Opera star Jarmila Novotná with Czechoslovak President Vaclav Havel in 1990. Photo: Courtesy of George Daubek Collection.
View images from the life of Jarmila Novotna (1907-1994), the great 20th century Czech opera singer and actress who had a brilliant career in Europe and America. Selections from the George Daubek Collection of Novotna memorabilia, curated with biographical notes by Majda Kallab Whitaker, Dvorak American Heritage Association, will be presented in the Dvořák Room at the Bohemian National Hall from June 15 until June 25.
Emmy Destinn’s student, the beautiful opera singer Jarmila Novotna immigrated to the US in 1939 and debuted at the Metropolitan Opera only a year later. During her shining career, she also performed as an actor in films, including MGM’s Academy-Award winning The Search in 1948. She toured widely in America, and with Jan Masaryk, the Czech Foreign Minister-in-Exile, recorded Czech folk songs in memory of the village of Lidice that was obliterated by Nazis in 1942. Her presence on the opera stage and in concert drew attention to Czechoslovakia’s plight under German and Soviet control. In 1991 Novotná was awarded the prestigious Order of Thomas Garrigue Masaryk by President Václav Havel.
Jarmila Novotna: Transatlantic Opera, Screen, and Czech Cultural Presence is part of the exhibition Ticket to the New World presented at the 2022 Rehearsal for Truth Theater Festival. Curated by photographer Eva Heyd, it features works by numerous prominent figures of the First Czechoslovak Republic’s cultural scene who decided to leave the country at the beginning of World War II, including Jarmila Novotna, pianist Rudolf Firkusny and composer Bohuslav Martinu, each of whom represented their country and art with strength and dedication under duress of the times.
Free and open to the public. Wearing of a face mask inside the venue is required.
Exhibition opening: Tuesday, June 14, 6:30 p.m., following Havel Conversations: Eva Heyd in Conversation with Alex Zucker. RSVP for the opening through Eventbrite.
Project partners: Czech National Trust, Dvorak American Heritage Association, Czechoslovak Society of Arts and Sciences New York Chapter, Embassy of the United States of America in Prague, and Ministry of Culture of the Czech Republic. The 2022 Rehearsal for Truth Theater Festival: Under Pressure is organized by the Vaclav Havel Library Foundation and the Bohemian Benevolent and Literary Association in partnership with the Polish Cultural Institute New York, GOH Productions, Czech National Trust, Terezin Music Foundation, Trap Door Theatre, and Yara Arts Group.