Curriculum Vitae

Pavla Vykopalová graduated from State Academy of Music in Prague in 1993. But even during her studies she collaborated with the Mozart Opera. Shortly after her graduation she joined the Pilsner Opera Company, singing among other parts also the title role in Purcell's opera Dido and Aeneas.

Trained as a mezzo-soprano singer by Professor Jiří Kotouč, she worked hard to improve her singing, and in 2006 Pavla switched smoothly to soprano roles. Presently she is coached and supervised by Professor Marie Urbanová.

Pavla's repertoire reaches from Baroque up to the Romantic opera roles, covering also oratorios, cantatas and even songs across various music styles up to the contemporary music of the 21st century.

Since the year 1999 she has been a regular guest of the National Theatre in Prague singing there leading roles of nearly all Mozart's operas including Zerlina, Donna Elvira, Pamina, Fiordiligi, Vitellia, and the Countess Almaviva, also performing the roles of Mařenka in Smetana's opera The Bartered Bride, Sister Paskalina in Martinu's The Miracles of Mary, Antonia in Offenbach's The Tales of Hoffmann and in Janáček’s opera Jenufa.

In the year 2003 she made her successful debut as Karolka in Janáček’s opera Jenufa at the Théâtre du Châtelet in Paris.

As a regular guest of the Prague State Opera, Pavla has starred in the roles of Beatrice in Berlioz's opera Beatrice et Benedict, Rosina in Rossini's opera The Barber of Seville, Pamina in Mozart's The Magic Flute, the title roles in Dvořák’s Rusalka, Desdemona in Verdi's opera Otello, Liù in Puccini's Turandot and Mimi in Puccini's La bohème.

In January 2009 she joined the National Theatre of Brno as a regular soloist, starring there as Mařenka in Smetana's opera The Bartered Bride staged by Ondřej Havelka. Especially for this role she was nominated for a prestigious theatrical award Thalia 2006.

Pavla has also performed Lauretta in Puccini's Gianni Schicchi, Nedda in Leoncavallo's I Pagliacci, the title role in Martinu's Juliette, Liù in Puccini's Turandot, Micaela in Bizet's Carmen, the title role in Dvořák’s Rusalka, Jenufa by Janáček, Míla in Janáček’s Fate, Káťa in Janáček’s Káťa Kabanová, Vendulka in Smetana's The Kiss, Rosalinda in Strauss's The Bat, Clémence in Saariaho’s Love At a Distance, Sister Paskalina in Martinu's The Miracles of Mary, Mimi in Puccini's La bohème, Antonia in Offenbach's Tales of Hoffman and Katerina in Martinu's The Greek Passion.

Also extensive is her concert activity both at home and abroad, including sacred works and songs. In numerous concerts and opera performances, she has collaborated with world famous Czech and foreign conductors, such as Jiří Bělohlávek, Jiří Kout, Eliahu Inbal, Iván Fischer, Jakub Hrůša, Kaspar Zehnder, Sylvain Cambreling, Leopold Hager, and Asher Fisch. Pavla has sung on the concert stages with Czech Philharmonic Orchestra, the Radio Symphonic Orchestra, the Brno Philharmonic Orchestra, the Sächsische Staatskapelle Dresden, the Budapest Festival Orchestra, the Tokyo Symphony Orchestra and the Frankfurt Radio Symphony Orchestra.

In June 2012, accompanied by the Czech Philharmonic Orchestra, Pavla performer the song cycle Shéhérazade by M. Ravel and sang the soprano solo in L. Bernstein's Kaddish Symphony under the conductor Eliahu Inbala. She also gave a recital of Samuel Pisar. In 2014, still in the same cast, she gave a rerun of the soprano solo in Kaddish in the Alte Oper at Frankfurt, and in 2016 she performed in the Suntory Hall in Japanese Tokyo.

In autumn 2011 she managed to master with a great success the role Jenufa done by three French theatres: Rennes, Limoges and Reims. In 2012 she was nominated for Thalia award for her title role Míla in Janáček’s Fate. In autumn 2013 she mastered the title role in Janáček’s opera Káťa Kabanová in the Danish National Opera. In May 2014 Pavla took part in a concert tour with the conductor Iván Fischer and the Budapest Festival Orchestra, starring in the title role of Dvořák’s Rusalka.

In October 2016 at the National Theatre of Brno, Pavla mastered the title role of Káťa Kabanová under the supervision of the Canadian director Robert Carsen. For this role she was also awarded the Thalia award.

At the National Theatre of Brno Pavla was given the title role of Clémence in the contemporary opera Love At a Distance composed by Kaija Saariaho of Finnish-French origin. It is an unconventional piece of art which was for the first time staged in the Czech Republic.

Also Pavla's activity, regarding developing recordings for various record companies, is quite wide and large. Recorded by her were e.g. such pieces as Czech Christmas Mass by J. J. Ryba (Multisonic), Lenore by A. Rejcha (Orfeo), and various music compositions for organ and singing by Bedřich Antonín Wiedermann (Rosa). At Supraphon she recorded Miloslav Kabeláč’s Symphony No. 5 In B Flat Minor "Drammatica" and created also another CD with Bohuslav Martinu’s "Cantatas".

In December 2018 she studied the title role in Janáček’s opera Káťa Kabanová at the Metropolitan Teatro di San Carlo. It was produced under Juraj Valčuha and staged by Willy Decker.

In 2022 on the occasion of the French-Czech co-production she performs the part of Alcina (G. F. Händel – Alcina) with the Collegium 1704 orchestra under the conductor Václav Luks in the National theatre in Brno.