Drahomíra Drobková passed away

Drahomíra Drobková was born in Čáslav on 29 February 1935. She studied singing at the Brno Conservatory under the guidance of Milada Weinbergerová. She graduated in 1960. She launched her career at the theatre in Banská Bystrica. Between 1966 and 1983, she was a member of the opera ensemble in Ostrava, singing the major mezzosoprano roles including Eboli in Don Carlos by Verdi, Amneris in Aida, Azucena in Il trovatore, Dorabella in  Così fan tutte by Mozart, Ortrud in Lohengrin by Wagner, Adriano in Rienzi or Octavian in Der Rosenkavalier by Strauss. She first appeared at the National Theatre on 30 March 1966 as the Witch in Rusalka by Dvořák. She was invited for further performances in the late 70s. She was a member of the Prague’s ensemble from 1984 to 1994. She returned to the National Theatre in 2005 to sing Grandmother Buryjovka in Jenůfa by Janáček. She sung in operas by Bedřich Smetana (Panna Róza in The Secret, Martinka in The Kiss or Radmila in Libuše), Antonín Dvořák (the Witch in Rusalka), Giuseppe Verdi (incl. Azucena in Il trovatore) or Giacomo Puccini (Suzuki in Madama Butterfly) or Bizet (the title role of Carmen). She accompanied the ensemble on many guest performances, both domestic and abroad (she also sang the Witch in Rusalka in Savonlinna, Finland, in 1991). For her performance as Azucena in Verdi’s Il trovatore, she received an award from the Minister of Culture of the Czechoslovak Socialist Republic in 1987. She was also a renowned singer of concertos, oratorios and songs. She collaborated with the Czech Philharmonic, focusing especially on the works by Czech composers (Jan Dismas Zelenka, Antonín Dvořák, Leoš Janáček). She received the Thalia Award in 1993 for Eboli in Verdi’s Don Carlos. She also participated in the production of many recordings (e.g. The Secret by Bedřich Smetana, King and Charcoal Burner, Dimitrij or Rusalka by Antonín Dvořák, Glagolitic Mass by Janáček or The Lantern by Vítězslav Novák).

We honour her memory!

Her memorial service will be held at the St Paul and Peter’s Chapel in Antošovice on 7 July 2022 from 3:30 PM.