Czech Chamber Music Society • Adam Plachetka

Adam Plachetka was educated at the conservatory in his native town of Prague. In addition to his many national competition victories, Adam won First Prize at the Antonín Dvořákʼs International Vocal Competition.

In 2005 he made his debut at the National Theatre in Prague, since when he has appeared in Prague as Don Giovanni, Figaro (Le nozze di Figaro), Nardo (La finta giardiniera), Argante (Rinaldo) and Guglielmo (Così fan tutte), among others.

In september 2010 Adam became a member of the Ensemble of the Wiener Staatsoper. After his debut as Schaunard (La bohéme), he moved on to roles such as Melisso (Alcina), Don Giovanni, Dulcamara (Lʼelisir dʼamore), Figaro, Guglielmo, Publio (La clemenza di Tito), Mustafá (LʼItaliana in Algeri) and Alidoro (La Cenerentola).

Adamʼs engagements include appearances at the Salzburger Festspiele, Bayerische Staatsoper Munich, Pražské jaro, Théâtre Royal de la Monnaie in Bruxelles, Royal Opera House Covent Garden in London, Musikverein in Vienna, Festpielhaus Baden-Baden, Glyndebourne Festival, Deutsche Oper and Deutsche Staatsoper Berlin, Carnegie Hall in New York, Teatro alla Scala in Milan, Wigmore Hall in London and at the Metropolitan Opera in New York.

He has taken part in recordings for Arte, Arthaus Musik, Česká televize, Český rozhlas, Deutsche Grammophon, Mezzo, Naxos, Orfeo, ORF and Supraphon.

Adam performs under the baton of such conductors as Alain Altinoglu, Marco Armiliato, Daniel Barenboim, Ivor Bolton, Bruno Campanella, John Fiore, Asher Fisch, Valery Gergiev, Friedrich Haider, Daniel Harding, Patrick Lange, Louis Langrée, Marc Minkowski, Riccardo Muti, John Nelson, Tomáš Netopil, Yannick Nézet-Séguin, Robin Ticciati or Franz Welser-Möst.

David Švec studied piano and conducting first at the České Budějovice Conservatoire and then at the Janáček Academy of Performing Arts in Brno. In February 2000 he took part at conducting masterclasses under Sir Colin Davis in Dresden, and in 2002 he completed a study visit at the Universität für Musik und darstellende Kunst in Vienna (under Leopold Hager). In 2004 he won the Bösendorfer Preis in the opera coaching category at the Belvedere International Competition in Vienna.

Although he also appears regularly in concert halls (Bamberg Symphony, Prague Radio Symphony Orchestra, Moravian Philharmonic in Olomouc), David Švec profiles himself mainly as an opera conductor. Already as a student he was active at the Janáček Opera in Berlin, then in September 2003 he began working at Prague’s National Theatre, where he has had a full-time conducting engagement since 2011. Last year he became the chief conductor of opera at the South Bohemia Theatre in České Budějovice. He also makes guest appearances abroad at opera houses (Barcelona, Paris, Vienna, Ljubljana) and festivals (Glyndebourne). In 2014 for the publisher Bärenreiter, he made the new piano vocal score for Janáček’s opera Věc Makropulos, which was used for the first time for the production of the opera at the Bayerische Staatsoper in Munich.

He has been collaborating with the Prague Chamber Orchestra as a pianist since 1998, and he is in demand as an especially sensitive chamber music partner. He has also made many CD recordings for Czech Radio. He appears on stage regularly with leading Czech singers such as soprano Eva Urbanová, bass-baritone Adam Plachetka, and soprano Kateřina Kněžíková, with whom he has appeared, for example, at the Prague Spring Festival (2010 and 2015).