Event date
24 / 07 / 2025 - Thursday 19:30
Event venue
Event type
Site – specific
Baroque Opera: Händel – Alessandro Severo
Handel's opera in a contemporary interpretation by the Collegium Marianum under the direction of Jana Semerádová will be performed in the best preserved Baroque theatre in the world.
Artists
Hana Blažíková – soprano
Sylva Čmugrová – contralto
Helena Kalambová – soprano “en travesty”
Tereza Zimkova – soprano
Vojtěch Pelka – mezzo-soprano (castrato)
Jaromír Nosek – bass
Linda Holubová – costumes, set
Monika Hliněnská – director
Jana Semerádová – artistic director of Collegium Marianum
Collegium Marianum
Program
Georg Friedrich Händel: Alessandro Severo, HWV a13
Hana Blažíková
A graduate of the Prague Conservatory, soprano Hana Blažíková is dedicated to the interpretation of mainly Baroque, Renaissance and medieval repertoire She performs as a soloist with international ensembles including Collegium Vocale Gent, Gli Angeli Genève, Bach Collegium Japan, Amsterdam Baroque Orchestra and Ensemble Pygmalion She has also sung with the Boston Symphony Orchestra, the Bamberger Symphoniker and the Bach Collegium Japan at Carnegie Hall in New York. She has undertaken several concert tours of North America, Australia and Tasmania. Hana Blažíková also plays the gothic harp and is a member of the Tiburtina Ensemble, which focuses on the performance of Gregorian chant and early medieval polyphony.
Sylva Čmugrová
A graduate of the Prague Conservatory and the Academy of Performing Arts in Prague, contralto Sylva Čmugrová has participated in master singing residencies in Sienna, Italy, Liechtenstein, České Budějovice and Karlovy Vary. She has been a soloist of the Mozart Opera, the State Opera Prague and a soloist of the National Theatre Opera in Prague. She has also been a guest at opera houses in Pilsen, the Music Theatre in Karlin, Liberec, as well as in Italy, Switzerland, Canada, Japan and other countries. She is one of the finalists of international singing competitions in Geneva and Milan.
Helena Kalambová
Helena studied singing at the Conservatory in Pardubice and the Faculty of Arts in Ostrava. Helena Kalambová’s repertoire focuses mainly on music of the Baroque, Classical and Bel Canto periods. The soprano has collaborated with the Czech Ensemble Baroque, Ensemble Inégal, Ensemble Damian and Musicou Florea. She has also performed with the Janáček Chamber Orchestra, at the NODO Festival of Contemporary Music in Ostrava, at the Silesian Theatre in Opava and at the Händel Festspiele Halle. He also performs in concert. She was a semi-finalist in the Concorso Musica Sacra competition in Rome or a finalist in the Song category at the Antonín Dvořák International Singing Competition in Karlovy Vary.
Tereza Zimková
A native of Slovakia, she graduated from the Bratislava Conservatory and the Janáček Academy of Performing Arts in Brno. In addition to opera and song, soprano Tereza Zimková is an interpreter of Renaissance, Baroque and sacred music. She has worked with Il Cuorre Barocco, Solamente Naturali, Czech Ensemble Baroque, Victoria Ensemble, Musica Florea and Sinfonietta Cracovia. She has performed with the Chor der Bamberger Symphoniker, Chorakademie Lübeck and the Czech Philharmonic Choir Brno, with whom she has performed all over the world, including France, South Korea, China, Germany and Hong Kong. She has performed at the Moravian-Silesian National Theatre and the Opera Studio of the Slovak National Theatre.
Vojtěch Pelka
Vojtěch Pelka is a countertenor of the current young opera generation and a pioneer of the countertenor field in the Czech Republic. He graduated from the Jan Deyl Conservatory in Prague in the singing class of Prof. Barbora Klozová Velehradská, with whom he continues his vocal training. He has successfully participated in many international singing competitions. Among the most notable competition achievements are the Audience award, which he won at the Cesti Competition 2024 in Innsbruck (AT) and the 2nd place with an extraordinary prize for the interpretation of Mozart’s aria, from the Competition of Conservatories of the Czech Republic 2019. He debuted with the role of Cherubino in W. A. Mozart’s opera The Marriage of Figaro, followed by the title role of Emperor Nero in Monteverdi’s opera The Coronation of Poppea. He also performs contemporary music, has collaborated with Michael Kocáb, and has appeared with the Prague Symphony Orchestra. He has performed with the Prague Symphony Orchestra FOK and at the Metronom Festival Prague 2024.
Jaromír Nosek
Bassist Jaromír Nosek studied choral conducting at the Pedagogical Faculty of Charles University in Prague and singing at the Prague Conservatoire and the Music Faculty of the Academy of Performing Arts in Prague. He has collaborated with Cappella Mariana, Gli Angeli Genève, Wrocław Baroque Ensemble, Symphony Orchestra of the Capital City of Prague, and the Wrocław Symphony Orchestra. Prague FOK, Lautten Compagney and many other top orchestras and conductors. Jaromír founded and is the artistic director of the chamber ensemble ANMOEN, with which he is dedicated to the interpretation of early Baroque music and its sensitive connection with the compositions of contemporary composers.
Linda Holubová
The work of Linda Holubová, a graduate of the Theatre Faculty of the Academy of Performing Arts in Prague, can be seen in theatres across the Czech Republic. As a costume designer, she has worked with many directors and has also participated in the visual campaign of the National Theatre in Brno. However, she is not limited to drama work. In February 2023, Dvořák’s opera Jacobin premiered at the South Bohemian Theatre in České Budějovice, and Linda created the costume design for this production. A woman of many crafts, she also worked on the musical Fiddler on the Roof at the Municipal Theatre in Kladno and designed the sets and costumes for several productions such as Macbeth and The Hour of Love and The Trial for the ArtWay company.
Monika Hliněnská
The director Monika Hliněnská originally decided to study International Relations – British and American Studies at the University of West Bohemia in Pilsen because of her great interest in English-speaking culture and literature. This led her to a one-year study stay in Manchester, England, where she studied theatre for the first time as part of a general historical and cultural overview. She left political science for good and graduated from the Drama Department of the DAMU in Prague in 2022, directing her own dramatisation of Stefan Zweig’s novel Impatience of the Heart. She has worked with the Švanda Theatre in Smíchov, Letí Theatre and, through her undying interest in contemporary and classical operas, with several opera companies.
Jana Semerádová
Jana Semerádová, the artistic director of Collegium Marianum, also works as a dramaturge and director. She also researches in Czech and foreign archives and studies Baroque gesture, declamation and dance. The flutist, who graduated from the Prague Conservatory, the Faculty of Arts at Charles University in Prague and the Royal Conservatory in Den Haag, holds an associate professorship in flute. She is also a laureate of international competitions in Magdeburg and Munich. Under her direction, Collegium Marianum presents several modern premieres each year. Jana Semerádová also performs on her own on major European stages.
Collegium Marianum
Since its foundation in 1997, the Prague-based Collegium Marianum has been performing music from the 17th and 18th centuries, with a focus on Czech and Central European composers. As one of the few professional ensembles in the Czech Republic with this profile, its repertoire includes not only concert works but also regular stage projects. The ensemble is artistically led by flutist Jana Semerádová, who is also a guest soloist in European orchestras. Collegium Marianum collaborates with European conductors, soloists, directors and choreographers such as Andrew Parrott, Hana Blažíková, Damien Guillon, Peter Kooij, Sergio Azzolini, François Fernande, etc., and is also notable for its collaboration with the puppet theatre ensemble” Buns and Puppets”, with which it presents original projects. Collegium Marianum is also a recipient of the award for merit for the quality and dissemination of Czech music awarded by the Czech section of the International Music Council of UNESCO and is the resident ensemble of the International Music Festival Summer Festivals of Early Music and the St. Wenceslas Music Festival.
Castle Baroque Theatre
The Castle Baroque Theatre is a gem of Český Krumlov, which visitors from all around the world come to see. It is one of the four best preserved 18th century baroque theatres in the world which has a baroque building, orchestra pit, stage, hundreds of costumes and accessories, decorations, lighting equipment and librettos. The theatre in Český […]
