Segue to the new season

There's no lack of big stars at this year's Dvořák's Prague festival, with world-class talent like singer Dmitri Hvorostovsky and pianist Maria Joao Pires headlining many of the concerts. But the brightest star is one still on the rise - Kateřina Kněžíková, the young Prague soprano who has been charming National Theater audiences for the past three years. Kněžíková, 28, will give a recital with the Camerata Salzburg chamber orchestra (Aug. 25) that marks a new phase in her career.

"This is my year!" she declares of the upcoming season, then laughs modestly, not wanting to seem boastful. But by any objective measure, this should be a breakout season for Kněžíková. She will be featured in two new National Theater productions: Donizetti's L'Elisir d'amore and Mozart's Die Entführung aus dem Serail. She is scheduled to sing in Händel's Rinaldo in Versailles, in a production of Mozart's La finta giardiniera in Brussels, and with Jiří Bělohlávek and the BBC Symphony Orchestra in London in the spring. She will also do the honors at the National Theater's annual Mozart birthday concert in January.

It's an ambitious schedule, but Kněžíková practically bubbles with enthusiasm when she says, "I can't imagine doing anything else."

Still, singing was not an early ambition. Originally from north Moravia, Kněžíková started playing piano at the age of 4. Forced to stop a few years later when she broke her left hand, she decided she would follow in her mother's and older sister's footsteps and become a pharmacist. Then she saw a production of Smetana's Bartered Bride in Ostrava.

"It was a great performance," she recalls. "It made me decide to be a professional singer."

By her own account, her voice was nothing special when she started at the Prague Conservatory. "I had a small, fragile voice with no colors," she says. "But I had good, sensitive teachers. So in training, it got better and better."

Now, Kněžíková's high soprano is perfect for Mozart's light comedic operas, and she has been an effervescent stage presence in the National Theater's repertory productions of La finta giardiniera, Cosi fan tutte and Le nozze di Figaro. That's partly due to her acting, which, unlike her singing, came naturally. "Of course, I took some lessons at the conservatory, but I have a lot of energy for acting," she says. "Usually directors are telling me, 'Slow down, Kateřina, go more inside yourself.' "

Kněžíková's recital will be a career capsule of sorts, featuring three arias from previous Mozart performances (Idomeneo, Cosi fan tutte and Le nozze di Figaro) and one from the forthcoming Die Entführung aus dem Serail. "I'm looking forward to it very much," she says. "I think this festival is really, really good; every concert has an outstanding soloist. I'm happy to be part of it."

If your taste runs to singers, then Hvorostovsky is another must-see. The Russian baritone will be performing songs by Tchaikovsky, Medtner and Rachmaninoff with piano accompaniment (Aug. 27). If you're interested in another stellar sampling of local talent, don't miss the Pavel Haas Quartet, one of Prague's finest string ensembles, playing an evening of Britten, Haas and Dvořák (Aug. 26).

The festival is rich in keyboard talent this year, with Pires doing a night of Chopin and Liszt, accompanied by Pavel Gomziakov on cello (Aug. 22), and Polish prodigy Piotr Anderszewski offering a solo night of Schumann and Bach (Aug. 24). French pianist Cédric Tiberghien will be in town for the closing concert, playing Chopin with the Czech Philharmonic (Sept. 4).

There's also a tasty sampling of visiting orchestras, starting with the City of Birmingham Symphony Orchestra (Aug. 20), followed by the Budapest Festival Orchestra (Aug. 21), Royal Flemish Philharmonic (Aug. 31), Orchestre National de France (Sept. 2) and Dresdner Philharmonie (Sept. 3). Visiting conductors will have a chance to show what they can do with local ensembles: Sir John Eliot Gardner, who staged a lustrous Bach Mass in B Minor to open Prague Spring, with the Czech Philharmonic (Aug. 26); young Slovak star Juraj Valčuha with the Prague Radio Symphony Orchestra (Sept. 1); and the new music director of the Seattle Symphony, French conductor Ludovic Morlot, for the finale with the Czech Philharmonic (Sept. 4).

And there's more, including two fine string quartets: France's award-winning Quatuor Ebene (Aug. 28) and Austria's well-regarded Hagen Quartet (Aug. 23). Check the festival schedule for more details.

For years, conventional wisdom held there was no point to offering quality music in Prague during the summer, when locals were mostly gone and tourists were happy with whatever they could get. Dvořák's Prague has put that myth to rest, offering first-rate programming and performers who would stand out any time of year. Whether you're a resident or just passing through, it's a sweet way to cap the summer and kick off the new season.

Frank Kuznik can be reached at

features@praguepost.com

Frank Kuznik can be reached at
fkuznik@praguepost.com