Smetana, Dvořák, Wagner and Italian composers
During a recent recital at the Prague Spring IMF, the bass-baritone Adam Plachetka confessed his admiration for the operatic legacy of Bedřich Smetana. “I think he remains underappreciated, in the shadow of Dvořák – and he doesn’t deserve that!”
He has not forgotten Smetana as he currently prepares to record with the Prague Radio Symphony Orchestra (PRSO). His specific choice is Vok’s aria from The Devil’s Wall, “Only the sweet face of a woman”. The musicians are also planning to record arias by Dvořák, Wagner, Pauer, Bellini, Donizetti, Verdi and Rossini.
Plachetka, who is 29, is one of the most distinctive young Czech opera singers. In 2005 he debuted at the National Theatre in Prague, in subsequent years performing several important roles, principally in the repertoires of Mozart and Handel. Since September 2010 he has been a permanent member of the ensemble of the Vienna State Opera. He has also performed to audiences at the Salzburger Festspiele, the Bavarian State Opera in Royal Opera House Covent Garden, the Musikverein in Vienna, the Festpielhaus in Baden-Baden, the Glyndebourne Festival, the Deutsche Oper and Deutsche Staatsoper in Berlin and Milan’s Teatro alla Scala. A prestigious event awaits Plachetka next year – his debut at the Metropolitan Opera in New York.
