National Theatre Brno 2023-24 Review: The Jacobin
05. 12. 2023 | Alan Neilson
Pavla Vykopalová is a strong pillar of the ensemble of the Janáček Opera in Brno. Her interpretation of young dramatic soprano roles is always filled with warmth and sincerity of experience, and the characteristic sweetness of her voice is unmistakable. She is currently preparing with the ensemble for the premiere of Antonín Dvořák's opera The Jacobin on October 8th, in which she is studying the role of Julie.
More at https://operawire.com/national-theatre-brno-2023-24-review-the-jacobin
Pavla Vykopalová: Dvořák's music is closest to my heart
28. 09. 2023 | Karla Hofmannová
Pavla Vykopalová is a strong pillar of the Janáček Opera ensemble in Brno. Her interpretation of young dramatic soprano roles is always filled with warmth and sincerity of experience, and the characteristic sweetness of her voice is unmistakable. She is currently preparing with the ensemble for the premiere of Antonín Dvořák's opera "The Jacobin" on October 8th, whereby she is studying the role of Julie.
Iconic works of Czech musical literature performed at the opening of the Janáček and Luhačovice Festival
13. 07. 2023 | Jozef Červenka
After the great opera heroines, Pavla Vykopalová once again shone as an authentic Janáček concert performer. She impressed with the beautiful warm timbre of her delicious soprano, good articulation and adequate vocal carrying capacity.
National Theatre Brno - Alcina by G. F. Händel. Let's go to Brno!
20. 02. 2023 | Susanne Kosesnik-Wehrle
Pavla Vykopalová sang Alcina on Sunday. My last Alcina was Cecilia Bartoli, so the bar was set very high for me. Pavla Vykopalová is a very, very good Alcina, she sings in a high, and brilliantly clear soprano, pianissimos and coloraturas are flawless. She is also an extraordinarily good actress who comes across as extremely human - not an evil witch, but a woman deeply in love who, abandoned by everyone at the end, returns to the house where we saw her for the first time.
More at https://onlinemerker.com/brno-bruenn-narodni-divadlo-alcina-von-g-f-haendel-auf-nach-brno/
The St. Wenceslas Music Festival bid farewell with The Spectre's Bride. This time, the generous construction prevailed over the details
29. 09. 2022 | Milan Bátor
Soprano Pavla Vykopalová has a sense for dramatic shading of the text. I appreciate her ability to engagingly narrate with her voice even in the lower registers, her stamina in relation breathing and her sophisticated expression in every aspect. In the most exposed passages she demonstrated intonational certainty and found enough strength for an impressive gradation.
Autumn Festival of Sacred Music kicked off with a good dose of musicality
27. 09. 2022 | Karolína Alena Bartoňková
Pavla Vykopalová stood out with a pleasantly audible voice that showed no technical limitations, either in the highest pitches or in the lowest, where she managed to keep her "gold in the throat" sounding despite the noisy orchestral background. The experienced singer's performance exuded humility and her decent, heartfelt part was appropriate to The Girl's role. She also made it clear that she was conscientious in her role, convincing us at every moment when the notes of the phrases ranged over octaves and her voice showed no sign of unpleasant catch. She was then able to embrace the individual notes of the phrases and the result was a pleasing legato. She also showed us her dynamic ability and range by playing with crescendos and decrescendos on the held notes. She clearly enjoyed the penultimate part of this piece, the aria "Virgin Mary, stand by me", in which she unleashed her musicality and in some passages her voice blended with the strings beautiful colouring.
Prague State Opera: Rusalka. Reference production
29. 04. 2022 | Jan Krobot/Zürich
Alžběta Poláčková was replaced in the role of Rusalka by Pavla Vykopalová, and with her refined, beautifully carrying soprano she was the Rusalka Dvořák probably imagined.
More at https://onlinemerker.at/prag-statni-opera-rusalka-referenz-inszenierung/
Handel's Alcina in Brno is baroque grandeur with a perfect realisation
07. 02. 2022 | Karla Hofmannová
At the premiere on Saturday, February 5th, 2022, the title role of the sorceress Alcina was sung by soprano Pavla Vykopalová (alternating with Karina Gauvin). She especially capitalised her sweet timbre of a lyric soprano, to which she added coloraturas, and imbued the character with sweetness and sophistication of expression. She excelled in long and arching passages, giving them tension and warmth. With the aria "Sì, son quella" she opened a series of beautiful passages, whereby, the climax was the aria "Oh! mio cor", where the applause broke out, as it did after the last aria "Mi restano le lagrime". In these arias she showed herself to be a great singer with the ability to use all the finesse of bel canto, and the audience appreciated her for this on the open stage.
The exceptional opera Alcina from Brno
06. 02. 2022 | Lukáš Pavlica
Pavla Vykopalová's vocal portrayal of Alcina deserves the upmost attention - the soprano managed to convey deep love and boundless longing with equal quality and expressive conviction, as well as burning rage and fury - with every tremor of her voice in the sorrowful arias she not only gave Alcina real emotionality, but above all she presented her to the audience as a complex and tragic, but not a purely negative character. All this was tied together by polished technical brilliance and breathtaking work with colour and dynamics.
More at http://www.mestohudby.cz/publicistika/kritika/mimoradna-operni-alcina-z-brna
The Contemporary Era of Czech Opera VI : III. To be known - Pavla Vykopalová
01. 12. 2021 | Radmila Hrdinová
When director Ondřej Havelka was preparing to stage The Bartered Bride at the National Theatre Brno in 2005, he asked all his opera friends if they knew Mařenka, who looked like an eighteen-year-old girl and sang like Gabriela Beňačková. And when no one could find her, he discovered her himself at one of the reruns of Janáček's Jenůfa, where she was singing the role of Karolka. Her name was Pavla Vykopalová.
More at http://hudebnirozhledy.scena.cz/www/index.php?page=clanek&cislo_id=245&id_clanku=2599
Saint Ludmila's feast day celebrated in Ostrava
16. 09. 2021 | Milan Bátor
The biggest task was placed on the shoulders of the soprano Pavla Vykopalová. Her conception of Saint Ludmila was unpretentious and noble. Bravura, but never exclusive or overstraining. I have the impression that Saint Ludmila entered the artistic being of this outstanding Czech soprano at the ideal time. Her interpretation inspired confidence in me from the very first moment and, as it turned out at the end of the work, it was justified. Pavla Vykopalova's voice can caress, it's soft but simultaneously firm and reliable. Her performance is definitely one of the best creations we have witnessed so far.
More at https://www.klasikaplus.cz/reflexe-2/item/5902-svata-ludmila-oslavila-svuj-svatek-v-ostrave
Soprano Pavla Vykopalová: Opera must express emotions in harmony with music
29. 06. 2021 | Karla Hofmannová
Pavla Vykopalová is one of the outstanding Czech singers, whose clear and penetrating soprano has an extraordinary ability to express the finest emotions. We not only interviewed the soprano in relation to her professional achievements, but also with regard to her family background, her favourite repertoire and her vocal hygiene.
More at https://operaplus.cz/sopranistka-pavla-vykopalova-opera-musi-vyjadrovat-emoce-v-souladu-s-hudbou
Clarinetist Karel Dohnal's new album proves that 20th-century Czech music is world-class
10. 12. 2020 | Milan Bátor
Antonín Tučapský and his song cycle Love and Sorrow for soprano, clarinet and piano is a beautiful, lyrical finale. Pavla Vykopalová has the rules of song interpretation completely under control. Her concentrated, heartfelt approach is based on the content of the folk text. We feel her essential harmony in the beautifully dynamic and agogically constructed phrases, which are wonderfully comprehensible.
Brno Janacek Festival 2020 Review: Jenůfa
28. 10. 2020 | Alan Neilson
Soprano Pavla Vykopalová in the title role was an engaging and sympathetic Jenůfa. She has an appealing voice with an attractive timbre, a rich middle voice with a bright, secure upper register. Her beautifully rendered phrasing captured the lyrical quality of the part, although this was not at the expense of Jenufa’s inner pain and suffering. Her vocal versatility and ability to expertly develop characterization were impressive which was wonderfully illustrated in her Act two monologue, “Mamičko, mám težkou hlavu, mám, mám,” in which she runs through a string of emotions, as she searches for her mother, then her baby, anxiously awaits Steva’s arrival, panics and worries over the baby’s whereabouts and prays for her child’s safety.
More at https://operawire.com/brno-janacek-festival-2020-review-jenufa
Jenůfa between apples and grey walls with Karita Mattila
04. 10. 2020 | Lukáš Pavlica
The visiting Karita Mattila rose to the challenge. Her emotional, desperate and often broken singing of a man facing a terrible choice took the audience's breath away. Pavla Vykopalová was more than a capable counterpart - the tender cuddling of her son, the dreamy imagery of Števa, as well as the subsequent terror and resignation - all with intonation precision and breathtaking emotion. In the combination of these two singers, the opera reached its most powerful and vocally impressive form.
CD Beethoven: Egmont, Op. 84; Reicha: Lenore - Re-release of first-class recordings in a fitting combination of two birth anniversaries (Orfeo)
11. 01. 2020 | Dr. Ingobert Waltenberger
This recording is a real gift to all music lovers who can immerse themselves in the most exuberant vocal splendour. Camilla Nylund as Lenore in unbridled ecstasy from the high notes, but also Pavla Vykopalová as her mother, the heroic tenor Corby Welch as the narrator and Vladimir Chmelo as Vilém offer a truly great vocal show. Frieder Bernius once again proved what a passionate and talented musician he is. He vividly brings out all the dramatic aspects of this eighty minute work. The duet of the two women "O Mutter, Mutter! Hin ist hin!" can be considered a dramatic highlight. We now know where Smetana got his inspiration for the duet by the two sopranos in his opera Dalibor.
November 17th with Dvořák's Saint Ludmila
20. 11. 2019 | Anežka Šejnohová
Pavla Vykopalová's pleasantly coloured bell soprano was an ornament to the cathedral's space throughout every moment of her performance. The singer not only sang with technical bravura, but also with the appropriate feeling that matched the seriousness of this November performance.
More at https://www.klasikaplus.cz/reflexe-2/item/2510-17-listopad-s-dvorakovou-svatou-ludmilou
The St. Wenceslas Music Festival audience could not have wished for a more dignified and varied ending
29. 09. 2019 | Milan Bátor
The Janáček Philharmonic Orchestra's performance, the Czech Philharmonic Choir of Brno and the soloists Pavla Vykopalová and Robert Kružík was, in a word, breathtaking. The velvety, beautifully coloured soprano of Pavla Vykopalová was an ideal choice. The soprano sang Dvořák with sensitive, beautifully arched, but never exaggerated dynamics.
The subscription cycle of the Czech Philharmonic Choir of Brno culminated in Saint Ludmila
28. 05. 2019 | Karla Hofmannová
Ludmila's representative, Pavla Vykopalová, was the main bearer of brightness and serenity. Her soprano, bell-like and light, yet strong, with a round volume, was like a bright ray under the church dome.
More at https://operaplus.cz/abonentni-cyklus-ceskeho-filharmonickeho-sboru-brno-vyvrcholil-svatou-ludmilou
Dvořák's Czech Way of the Cross in reliable hands
03. 04. 2019 | Martin Jemelka
If I were to compare Vasilek's chorus - not originally - with the polished diamond of Lenárd's Monday production, soprano Pavla Vykopalová and Slovak mezzo Denisa Hamarová would be living jewels, reliably set in the tiara of Dvořák's ten-part work. Today, Pavla Vykopalová can be considered an absolutely ideal interpreter of Dvořák's soprano parts, who can rely both on her rich experience with Dvořák's song and operatic works and on her humble approach to Dvořák's scores.
More at https://www.casopisharmonie.cz/kritiky/dvorakova-ceska-krizova-cesta-ve-spolehlivych-rukou.html
