Magazine “Hudební rozhledy” No. 01/2019 - Káťa Kabanová (Janáček Festival Brno 2018)
01. 01. 2019 | Karla Hofmannová
Pavla Vykopalová, who performed the role of Káťa, remained a constant star. Compared to the premiere, her performance of the role showed much more elaboration and experience, not only from an acting viewpoint, where she was as convincing as possible, but particularly her singing. The fervour and colour in her voice were touching, the solid soprano carried steadily and confidently through the entire range, and carried into the theatre space.
Beňačková, Vykopalová and Ludha under Juraj Valčuha's direction - Káťa Kabanová returned to Teatro di San Carlo after 50 years
26. 12. 2018 | Peter Bleha
Káťa Kabanová was sung by Czech soprano Pavla Vykopalová. Vocally very well-balanced in all positions, a little more convincing in the more lyrical passages, but even in the more dramatic parts there was basically no reason to reproach her. She was a delicate, sensitive, fragile and somewhat naive Káťa, and on the whole seemed considerably more romantic than her alternative, the Dutch singer Barbara Haveman. Vykopalová convincingly portrayed Káťa's inner struggle and the tornness of her soul. Vocally, she was the highlight of the performance.
Perfect interplay on stage in Káťa Kabanová
20. 12. 2018 | Luigi Paolillo
The interplay was also performed by performers who were a discovery for me and I commend their musical and acting skills. First and foremost, this applies to the performer of the leading role, who was rewarded at the end with long, thunderous applause from the relatively small but enthusiastic audience. Pavla Vykopalová's Káťa is full of life, and at the same time, fragile and strong. The singer was able to fully empathise with her character and gradually portray her various forms - the form of a suffering woman, closed in her pain, without perspective, the form of a woman who dreams of flying away for delusions that escape her like seagulls, the form of a sensual and passionate adulteress, in whom, of course, social pressure then cause feelings of guilt. All these nuances are particularly evident in her voice, whose incredible malleability and refinement are on a par with the greatest operatic divas. Her stage presence is no less impressive; her sensitivity, charisma and quality of expression are certainly above the usual standard and give us Káťa in all her genuineness and wholeness.
More at https://www.fermataspettacolo.it/lirica/la-perfetta-macchina-scenica-di-kata-kabanova
The dramatic story of Káťa Kabanová
17. 12. 2018 | Salvatore Morra
The audience was dazzled by the incomparable stage presence of soprano Pavla Vykopalová in the lead role. What a pleasant surprise. She has a warm voice with a full timbre, even in the lower registers. She is also well suited to Wolfgang Gussmann's costumes: first the costume of the exemplary wife, then the costume of the wife transformed into a seductive, half-naked, but at the same time fragile and tender sinner.
More at https://www.giornaledellamusica.it/recensioni/il-dramma-di-kata-kabanova
Káťa Kabanová at the Teatro San Carlo in Naples
17. 12. 2018 | Paola De Simone
The entire vocal cast was impeccable in both acting and singing. Pavla Vykopalová, a soprano with a remarkably powerful and versatile voice, portrayed Káťa with great dramatic sincerity, transforming herself through difficult melodic transitions from a humiliated wife and daughter-in-law to a lonely woman full of life, and from a tender lover to an infatuated adulteress ready to sacrifice herself in the only way possible. She was particularly magnificent in her monologues.
More at https://www.connessiallopera.it/recensioni/2018/napoli-teatro-san-carlo-katia-kabanova
Káťa Kabanova takes flight in Naples
17. 12. 2018 | Lorenzo Fiorito
The singing cast was excellent. In the title role, Czech soprano Pavla Vykopalová was at complete ease: she was really outstanding, alternating longing and passion with depression and anguish. She sang superbly throughout, her stage presence growing more and more as the story unravelled. She was able to express the childish side of Káťa’s personality as well as the disgraced woman who decides to end her own life. Her voice was quite steely in the recitatives, as required by the Czech language prosody according to Janáček's intentions, then she deployed her clear, beautiful sound in the (rare) lyrical passages.
Carsen's Káťa Kabanová back in Brno
20. 11. 2018 | Lukáš Pavlica
The queen of the evening was undoubtedly the singer Pavla Vykopalová. The singer's wealth of expression and emotion enabled her to express all the tenderness, desire, sadness, penitence and joy that the character of Káťa Kabanová could truly experience. The singer's poignant "Varjo! I can't sleep" was so fragile that one was almost breathless at this eloquent momentary shudder of the soul.
More at http://www.mestohudby.cz/publicistika/kritika/carsenova-kata-kabanova-zpet-v-brne
Erotically sultry or the Brno opera novelty Così fan tutte
19. 05. 2018 | Lukáš Pavlica
On the other hand, the vocal synthesis of all the voices, especially Václava Krejčí Housková and Pavla Vykopalová, deserves great praise. Despite the fact that both singers use quite distinctive tone ornamentation and do not even spare vibrato, their expression was so harmonious that they resembled one body and one soul. Vykopalová, however, was also dazzling with her absolute fidelity to the meaning of the text and truly precise acting.
Fantastic Faust! Heřman has created a grand opera for the 21st century
18. 12. 2017 | Jakub Kožíšek
Gounod has placed more emphasis on Marguerite, who is actually the main character, for it is her soul that is at stake in this production. She was beautifully portrayed by Pavla Vykopalová. The soprano not only satisfied the audience with her mobile, deft and powerful voice, but she also knows how to use it both lyrically and dramatically. In the third act, the contrast between the song about the King of Thule and the aria about the jewels worked brilliantly, and when, after all the peripeteia at the end of the opera, she returns in flashback to her first meeting with Faust and switches back into "love mode", one gets chills. Even after demanding parts and dozens of minutes of heavy singing, her voice did not become heavy and remained almost as clear as it was at the beginning of the performance.
Soprano Pavla Vykopalová. Winner of the Thalia Award 2016. Moderated by Ivan Ruml.
08. 06. 2017 | Telefonotéka, Český rozhlas Vltava
Soprano Pavla Vykopalová, winner of the Thalia Award 2016 for the title role of Káťa Kabanová in Carsen's production of the famous Janáček opera at the National Theatre in Brno, spoke about her most difficult artistic tasks.
Bravo Figaro! Adam Plachetka said goodbye to him in Prague, now he wants to sing Count Almaviva more often
30. 05. 2017 | Dominik Sirný
One of the best vocal performances was undoubtedly the Countess, sung by soprano Pavla Vykopalová. In all her arias she demonstrated a technically perfect voice.
Magazine "Divadelní noviny" No. 10/2017 - Pavla Vykopalová: On the court and on the stage go to the full
16. 05. 2017 | Radmila Hrdinová
Her art of singing is indisputable. Thanks to her great sense and feeling for music she is able to point out the music phrases naturally and smoothly, but finally we have a Czech soprano singer who is able to sing in natural Czech language beautifully and clearly. (Ondřej Havelka)
More at https://www.divadelni-noviny.cz/pavla-vykopalova-na-kurtu-i-na-jevisti-jit-do-plnejch
Between the shores our tender words float...
17. 04. 2017 | Robert Ferrer
The brilliant voice of Pavla Vykopalová was heard at the premiere as Clémence, the Countess of Tripoli. In the Czech Republic we are accustomed to seeing her in the roles of Mařenka, Jenůfa or Káťa Kabanová, as well as in the leading soprano roles of many Czech and international oratorios and cantatas, but she is rarely heard in contemporary music. In Love at a Distance, however, she proved to be a very versatile soprano, capable of interpreting different musical styles with great skill.
More at https://www.divadelni-noviny.cz/narodni-divadlo-brno-laska-na-dalku-recenze
With Love at a Distance, the National Theatre reached the world's classics
25. 03. 2017 | Petr Veber
Pavla Vykopalová was credible at the premiere - both desperate and dignified. Her initially softer part eventually rises dramatically in bold melodic curves to sublime pathos.
They met. Love at a Distance in Brno
25. 03. 2017 | Olga Janáčková
And finally, Pavla Vykopalová's Clémence, which I think is her best role to date. Mastering this extremely difficult role, both vocally and as an actress, is her chance of a lifetime.
Classical CDs Weekly: Kabeláč, Ligeti, Shostakovich
28. 01. 2017 | Graham Rickson
What’s fascinating is how mind-blowingly original much of this music is, doubly so when one considers that Kabeláč would have had little or no access to developments in Western Europe. Things become especially outré from 1960’s Symphony No. 5 onwards, written for wordless soprano and large orchestra. This performance has the wonderful Pavla Vykopalová in the solo role, her wilder outbursts anticipating passages in Britten’s War Requiem.
Tosca-type roles are not my cup of tea at the moment. You asked Pavla Vykopalová
12. 01. 2017 | Redakce OperaPlus.cz
The soloist of the Janáček Opera at the National Theatre in Brno answers questions from Opera Plus readers.
More at https://operaplus.cz/role-typu-tosky-ted-nejsou-mym-salkem-caje-ptali-se-pavly-vykopalove
Magazine "Svět a divadlo" No. 01/2017 - Janáček and the Others (Káťa Kabanová, Janáček Festival Brno 2016)
01. 01. 2017 | Rudo Leška
A special tribute goes to Pavla Vykopalová in the title role. At the beginning I had the impression that she was a little nervous, but this quickly disappeared, and this reflected positively in her voice, which settled down, gained confidence, brightened and developed. Pavla Vykopalová builds up her character in a way that is unusual for opera, both psychologically and vocally presenting the character's development from a submissive wife to persecuted beast, resisting the attack and trying to scream out her despair, to quiet acceptance of her own fate. Her lyrical Káťa was an example of the singer's consonance with the director's conception that left one breathless.
Magazine "Hudební rozhledy" No. 12/2016 - Káťa Kabanová (Janáček Festival Brno 2016)
01. 12. 2016 | Anna Šerých
Soprano Pavla Vykopalová was the absolute hit of the performance. She gives Káťa a great, effortless and convincing singing and acting ability and also has great partners...
Káťa Kabanová is leading the opening of the Brno Theatre Season
12. 10. 2016 | Helena Havlíková
Vykopalová succeeds in convincing us of Káťa's concept, which is tougher, more dramatic, more determined in her efforts to break out of the order of the world she has entered, which she co-creates and transgresses with her behaviour.
