Dana Burešová

Biography

Dana Burešová studied voice at the Prague Conservatory under the tutelage of Brigita Šulcová and attended voice courses in Weimar given by Prof. Pavel Lisicjan. In the final years of her studies she sang at the Opera in České Budějovice, where she created the roles of Zerlina (Mozart: Don Giovanni), the Turnspit (Dvořák: Rusalka), Esmeralda (Smetana: The Bartered Bride) and Adele in Strauss’s operetta Die Fledermaus. Since 1992 she has been a soloist of the National Theatre Opera, performing numerous pivotal soprano roles. She has portrayed the Smetana opera roles of Mařenka (The Bartered Bride), Vendulka (The Kiss), Jitka and Milada (Dalibor), Hedvika (The Devil’s Wall), Ludiše (The Brandenburgers in Bohemia), Anežka (The Two Widows) and Libuše, as well as the title role of Dvořák’s Rusalka, Terinka and Julie (The Jacobin), Janáček’s Jenůfa (Jenůfa) and the Fox (The Cunning Little Vixen), Pascalina (Martinů: The Miracles of Mary), Tatiana (Tchaikovsky: Eugene Onegin), Micaela (Bizet: Carmen). the Countess (Mozart: Le nozze di Figaro), and Elisabetta (Verdi: Don Carlo). For her performances as Elisabeth (Wagner: Tannhäuser) on the stage of the National Theatre in Brno she was nominated for the 2008 Thalia Award. With the National Theatre Opera ensemble she has appeared on numerous stages abroad; for instance, in Catania, Italy (Jenůfa), in Las Palmas, Spain (Rusalka), and made several tours of Japan (Rusalka, Die Zauberflöte, Le nozze di Figaro). She excelled in the role of Mařenka in The Bartered Bride staged at the Lyric Opera House in Baltimore.
Dana Burešová has also made acclaimed concert performances and participated in recordings of operas and songs. As a member of Musica antiqua Praha she has given concerts in Germany, Denmark, France, Austria and other countries. She performed as Mařenka in The Bartered Bride (2011), Julie in The Jacobin (2012) and Milada in Dalibor (2015) with the BBC Orchestra and Jiří Bělohlávek at the Barbican Centre in London. The CD recordings of this concert performances of The Bartered Bride (Harmonia Mundi) and Dalibor (Onyx) were nominated for The Opera Awards. In September 2016, she performed as Marina Mnishek (Dvořák: Dimitrij) in Oddysey Opera in Boston. Her discography contains a recording of Janáček’s Káťa Kabanová (Feklusha) and Dvořák’s Rusalka (the Second Wood Sprite) with Sir Charles Mackerras, a recording of Vítězslava Kaprálová’s songs for the Supraphon label, etc.

Photo: Ilona Sochorová