KATEŘINA KNĚŽÍKOVÁ
SOPRANOKATEŘINA KNĚŽÍKOVÁ
SOPRANO
ABOUT
Czech soprano Kateřina Kněžíková, with her “darkly timbred yet crystalline soprano, highly emotional, shining from within” (Onlinemerker) “especially moving, warmly romantic with a burnished tone” (The Classic Review), has drawn superlative praise for her “willowy, seductive voice and natural interpretative skill, drawn straight from the heart, always in full technical control but with a timbre that, enlivened by seductive vibrato, is ideally soft and warm.” (Gramophone Magazine)
A long-time resident artist at the Prague National Opera, and one of the most sought-after singers in her native Czech Republic, Kateřina appears regularly with all the Czech and Slovakian opera houses, and further afield at La Monnaie Brussels, Opéra Royal de Versailles, Opéra de Dijon, and many others. With a strong background in baroque and Classical repertoire (including Handel’s Almirena, Aristea in Mysliveček’s L‘Olimpiade, and Mozart’s Susanna, Ilia, Contessa, Donna Elvira, Vitellia and Pamina), and Italianate roles including Verdi’s Gilda and Nannetta, Adina (Donizetti L’elisir d‘amore) and Rosina in Rossini‘s Il barbiere di Siviglia, she has developed naturally into the lyric repertoire, notably as Rusalka (Dvořák), Mařenka (Smetana’s The Bartered Bride), Janacek’s Vixen, Martinů’s Julietta and Mirandolina, Barče (Smetana The Kiss), Terinka (Dvořák: The Jacobin), and Gounod’s Marguerite. In 2021, she made her debut as Káťa Kabanová at the prestigious Glyndebourne Opera Festival, and returns for this role in 2025. In 2024, her repertoire with the Prague National Opera includes Fiordiligi in Cosi fan tutte, Mimi in La Boheme, Micaela in Carmen, and her debut as Janacek’s Jenufa. She will also debut the title role in Smetana’s Libuse and the Fox in Janacek’s Cunning Little Vixen in concert with the Czech Philharmonic.
Kateřina’s core symphonic repertoire includes Janáček’s Glagolitic Mass, Dvořák’s Requiem (“sympathetic soprano Kněžíková rose to the biggest challenges – lyric, limpid but always capable of projecting above large forces…” [The ArtsDesk]), Dvořák’s oratorio Svatá Ludmila, Stabat Mater and Te Deum, Martinů’s Epic of Gilgamesh, Mahler’s symphonies 2, 4 and 8, Brahms’ German Requiem, and works by Beethoven and Mozart. She is a dedicated performer of orchestral songs, ranging from Mahler’s Des Knaben Wunderhorn, Strauss’ Four Last Songs, Ravel’s Shéherezade, Martinů’s Magic Nights and songs by Duparc, Schubert and Brahms. She has appeared as a guest soloist with the Mahler Chamber Orchestra, BBC Symphony Orchestra, Accademia Nazionale di Santa Cecilia, Wiener Symphoniker, Bamberger Symphoniker, Deutsches Symphonie-Orchester Berlin, London Philharmonic Orchestra, National Polish Radio Symphony Orchestra, ORF Radio-Symphonieorchester Wien, Rotterdam Philharmonic, Royal Liverpool Philharmonic Orchestra, HR-Sinfonieorchester Frankfurt, Tokyo Symphony Orchestra, Camerata Salzburg, and Orquesta Filarmonica de Gran Canaria, with renowned conductors, including Jiří Bělohlávek, Manfred Honeck, John Nelson, Karina Canellakis, Jonathan Nott, Serge Baudo, Jakub Hrůša, Domingo Hindoyan, Robin Ticciati, Oksana Lyniv, James Gaffigan, and Tomáš Netopil.
Her recitals featuring songs by Janáček, Dvořák, Martinů, Ravel, Debussy, Fauré, Liszt, Schubert, and Schumann have been praised by audiences and critics alike. In 2021, she released her first solo album “Phidylé” on the Supraphon label which was named as Editor’s Choice and The Best Classical Albums of 2021 in Gramophone Magazine and won the prestigious BBC Magazine Music “Vocal” Award category in 2022. Her discography also includes Dvorak’s Te Deum with the Czech Philharmonic and Jakub Hrůša for Decca Classics, Martinu’s Bouquet of Flowers, Stravinsky’s Les Noces and Richter’s La Deposizione dalla Croce di Gesu Cristo, and a duo recital of Smetana and Dvorak arias and duets with baritone Adam Plachetka for Supraphon, and Donna Elvira in Mozart’s Don Giovanni for Opus Arte DVD, as well as solo recital discs with pianist David Svec and harpist Katerina Englichova for Radioservis.
RECENT PRAISE
ONLINE MERKER
“Kateřina Kněžíková as Mimì from the first appearance impresses not only with her superb technique. She manages to fill even the quietest moments with an incredible amount of emotion, which is particularly important in the role of Mimì. When she sings about the first kiss of the April sun in “Sì mi chiamano Mimì”, we actually feel like we have been kissed by her […] Once again it shows what a difference solid voice training makes. Her slightly darkly timbred yet crystalline soprano can sparkle just as brightly during the happy scenes and Mimì’s blossoming love as it falls into increasing darkness as her death approaches. The declaration of love to Rodolfo shortly before her death is an intimate, highly emotional, even private moment. Ms. Kněžíková’s voice simply shines from within…”
N. DE SAPIO 5 OUT OF 5 STARS A LUSTROUS ART SONG RECITAL
“Limpid, shimmering, sparkling, flexible, and penetrating […] if you often feel that “meaning” is wrongly valued over beauty of tone in art song performance, then you ought to appreciate in Knezikova an artist who values equally both aspects of the singer’s art. A sensitive artist with a stunning voice…”
BACHTRACK
DAVID KARLIN
“Kateřina Kněžíková gives a masterful performance of the title role [Kat’a Kabanova] and adds to that a voice that has glitter at the top and sweetness throughout. Her acting is totally believable as she flits around the stage, moods swinging between dreaminess and honest but doomed attempts to come to terms with daily reality. Kněžíková is the undoubted star of the show.”
THE ARTS DESK
“In Dvořák’s Requiem sympathetic soprano Kateřina Kněžíková rose to the biggest challenges – lyric, limpid but always capable of projecting above large forces.”
NEWS
CONTACT
THOMAS WALTON
GENERAL MANAGER
+44 (0) 20 7957 5808
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MARIE KEDROFF
SENIOR ASSISTANT ARTIST MANAGER
+44 (0) 20 7957 5814
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FLORIANA MAIELLO
EUROPEAN VOCAL RECITAL & CONCERT BOOKING
+49 1520 3320 472
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