STYLE INTERVIEW
anymore because I don‘t have the right age,
but I can sing it at events. There are other
roles I would like to do, but I tend to just let it
happen. I‘ve got Sweeney Todd: The Demon
Barber of Fleet Street coming up now, and
I‘ve also got the female lead, Mrs Lovett.
That‘s a big challenge for me.
My big wish is to have a live band behind me,
because to have live energy behind you is
probably the best thing a singer can ask for.
change
“theI wouldn‘t
Ostrava theatre
for any other.
”
You‘ve lived in Ostrava since your
childhood. What is your relationship to
the Moravian-Silesian region? Aren‘t you
tempted by Prague?
I had the opportunity to sing in Hybernia in
Prague because I was a guest in a performance
there. It was a good experience, but
I wouldn‘t change the Ostrava theatre for
any other. I am happy here and I have a lot of
friends here. Prague as a city doesn‘t attract
me at all. It‘s too big, too crowded. The older
I get, the more I escape to the quiet.
I have read that in your free time you
like to go tramping, sometimes you
ride horses, and you have tried rock
climbing. Is that right?
I only got a whiff of mountaineering and
I climbed difficulty 4 or 4+, those who are
familiar with it will understand. That‘s my
ultimate peak. I loved it and everything
about it. However, that whiff is gone and
I don‘t climb anymore.
I don‘t go tramping regularly either, but
on the rare occasion I do go. Recently, my
daughter took me on a “mini-tramping trip“
and I really enjoyed it. It was wonderful to
see the world again from horseback and let
my hair flow as I galloped. I love that feeling.
The last time I saw you, you told me that
you had recently traveled around the
Middle East. How was that?
Yes, that was about five years ago. By an
incredible coincidence, I was invited by my
colleague and friend, Tereza Kavecká, to
join her and her friend on a trip to Israel.
They arranged my ticket two days before
the departure and I flew with them. It
was at the invitation of her relative Mark
Halfar, who is a war cameraman. It was an
incredibly amazing five days, Mark gave us
his full attention, taking us to places where
we would normally have waited a long
time, or would have found them difficult to
find. He knew everything there perfectly
and showed us everywhere. For me it was
a huge spiritual experience that I will never
forget. We also met twice with Jakub Sántó
and he took us with him on a war report to
the Gaza Strip. That was a huge adrenaline
rush, and we even witnessed an Israeli base
shooting down a rocket just a short distance
from us. That was an incredible experience
for me and I didn‘t even realize what was
actually happening in that moment. Yet the
most powerful experiences were spiritual,
the visit to Jerusalem, the holy Jordan River
and several other places. I am very grateful
to Terka Kavecká for that; I probably would
never have gone to Israel on my own.
Your singing is about emotion. You carry
that over into your charity projects,
I remember a photo of you on your knees
in front of Bishop Lobkowicz. What‘s
your message to people of goodwill?
That‘s a nice question. I‘m probably going to
repeat myself, but I would say that the family
is the foundation. I know it sounds archaic,
something to show the person that they are
not alone, that there is someone who can
help. I‘m no Mother Teresa and I don‘t do this
regularly. However, if someone approaches
me with a good idea, like the Ondrášek
mobile hospice, of course I‘m open to it.
You work also as a teacher. What is it
like to pass on your experience to the
young promising generation that will
one day replace us?
I‘ve been teaching for about 11-12 years now,
but I feel like it‘s barely been three years. I got
into it by chance, a colleague who knew me
from Red Hats recommended that I should
audition to be a musical theatre voice
teacher. I didn‘t think it was a good fit, but
I gave it a shot and the director took me on.
Along with my students, I started to learn as
well. Since I‘d never taught before, I started
from scratch. I had, and continue to have,
a personal relationship with each of the
“kids“ there, although I don‘t know if that‘s
maybe even pathetic, but family really is
everything. Family relationships are taught to
the child from a young age, and this is then
passed on, all the good and bad qualities.
We all know that when things don‘t work out
in the family, one often carries that on into
life. One has to show tremendous courage
and will to change it. And then there‘s hope.
That is such an incredibly encouraging word.
It‘s perhaps even more powerful to me than
love or faith. Where there is no hope, there
is nothing. Let there be hope everywhere,
and may no one ever lose it. I know it‘s often
hard, wading through problems and not
even having the strength to see it. But when
you see it, that‘s what it‘s all for.
right. I think of them as my children, I love
them, even if I am sometimes strict. I don‘t
praise so much, I criticize more because
I feel it motivates them more, as it does me.
I‘m happy when I see that a student is spoken
about and I see them on a poster and I think
to myself “yeah, that‘s my kid“ (laughs).
Is that what your charity projects are
about? Spreading hope?
I think a little bit yes, you need to help with
small things or money. Even though you
can‘t buy health and life. At least we can do
Hanka, thank you for the interview.
Is there anything you would like to wish our
readers for Christmas and the New Year?
I would like to sincerely wish our readers
a peaceful and beautiful Christmas. May
they not chase material gifts so much, but
rather give their fellow man gifts of the soul.
And that they do not lose hope and have it
firmly anchored in their hearts and souls.
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