Lubomír Havlák

Biography

Lubomír Havlák studied voice at the Academy of Music in Prague, from which he graduated in 1981. Between 1981 and 1984, he was engaged by the Karlín Musical Theatre of Prague as soloist of its operetta company, and subsequently, until 1986, was soloist of the opera company at the Northern Bohemia Theatre in Ústí nad Labem, where he later returned to act as head of the opera ensemble from 1998–1999. Between 1986 and 1994 he was soloist, and from 1990–1994 also artistic director of the vocal soloists corps of the Army Art Ensemble in Prague. In 1992, he became soloist of the Prague State Opera, where his gallery of roles included among others Janakos (Martinů: The Greek Passion), Wilhelm Meister (Thomas: Mignon),Tamino (Mozart, Die Zauberflöte), Gobrias (Boito, Nerone), Laca (Janáček, Jenůfa), Shuisky (Musorgsky, Boris Godunov), Big Jules (E.F. Burian, Bubu of Montparnasse), or Frank (Karel Weis, The Polish Jew). Since January 2012, he has been soloist of the Czech National Opera. He embarked on a parallel career as a higher education teacher in 1995, when he took up the post of senior lecturer in the fields of history of voice literature, methodology of singing and voice training, at the departments of voice, opera direction and conducting of the Prague Academy of Music. From 1996–2000, he was also artistic director of the Academy´s opera studio, and from 1997–1999 a successful developer of several higher education structural projects. He has been in charge of the organization and dramaturgy of the Burian Brothers Festival in Rakovník, as well of concerts featuring select participants in the Young Singers Exchange, and programmes in the series Legends of Czech Opera.