, Domingo Hindoyan, Jakub Hrůša, Oksana Lyniv, Tomáš Netopil, John Nelson, Petr Popelka, and Robin Ticciati.

In 2021, Kněžíková released her debut solo album “Phidylé” with Supraphon, which was named Editor’s Choice and listed among Gramophone's Best Classical Albums of 2021, also winning the BBC Music Magazine Award in the Vocal category. Her discography with Radioservis includes the albums “Fantasie” and “K2”. In September 2024, she released “Tag und Nacht” with Jakub Hrůša and the Bamberg Symphony under the Supraphon label.

In December 2024, she made a highly successful debut with the Czech Philharmonic at Carnegie Hall, conducted by Semyon Bychkov.

source: Agentura Camerata

Robert Jindra graduated from the Prague Conservatory, where he studied classical singing and conducting.

Since 2001, he has been affiliated with the National Theatre in Prague, where he has prepared productions such as Mozart’s Così fan tutte, Smetana’s The Two Widows, and several operas by Leoš Janáček (The Cunning Little Vixen, From the House of the Dead), as well as a wide range of Czech and international repertoire, including Smetana’s The Secret and Libuše, Dvořák’s Rusalka, Janáček’s Káťa Kabanová and Jenůfa, Mozart’s Don Giovanni and The Marriage of Figaro, Bizet’s Carmen, Verdi’s Falstaff, and Wagner’s Lohengrin. He also led special concerts, including Mozart’s Birthday and the Czech Opera Gala.

During the 2013/2014 season, he served as Music Director of the National Theatre Opera in Prague. From February 2010 to November 2014, he was the Music Director of the National Moravian-Silesian Theatre Opera in Ostrava, where he conducted numerous opera premieres, including Smetana’s The Devil’s Wall, Dvořák’s Armida, Janáček’s Jenůfa, The Makropulos Affair, Káťa Kabanová, and The Excursions of Mr. Brouček, Wagner’s Lohengrin, Verdi’s Falstaff and La traviata, Massenet’s Werther, Catalani’s La Wally, Puccini’s La Bohème, and Hindemith’s Cardillac. He also led gala concerts dedicated to Verdi, Czech opera, and Puccini.

Internationally, he has collaborated with the Deutsche Oper am Rhein, conducted at the Norwegian National Opera in Oslo (Strauss’s Ariadne auf Naxos), and at the Slovak National Theatre in Bratislava (Halévy’s La Juive, Smetana’s The Bartered Bride). He has performed at prominent festivals such as the Prague Spring (Adam Plachetka Recital), Smetana’s Litomyšl, Viva Musica! Festival (concerts with Pavol Breslik and Adriana Kučerová, West Side Story/Candide), Janáček May (Adam Plachetka Gala Concert), Leoš Janáček Festival in Ostrava, and Košická hudobná jar.

Jindra has worked with numerous orchestras, including the Prague Chamber Philharmonic, Czech National Symphony Orchestra, Pilsen Philharmonic, Prague Symphony Orchestra, Janáček Philharmonic Ostrava, Czech Radio Symphony Orchestra, Moravian Philharmonic Olomouc, Bohuslav Martinů Philharmonic Zlín, Slovak Philharmonic, State Philharmonic Košice, Essen Philharmonic, and the Anhalt Philharmonic Orchestra in Dessau.

Between 2019 and 2021, he served as First Kapellmeister at the Aalto Musiktheater und Philharmonie Essen, where he conducted productions such as Reimann’s Medea, Wagner’s Ring an einem Abend, revivals of Puccini’s Tosca, Bizet’s Carmen, and various other operas and concerts.

In 2021, he made a highly acclaimed debut at the Bayerische Staatsoper Festival in Munich with Dvořák’s Rusalka. He conducted a gala concert celebrating Eva Urbanová’s career anniversary at the National Moravian-Silesian Theatre and led a concert performance of Dvořák’s Rusalka at the Jarmila Novotná Festival in Liteň.

From September 2021 to August 2024, he served as Chief Conductor of the State Philharmonic Košice. His other recent projects include productions of Verdi’s La traviata at the Slovak National Theatre, Weinberger’s Schwanda the Bagpiper in Graz, Janáček’s Jenůfa at the Norwegian National Opera in Oslo, The Cunning Little Vixen at the Bayerische Staatsoper, and, in 2023, one of the orchestra’s anniversary concerts at the Bayerische Staatsoper.

Since September 2022, he has held the position of Music Director of the National Theatre in Prague and Principal Guest Conductor of the Czech Radio Symphony Orchestra.

In the 2024/2025 season, Jindra made notable debuts at the Staatsoper Berlin Unter den Linden (Janáček’s The Makropulos Affair), Semperoper Dresden (Gounod’s Roméo et Juliette), and Oper Frankfurt (Janáček’s From the House of the Dead). In upcoming seasons, he will perform at prestigious venues, including the Vienna State Opera, Bregenz Festival, and Theater an der Wien.

Throughout his career, Jindra has collaborated with many distinguished artists, including Cornelia Beskow, Susan Bullock, Lise Davidsen, Ermonela Jaho, Jana Kurucová, Elena Maximova, Olga Peretyatko, Rosalind Plowright, Štěpánka Pučálková, Nadine Secunde, Elena Tsallagova, Eva-Maria Westbroek, Slávka Zámečníková, Arnold Bezuyen, Pavol Breslik, Pavel Černoch, Ferruccio Furlanetto, Peter Kellner, Tomasz Konieczny, Marek Kozák, Ambrogio Maestri, Štefan Margita, Adam Plachetka, Gustavo Porta, Roberto Saccà, Jiří Vodička, and Lukáš Vondráček.

source: www.robertjindra.com

The Prague Radio Symphony Orchestra (SOČR) is one of the most distinguished Czech orchestras of today. Since the 2022/2023 season, the ensemble has been led by Petr Popelka as its Chief Conductor and Artistic Director, with Robert Jindra serving as Principal Guest Conductor for a second consecutive year.

During the 2024/2025 concert season, SOČR will welcome numerous renowned artists, including acclaimed violinist Isabelle Faust and violinist-conductor Renaud Capuçon. Other notable guests include Dutch pianist brothers Lucas and Arthur Jussen, conductor Han-na Chang, and conductor and organist Wayne Marshall. A highlight of the season is the concert performance of the third act of Wagner’s Tristan und Isolde, completing a trilogy that began in previous seasons with the first and second acts. Leading roles will be performed by Michael Weinius and Elisabeth Teige. In addition to these international stars, SOČR will also collaborate with prominent Czech soloists such as soprano Kateřina Kněžíková, baritone Adam Plachetka, and violinist Josef Špaček.

In recent years, SOČR has collaborated with leading Czech and international conductors, such as Tomáš Netopil, Petr Altrichter, Jakub Hrůša, Cornelius Meister, Alexander Liebreich, Stephan Asbury, Ion Marin, Michał Nesterowicz, Anu Tali, Wayne Marshall, Omer Meir Wellber, Ilan Volkov, and Eva Ollikainen.

Renowned soloists who have performed with the orchestra include pianist Krystian Zimerman; violinists Pierre Amoyal, Frank Peter Zimmermann, Patricia Kopatchinskaja, Gidon Kremer, and María Dueñas; cellists Gautier Capuçon, Daniel Müller-Schott, István Várdai, and Steven Isserlis; trombonist Christian Lindberg; and jazz musician Avishai Cohen. Vocal soloists have included stars such as Renée Fleming, Elīna Garanča, José Cura, Juan Diego Flórez, Dmitri Hvorostovsky, and Jonas Kaufmann. The orchestra frequently works with Czech artists such as Lukáš Vondráček, Ivo Kahánek, Jan Bartoš, Josef Špaček, Jan Mráček, Tomáš Jamník, Adam Plachetka, Simona Šaturová, Kateřina Kněžíková, Petr Nekoranec, and Vilém Veverka.

SOČR is dedicated to supporting contemporary Czech composers, commissioning and regularly performing works by Miroslav Srnka, Ondřej Adámek, Pavel Zemek Novák, Jan Ryant Dřízal, Šimon Voseček, and Jana Vöröšová.

The orchestra boasts an extensive recording portfolio. Notable recent recordings include a Hyperion Records release featuring harpsichordist Mahan Esfahani and conductor Alexander Liebreich with works by Viktor Kalabis, Hans Krása, and Bohuslav Martinů, which was selected as Editor’s Choice by Gramophone magazine. Noteworthy is the album Mysterium of Time, featuring music by Miloslav Kabeláč and complementing SOČR’s acclaimed complete recording of his symphonies (Supraphon, 2016).

In 2023, the orchestra recorded an album with violinist Josef Špaček and pianist Miroslav Sekera, presenting chamber and orchestral works by Bohuslav Martinů. That same year, it recorded Jan Novák’s Concertos, conducted by Tomáš Netopil and featuring Novák’s daughters, Dora and Clara Nováková. Both recordings were released by Supraphon.

To mark the 200th anniversary of Bedřich Smetana’s birth, SOČR recorded his opera The Two Widows. The recording, conducted by Robert Jindra and featuring soloists Kateřina Kněžíková, Pavol Breslik, Adam Plachetka, Jana Sibera, Petr Nekoranec, and the National Theatre Chorus, was broadcast on Czech Radio Vltava and will be released on CD.

SOČR presents concerts as part of subscription series at major Prague venues, including the Dvořák Hall of the Rudolfinum, Smetana Hall of the Municipal House, Bethlehem Chapel, as well as individual concerts at DOX+ and Czech Radio’s Studio 1.

The orchestra is a regular guest at prestigious festivals such as the Prague Spring International Music Festival, Dvořák Prague International Music Festival, Smetana’s Litomyšl, Leoš Janáček International Music Festival, and the Český Krumlov International Music Festival.

Internationally, SOČR frequently performs at major European venues and regularly tours in Japan, continuing to strengthen its reputation on the global stage.

source: Symfonický orchestr Českého rozhlasu