Růžena Vykoukalová-Bradáčová
Czech operatic mezzo-soprano (b. 27 June 1868 [N.S.] in Kostelec nad Černými lesy; d. 18 October 1921 in Prague).
She performed the role of the Countess at the first production at the National Theatre in Prague of Tchaikovsky's The Queen of Spades (30 September/12 October 1892). Tchaikovsky, who attended this performance, "of all the members of the cast liked most of all Madame Bradačova-Vykoukalová, who displayed the talent of a great dramatic actress in her interpretation of the role of the Queen of Spades [i.e. the Countess]" [1]. At her request Tchaikovsky sent her his photograph on 4/16 November 1892 and in the accompanying letter asked her in turn to provide him with a photograph of herself in the role of the Countess (Letter 4796). The singer duly replied from Prague on 7 February 1893 [N.S.]:
Dear Sir,
Please receive a thousand thanks for your kindness. By presenting me with your autograph you have made me indescribably happy. I shall cherish it with profound respect as a valuable keepsake and ask you, dear maestro, to accept from me the enclosed photographs as a faint token of my gratitude for the role in your incomparable opera The Queen of Spades, in whose cast I had the honour of appearing, much as I was unworthy of such an honour.
With the very greatest admiration, your devoted
Růžena Vykoukalová
member of the National Opera in Prague [2].
Correspondence with Tchaikovsky
2 letters from Tchaikovsky to Růžena Vykoukalová-Bradáčová have survived, dating from 1892 and 1893, both of which have been translated into English on this website:
- Letter 4796 – 4/16 November 1892, from Saint Petersburg
- Letter 4866 – 16/28 February 1893, from Moscow
One letters from Růžena Vykoukalová-Bradáčová to the composer, dating from 26 January/7 February 1893, is preserved in the Tchaikovsky State Memorial Musical Museum-Reserve at Klin (a4, No. 500).
Bibliography
- [Letter from Tchaikovsky to Růžena Vykoukalová-Bradáčová] (1902)
- После Пражской премьеры (1968)
- Čajkovskijs Besuch in Prag im Oktober 1892 und sein Briefwechsel mit der Sängerin Růžena Bradáčová-Vykoukalová (2015)
External Links
Notes and References
- ↑ Жизнь Петра Ильича Чайковского, том 3 (1997), p. 506.
- ↑ This letter is included in Чайковский и зарубежные музыканты (1970), p. 178.
