Join us for an evening of opera with Ester Pavlů and Ahmad Hedar to celebrate both the Year of Czech Music and 50 years of NCSML’s rich history.
The tradition of the Year of Czech Music began exactly one hundred years ago in 1924 with the celebration of the centenary of the birth of Bedřich Smetana. Since then, with a few exceptions, the Year of Czech Music has been held in every year ending in the number four. This evenings performance highlights Czech musicians as well as other favorites.
Cost: Free with suggested donation of $20.
Antonín Dvořák:
Milostne písně
Humoresky es moll op 101/1
V Národním tonu
Humoresky Ges Dur op 101/7
Intermission
Hector Berlioz:
“Villanelle” and “Le Spectre de la Rose” Le Nuits d’été
Agustín Lara
“Granada”
Bedřich Smetana
“Hulán” z cyklu České tance
Camille Saint-Saens
“Mon coeur s´ouvre a ta voix” Arie Dalila: Samson et Dalila
George Gershwin
“Summertime”
George Bizet Carmen
“Habanera”
A graduate of the Academy of Performing Arts in Prague, mezzosoprano Ester Pavlů was introduced as Fenena in Jose Cura’s 2017 production of Verdi’s Nabucco at the National Theatre in Prague. Pavlů portrayed the Old Woman in the world premiere of Martinů’s What Men Live By, which received the Anděl award for best classical recording of 2018. In 2019, she joined a triumphant UK tour of Mahler’s Symphony No. 3 with the FOK Prague Symphonic Orchestra, and received a standing ovation as Cinderella in Rossini’s La Cenerentola. This year she excelled in Dvořák’s Rusalka, singing both the Foreign Princess and Witch.
In the 2021/2022 season, Ester Pavlů will appear as Carmen in the same-name Bizet’s opera or as The Queen in Weinberger’s Schwanda the Bagpiper in the Prague National Theatre; a year later she will sing Santuzza in Mascagni’s Cavalleria Rusticana.
Ahmad Hedar is a leading Czech pianist, vocal coach, and singer. He studied at the Prague HAMU. His musicality has made him a sought-after accompanist to many prominent singers. Through Run OpeRun, an organization he works closely with to make opera accessible to new audiences, Hedar has led the musical production of the Magic Flute (2016), Marriage of Figaro (2017), Rusalka (2020), and La Traviata (2021), each on the site of the former Stalin monument in Prague. In 2019, Hedar earned a fellowship at the prestigious Bayreuth festival. Since then he has taught at the Jan Deyl Conservatory in Prague.
