Hana Hegerová
Singer / Cantante
Hana Hegerová was born Carmen María Stefanía Farkasova, on October 20th, 1931. She is a Slovak singer and actress.
She is often referred to as the Queen of Czechoslovak chanson. She gained popularity primarily as a singer of chanson.
Outside her land, Hegerová has attained recognition especially in German – speaking countries. She lives in Prague, Czech Republic.
From 1937 to 1950:
Hegerová attended ballet school at the National Theatre in Bratislava. After completing her primary education in Komarno, she worked as a clerk for Skoda Works and as a teacher at a vocational school.
From 1951 to 1957:
She attended professional theatrical courses at the State Theatre Conservatory; during this time she played the little role in the film FRONA under the name of Hana Celkova and joined the company of the Petr Jiliminiky in Zilina, as well as appearing as a singer in Tatra Revue in Bratislava. After she came to Prague, the foremost Czech actor Jan Werich offered her an engagement in the ABC Theatre, however, she refused.
From 1958 to 1976:
Hegerová performed at the Rokoko Theatre in Prague and also at the Semafor Theatre where she appeared in the jazz opera “A well-paid ride” by Jiri Suchy (libretto) and Jiri Slitr (music) and film “If a Thousand Clarinets”.
Hegerova's repertoire included many chansons by Czech and Slovak authors, and also Czech versions of songs from Edith Piaf’s: “Mylord”, Jaques Brel “Ne me quitte pass” and songs by Kurt Weill: “Surabaya Johnny”, “The Barbara Song” and many others. Hana Hegerová appeared at the Paris Olympia with the songs of Jaques Brel and Charles Aznavour. She also performed at the World´s Fair in Montreal.
From 1977 to 2011:
During the Czechoslovak normalization, Hegerová was forced to stop her activities abroad, and her concert activities were also restricted in Czechoslovakia. Following the Velvet Revolution she began to perform more often in public. During this time she received many music awards, for example, The Platinum Record in 1992 and the Czech Grammy in 1996. In 2002, Hana Hegerová received a Medal of Merit from Czech President Václav Havel.
In August 2011, the national press announced that the diva decided to retire from the music industry, saying for Music Server: “I have decided that I no longer want it. I don´t want to sing, I don´t want to go public. I want to get rid of stress. Simply, Hana Hegerová enterprise is terminated, only Hana Hegerová remains as a private person who finally wants to enjoy peaceful days with her dog. Wish me luck so that there are still lots of them left”.
In December 2014, she was hospitalized with serious heart problems in the General University Hospital.
Javier Escario
English for Fun 4B