Roman Janál

Baritone Roman Janál graduated in violin at the Plzeň Conservatory and later studied voice at the National Academy of Music in Sofia, Bulgaria. During his studies he had already been a guest at the State Opera in Sofia and performed at chamber festivals in Sofia. After a successful debut in the State Opera Prague as Guglielmo (Mozart: Cos? fan tutte) and Figaro (Rossini: Il barbiere di Siviglia) he was offered an engagement as a soloist in 1995. In 1995 he became the overall winner of the International Antonín Dvořák Singing Competition in Karlovy Vary and in that same year he also became a professor of singing at the Prague Conservatory. Since 1997 he has been a soloist at the National Theatre in Prague (since 2002 he has been permanent guest), where he has studied many roles from Czech and international repertoire. He has also participated in a number of foreign tours of the Prague National Theatre and State Opera Prague, such as in Japan, Hong Kong, Korea, France, Germany, Netherlands and Spain. Roman Janál has successfully appeared in festivals (the Prague Spring, the Prague Autumn, Smetana Litomyšl) and regularly cooperates with orchestras such as the Czech Philharmonic Orchestra, the Prague Symphony Orchestra or the Prague Chamber Orchestra. Under the baton of Jiří Bělohlávek he performed with the BBC Orchestra in London the solo part from Martinů’s Field mass and The Openning of the Springs. The same pieces he also performed in Amsterdam with conductor Christopher Hogwood. Since 1984, he has recorded extensively for Czech Radio, performing a range of repertory from opera arias to song-cycles. Some of these recordings have resulted in the issue of a profile operatic album (Radioservis). Roman Janál is holder of the prestigious Thalia Award for 1999, for the part of Pollux in Rameau's Castor and Pollux in the National Theatre of Prague. Since the 2008/2009 season, Janál has been a soloist with the Janáček Opera of the National Theatre Brno.