Milada Šubrtová (24 May 1924 – 1 August 2011[1]) was a Czech operaticsoprano who had a lengthy career at the National Theatre in Prague from 1948 through 1991. She was part of an instrumental group of the post-World War II Czech opera singers that was responsible for popularizing Czech opera internationally. She drew particular acclaim for her portrayals of the title heroines in Leoš Janáček's Jenůfa and Antonín Dvořák's Rusalka.[2] Her voice is preserved on a few complete opera recordings made on the Supraphon label. In 1998 she was honored with a Thalia Award.
Signature of Milada Šubrtová (1983)
Biography
Born in Lhota, Šubrtová moved to Prague and studied singing with Zdeněk Knittl, while working as a secretary in the civil service. She made her professional opera debut in 1946 as Giulietta in Jacques Offenbach's The Tales of Hoffmann at the "Grand Opera of 5th May". She became a principal artist at the Prague National Theatre in 1948 where she was committed for the rest of her career until her retirement in 1991.
Having made her debut at Moscow's Bolshoi Theater as the title role of Rusalka in 1953, she sang at Berlin State Opera House in 1956 and Teatro la Fenice di Venezia in 1958. She sang the part of Milada in Smetana's Dalibor and the title role in Rusalka at Edinburgh Festival in 1964. But she sang mainly at the Prague National Theatre, where she enjoyed exceptional popularity and the affection of her audiences. She married Czech conductor Jan Hus Tichý and sang under his conducting frequently.
She gave also performances in a number of operettas by Strauss, Lehár, Zeller, and in particular, Offenbach. Her concert repertoire included works from Bach to Britten and Honegger to Orff. She left just a handful recordings for the Czech record label Supraphon, but the complete recording of Rusalka has set a standard because of the glorious conducting by Zdeněk Chalabala and Šubrtová's unequalled interpretation in the title role.