Biography
Czech dramatic soprano Eliška Weissová has been a regular guest on international stages since 2006, performing with the National Theatre Prague, Welsh National Opera, Opéra de Rennes, Theatre Ústí nad Labem, and Slovak National Theatre. She made her auspicious house debut in 2022 at the Vienna State Opera as Kostelnička in Jenůfa under the baton of Tomáš Hanus. Her performance received critical acclaim, with many praising her powerful voice and dramatic depth.
Full Biography
Czech dramatic soprano Eliška Weissová has been a regular guest on international stages since 2006, performing with the National Theatre Prague, Welsh National Opera, Opéra de Rennes, Theatre Ústí nad Labem, and Slovak National Theatre. She made her auspicious house debut in 2022 at the Vienna State Opera as Kostelnička in Jenůfa under the baton of Tomáš Hanus. Her performance received critical acclaim, with many praising her powerful voice and dramatic depth.
In 2024/25 season Weissová makes her highly anticipated house debut at Theater St. Gallen where she sings the title role in Elektra in Lisaboa Houbrechts’ production under the baton of Modestas Pitrenas. Among other highlights is her return to the Latvian National Opera with one of her signature roles of Kostelnička (Jenůfa) after her acclaimed performance there in 2023/24. That season she also made her highly anticipated house debut as Kostelnička (Jenůfa) at the Staatsoper Hamburg and her role debut as Tosca at The State Theatre Košice in Slovakia. She then returned to Košice as Milada in Dalibor and to the Vienna State Opera as the Foreign Princess in Rusalka. Weissová could also be heard at the opening concert of the Jihlava Music Festival where she performed Richard Wagner’s Wesendonck Lieder and Isolde’s Death from Tristan and Isolde. Major cover contracts that season included title role in Turandot and Minnie in La fanciulla del West at the Vienna State Opera followed by the title role of Ariadne auf Naxos on the Bavarian State Opera tour in Hong Kong.
In recent seasons, Eliška Weissová has performed the roles of Martinka (Smetana’s The Kiss) at the Wexford Festival, Kostelnička (Jenůfa) at the Opéra de Rennes, Opéra-Théâtre de Limoges and Grand-Théâtre de Reims, the Foreign Princess and Ježibaba (Rusalka) at the Slovak National Theatre, Azucena (Il trovatore) and Amneris (Aida) at the Theater Erfurt. At the Opéra de Rennes she appeared as Ulrica (Un ballo in Maschera) and Rossweisse (Die Walküre) – she performed the latter also with the Bayreuth Festival.
In 2018, Weissová successfully made the transition to dramatic soprano when she debuted as Giorgetta in Il tabarro at the National Theatre in Bratislava. Since then, she has continued to impress audiences with her performances in leading roles: she sang the title role in Smetana´s Libuše at the North Bohemian Theatre in Ústí nad Labem where she later debuted as Isolde (Tristan and Isolde). In 2019, she performed the role of Amneris in a new production of Aida at the historic Hatshepsut Temple complex in Luxor under the baton of Oksana Lyniv. She frequently performs at the National Theatre in Prague: she appeared there as Fata Morgana in The Love for Three Oranges and Ortrud in Lohengrin directed by Katharina Wagner. There she made her role debuts as Turandot and Abigaille (Nabucco) in 2020. In Prague she also appeared as Kostelnička (Jenůfa) – the role that she later performed at the Welsh National Opera.
Eliška Weissová graduated from the Brno Conservatory and the Prague Academy of Music under the tutelage of René Tuček. She has won several prizes at international singing competitions, including first prize at the Antonín Dvořák International Singing Competition in Karlovy Vary in 2004, and third prize at the Mikuláš Schneider-Trnavský Singing Competition in Slovakia in 2006. She was also a semi-finalist at the Competizione dell’opera in Dresden and a finalist at the Boris Christoff Competition in Sofia.
© CSAM, August 2024
