In memory of  Soňa Červená

I was with great sadness that we received the news of the death of Soňa Červená, an artist who filled her unique and rich artistic life with humanity and humanism.

The last time she appeared before the audience of the Prague Spring Festival was ten years ago at a recital at Divadlo Na zábradlí theatre, where, accompanied by Karel Košárek, she performed as a reciter  Viktor Ullmann’s The Song of Love and Death of Cornet Christoph Rilke.

“Concerts with Soňa Červená had always been a great and intense experience for both the audience and for me. Soňa Červená did not sing – she became the song, Soňa Červená did not act, she simply was the character. An extraordinary personality and artist in many ways, a lady of great refinement, charm and deep wisdom, has passed away,” recalls the pianist Karel Košárek.

The concert at Divadlo Na zábradlí was a return after an incredible 52 years since her last performance at the Prague Spring Festival in 1961, when she played the alto part in Ludwig van Beethoven’s Symphony No. 9, Staatskapelle Dresden conducted by Franz Konwitschny. She had already given a number of performances at the Prague Spring Festival, including works by Sergei Prokofiev, Peter Eben, Ladislav Vycpálek and, of course, Janáček’s The Diary of One Who Disappeared.

“As always, I am looking forward to spring, but even more to Prague Spring,” she wrote in the festival chronicle for her last performance.

Honour her memory!