Ivo Kahánek › Calendar

The artistry of outstanding musicians is best experienced live. For this and other reasons, many were saddened when the soprano Gabriela Beňačková withdrew from the life of a performer in the 1990s, then her return to the stage at the Salzburg Festival in 2012 caused something of a sensation. Ms. Beňačková will receive the Antonín Dvořák Prize at a gala concert in the Rudolfinum as an artist who is still active, and she will be singing the final scene from the opera Rusalka with the superb tenor Piotr Beczała. Four pianists will also appear on the programme both as performers and as Ms. Beňačková’s well-wishers: David Mareček, Ivan Klánský, Ivo Kahánek, and Jan Simon. Together, they will be representing the Czech Philharmonic, previous laureates of the Antonín Dvořák Prize, the Dvořák Prague Festival, and the presenter, the Academy of Classical Music. Representing today’s operatic elite will be the tenor Piotr Beczała. The aria “Un di all’azzurro spazio” is also a commemoration of the opera Andrea Chénier, in which Beňačková brilliantly portrayed the role of Maddalena alongside Plácido Domingo. Whenever Gabriela Beňačková appears on stage, she is the very embodiment of one great operatic or concert role after another. Together with her, one sees a revelation of Rusalka, Mařenka, Káťa Kabanová, Jenůfa, Elina Makropulos, Marguerite (Faust), Helen of Troy (Mefistofele), Dvořák’s Stabat Mater, Requiem, and songs, or Mahler’s vocal symphonies. And with all of that comes one of the most beautiful soprano voices of the last half century.