Dvoráková, Ludmila

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Dvořáková, Ludmila

Dvořáková, Ludmila, Czech soprano; b. Kolin, July 11, 1923. She was a pupil of Jarmila Vavrdova at the Prague Cons. (1942–49). In 1949 she made her operatic debut as Kat’a Kabanova in Ostrava, and then appeared in Bratislava and at the Smetana Theater in Prague from 1952; was a member of the Prague National Theater (1954–57). In 1956 she made her first appearance at the Vienna State Opera, and from 1960 she sang at the Berlin State Opera; she also sang at the Bayreuth Festivals (1965–71) and at London’s Covent Garden (1966–71). On Jan. 12,1966, she made her Metropolitan Opera debut in N.Y. as Beethoven’s Leonore, remaining on its roster until 1968. In addition to her roles in Czech operas, she was admired for her Wagner, Verdi, and Strauss.

—Nicolas Slonimsky/Laura Kuhn/Dennis McIntire

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