Biography
Jolana Fogasova studied classical singing at the Conservatoire in Bratislava and at the Academy of Music and Dramatic Arts under the guidance of Professor V. Stracenska, where she also completed her doctorate in 2009. She was taught by Carlo Bergonzi in Masterclasses in Siena, Italy. She was awarded a scholarship by the Friends of the Vienna State Opera. Jolana Fogasova was also a finalist in “Luciano Pavarotti International Voice Competition“. In recent years she has been working with Professor J. Loibl in Munich.
While studying, she launched a successful international career. Since then, she has been performing as a soloist in the Slovak National Theatre, and later she became a permanent guest in the National Theatre in Prague. She sung alongside the world-famous tenor, José Carreras. Together with her solo work, she has also been in high demand as a vocal coach.
During her operatic performances and concerts she has worked with many remarkable conductors: Z. Mehta, F. Luisi, P. Boulez, L. Hager, J. Latham-Koenig, J. Svetlanov, N. Bareza, Zhang Guoyong, M. Letonja, E. Villaume, O. Kazushi, E.de Waart, J. Mercier, J. Kovács, J. Bělohlávek, M. Venzago, S.A. Reck, J. Fiore, I. Fischer, O. Lenárd, S. Lano, A. Eschwé, R.Štúr, T. Netopil, J. Kyzlink, R. Jindra, L. Langrée, G. Korsten, H. Wolf and others.
She has worked with stage director: H. De Ana, L. Ronconi, P.L. Pizzi, G. De Bosio, W. Friedkin, F. Zambello, A. McDonald, Ch. Roubaud, N. Joel, S. Medcalf, P. Curran, M. Schweigkofler, H.J. Ruckhäberle and others.
Her melodramatic soprano repertiore covers a wide area of operatic parts, which are enabled by her voice type "soprano spinto d'agilita": Tosca, Manon Lescaut, Elza von Brabant (Lohengrin), Salome, Venuss (Tannhauser), Lady Macbeth (Macbeth), Eglantine (Euryanthe), Gioconda (La Gioconda), Elisabetta (Maria Stuarda), Lucrezia Contarini (Due Foscari), Abigaille (Nabucco), Joan of Arc (Joan of Arc), Judith (Bluebeard’s Castle), Santuzza (Cavelleria Rusticana), Marina (Boris Godunov), Lucrezia Borgia (Lucrezia Borgia), Foreign Princess and the Witch (Rusalka), The Fox (The Cunning Little Vixen) and Kristina (The Makropulos Affair), which she sang in Teatro alla Scala in Milan and in Teatro Maggio Musicale Fiorentino with Z. Mehta.
She has worked with many renowned orchestras: Wiener Philharmoniker, Wiener Symphoniker, Münchner Philharmoniker, Orchestre Philharmonique de Radio France, Suisse Romande, Orchestra Sinfonica dell' Accademia Nazionale di Santa Cecilia, Orchestre Teatro Comunale di Bologna, Orchestra del Maggio Musicale Fiorentino, Orchestre Philharmonique de Strasbourg, MDR Sinfonieorchester, Slovenská filharmónia, Matáv Hungarian Symphony Orchestra, Orquestra Sinfónica Portuguesa, Mozarteum Orchester Salzburg, Orchestre National Bordeaux - Aquitaine, Hungarian Radio Symphony Orchestra, Hessische Rundfunk Orchester, Nord Nederlands Orchestra, Orchestre National ďIle de France, Düsseldorfer Symphoniker, Orchestra del Teatro Verdi Trieste, Istanbul State Symphony Orchestra, Orchestre de Picardie and others.
Her concert repertoire includes pieces by J.S. Bach, J.B. Pergolesi, J. Haydn, W.A. Mozart, L. van Beethoven, G. Verdi, A. Bruckner, G. Mahler, A. Dvořák, F. Mendelssohn - Bartoldy, A. Skrjabin, Z. Kodály, L. Janáček, B. Martinů, L. Nono, Penderecky, I. Stravinsky and others.
Her international performances took her to: Argentina (Buenos Aires), Belgium (Brusel, Brugges), Czech Republic (Praha, Brno, Český Krumlov), France (Paris, Lille, Bordeaux, Strasbourg, Montpellier,), Greece (Athens), Holland (Amsterdam, Haag, Leeuwarden, Drachten, Groningen), China (Peking, Xian), Croatia (Split), Japan (Tokyo), Hungary (Budapest, Miskolc, Sopron), Germany (Berlin, Düsseldorf, Munich, Koln, Leipzig, Frankfurt, Bamberg, Halle, Fürth, Regensburg), Portugal (Lisbon), Austria (Vienna, Bregenz, Salzburg, Linz, Graz, Krems, Lilienfeldt), Spain (Cuenca), Switzerland (Bern, Geneva, Zurich, Lausanne, Basel), Italy (Roma, Milano, Napoli, Bologna, Firenze, Trieste, Cagliari, Catania, Brescia, Arona), Turkey (Istanbul) etc.
She has recorded several CDs:
Famous arias – under the baton of Rastislav Štúr with the Slovak Philharmonic
Lullabies – a chamber arrangement of famous lullabies
Euryanthe - by Weber under the baton of G. Korsten