Václav Zahradník

Biography

Václav Zahradník hails from a family of musicians. His father was a distinguished Czech conductor and composer, who, among other things, wrote scores for a number of popular Czech films.  

He studied the piano and conducting at the Teplice Conservatory. After graduating, he was a repetiteur and pianist with the Czech National Ballet for seven seasons, whereupon he joined the State Opera Prague to work with its ballet company, and from the 2011/12 season also conducted ballet productions. Václav Zahradník’s conducting debut was a performance of the romantic ballet Giselle (with the prima ballerina Daria Klimentová in the title role).

Moreover, he has conducted the Plzeň Philharmonic, performing at an anniversary concert of the rock band Arakain (recorded on CD and DVD), as well as at the F. X. Šalda Theatre in  Liberec, the North Bohemia Theatre of Opera and Ballet in Ústí nad Labem and the South Bohemia Theatre in České Budějovice.

Václav Zahradník also composes and arranges, working with numerous classical and pop music performers.

Since the 2012/13 season, he has been engaged as a repetiteur and conductor at the Czech National Ballet, where he has brought to bear his ample long-time experience in preparing music for such major productions as Swan Lake, The Nutcracker – A Christmas Carol, Don Quixote, Giselle, The Snow Queen, The Sleeping Beauty, Americana III, Czech Ballet Symphony, Timeless, La Bayadère, Romeo and Juliet, La Fille mal gardée, Onegin and Coppélia.

Václav Zahradník has made numerous tours with the Czech National Ballet, which have led him to renowned theatres, including the Teatro Regio in Turin, Gran Teatre del Liceu in Barcelona, Teatro de la Maestranza in Seville, Teatro Lirico in Cagliari, Theater Konstanz, Opèra Royal de Wallonie in Liège, Armenian National Opera and Ballet Theatre in Yerevan, Teatro Vincenzo Bellini in Catania and Royal Opera House in Muscat.

Updated 4/2024