Celebration of the 200th anniversary of Bedřich Smetana’s birth, taking place in the lodge he lived and composed his greatest works in.
Doubravka Součková was born in Hodonín. She graduated from the Brno Conservatoire and later from the Janáček Academy of Performing Arts (JAMU), where she was tutored by Helena Kaupová, a soprano. Součková received her Master of Arts Degree there in 2020. She owns many awards from a plethora of competitions, such as award from the Conservatoire Competition in Pardubice, Singing Competition in Olomouc or Antonín Dvořák’s International Singing Competition in Karlovy Vary, where she received a number of smaller awards as well.
She had already gained her first experience on the stage during her studies. She rehearsed many roles for the JAMU Opera – The Queen of the Night in Mozart’s The Magic Flute, The Wise Woman from the opera of the same name by Carl Orff or Susanna in Mozart’s The Marriage of Figaro.
Her debut in professional theater took place on the stage of the National Theater in Prague in Jenůfa by Leoš Janáček. She rehearsed many other roles in this theater, such as Oscar in Verdi’s A Masked Ball, the Young Waiter at Bar in Janáček’s The Excursions of Mr. Brouček, the First Wood Sprite in Dvořák’s Rusalka, The Queen of the Night in The Magic Flute, Zerlina in Mozart’s Don Giovanni, Frasquita in Bizet’s Carmen, Mařenka in Smetana The Bartered Bride, Lauretta in Puccini’s comedy Gianni Schicchi, Madeleine in Abraham’s operetta Ball at the Savoy and the Siren in Dvořák’s Armida.
Moreover, she also played Ophelia from Thomas’ Hamlet in The J. K. Tyl Theatre in Pilsen, for which she was nominated for the Thalia Award (a yearly award given by The Czech Actors’ Association). She also appeared as a guest in this role in the German city Krefeld. Her other roles in Pilsen include Ilia from Mozart’s Idomeneo, Micaela in Bizet’s Carmen and Cunegonde in Bernstein’s opera Candide. Doubravka Součková is also a regular guest of the National Theater in Brno. Her roles in this theater include Musetta in Puccini’s La bohème, Morgana from Händel’s Alcina, Nannetta from Verdi’s Falstaff and Valencies in Lehár’s The Merry Widow. She also performed in the South Bohemian Theatre as Helen of Troy from Boito’s opera Mefistofele or in the role of Terinka from Dvořák’s The Jacobin. She performed the role of Juliette in Martinů’s opera of the same name and Elinor in The Lord in White in The National Moravian-Silesian Theatre. She received the Jantar (Amber) Award for both of these roles.
She is a musician as well. Performing with the Musica Florea ensemble, she played the role of Bärbchen in the introduction to the singspiel Jahrsmarkt by Jiří Antonín Benda. Together with the Volantes orchestra ensemble she performed in Karl Ditters von Dittersdorf’s oratorio Il Davide nella Valle di Terebintho. She also received a Thalia nomination for the role of Morgana in the staging of Georg Friedrich Händel’s opera Alcina which was created by Collegium 1704 in collaboration with the National Theater in Brno.
The Kukal Quartet was founded in autumn 2020 by four young and talented musicians, who have great respect for the legacy of the Czech quartet school. The ensemble’s goal is to weave together this tradition and the subject of their studies at prestigious universities in Vienna, Salzburg, Berlin, Dresden and Prague – the modern approach to music. The ensemble is named after Ondřej Kukal, a prominent contemporary Czech composer.
Despite the quartet’s relatively short existence, it has already received three prizes and the Laureate title at the Prague Spring International Music Competition in May 2021. The Quartet were mentored by leading figures of the Czech music scene Peter Jarůšek (Pavel Haas Quartet), Jakub Fišer (Bennewitz Quartet) and Tomáš Jamník. The ensemble also took masterclasses with renowned personalities such as Yo-Yo Ma, Alfred Brendel, Noah Bendix-Balgley, Allan Nilles, Josef Špaček, Jan Fišer and Lukáš Vondráček. The Kukal Quartet was the opening act on many concerts during festivals such as The Prague Spring, Dvořák Prague, Smetana’s Litomyšl or Styriarte Graz. They also performed in Atrium Žižkov together with J. P. Maintz, a renowned violoncellist. Dozens of concerts around Czechia await the quartet in 2024. They will also perform at international festivals in Great Britain, Spain, Belgium or Bulgaria.
