Singer Helena Vondráčková is a staple of the Czech musical scene and has been at the very top for sixty years now. Music is her life and her concerts are always sold out. She is also content in her private life thanks to a happy marriage to Martin Michal, who is also her manager.
You recently performed at the Czech Nightingale 2023 award ceremony in incredible vocal and physical condition, and you looked amazing to boot. How did you feel about the event?
After a roughly fifteen-year hiatus, I was very much looking forward to performing at the Czech Nightingale, but I also felt a great responsibility to put on a perfect performance, so I was extremely nervous as well. I was happy to see my colleagues watching my performance with interest, and all the wonderful reactions I got during the banquet were really heartwarming. All sorts of media outlets praised me the next day as well, so I see the performance as a big personal success and I'm very happy about that. I feel that the choice of wardrobe, which I had specially tailored for this event, was a good fit too.
The suit was absolutely stunning. Who's your stylist?
Thank you. I received plenty of wonderful reactions to the suit. It was a design by my long-term friend, fashion designer Tatiana Kováříková, whom I've been working with for many years now. Her designs are always creative and timeless.
With the help of Leoš Mareš at the award ceremony, you launched the ticket sales for your concert in the O2 Arena called HELENA VONDRÁČKOVÁ 77, which is set to take place on June 24, 2024. How did you feel about the tickets being nearly sold out in the span of a single hour?
Being given the opportunity to launch the pre-sales for my O2 Arena concert during the ceremony was truly incredible. When I found out after about fifty-five minutes that the tickets were nearly sold out, I couldn't believe it. I'm very much looking forward to the concert, and I believe that we'll put on an incredible show for the fans. So far, I know that I'll be accompanied by my extended group Charlie Band, and a symphony orchestra. And, seeing as I'll be celebrating my 77th birthday on the day of the concert, one of the guest performances will be a step-dancing ensemble of seventy-seven dancers led by step-dancing world champion Tomáš Slavíček. We are currently planning the particulars of the entire concert. It's my second O2 Arena performance; the first one happened before Covid in 2018, so I have a good enough idea of what I'm getting into. I see it as another challenge.
What's it like being on top for sixty years? Have you had difficult times in your career as well?
I can't say that I've experienced any difficult times, but either way, I feel that those incredible sixty years on the scene have just flown by. Looking back, I must say it was a successful ride. It's nice to learn that my fans and supporters haven't left me throughout the years but rather that their numbers are growing.
Performing at the Czech Nightingale 2023
Do you have a lot of friends in show business? It is a rather competitive environment...
It would be a long list of names if I were to count all my friends from show business. I'm very happy that a lot of them have become my true friends and that we meet not only in person but also at various social gatherings, that we feel good together and we always have things to talk about.
You're still in great shape and you look incredible too. How do you take care of your voice, fitness, appearance, figure?
I keep fit by staying active constantly, be it the stairs in our multi-story house in Řitka or sports. I play tennis, in the summer I swim and work out regularly. I also train my voice because vocal cords are a muscle; I need to keep them moving consistently. I practice my singing before each concert and I train my voice when I have some free time while playing the piano as well. What's more, a ninety-minute concert where I'm constantly moving and step-dancing makes up for a week in the gym. I also regularly go for walks with our two-and-a-half-year-old shepherd Jessie. I do training exercises with her and I'm teaching her to swim, but she's not doing that great so far.
I assume that your happy marriage to Martin Michal also plays a role in your overall fitness. What is your husband like?
An Aries. That should be enough of a description. [laughs] I do indeed have a wonderful, happy marriage, we have a lot in common. Martin is an incredibly inventive and practical person; he can deal with anything and he's extremely quick at getting his bearings in any sort of life situation. He is very adaptable and is also currently my manager, and the MM Prague Agency, which we own together, works very well with the contribution of our other team members. Recently, he's also been appearing in our new kitchen more and more, and I have to say that his cooking is amazing, which saves me a lot of time. An added bonus is that he never forgets any of our anniversaries and always comes up with a practical gift, such as an automatic lawn mower, leaf collector, or a slow cooker. He is also keen on sports as a former football goalkeeper.
With husband Martin Michal
“I no longer want to kick up the dust, I'm not afraid of madmen's lust, I can say today, we'll make it the two of us, the two of us!” goes your song The Two of Us. At a time when the tabloids wouldn't give your husband a moment's rest, you always stood by him. Where did you find the strength to believe it would all pan out?
He just had my full trust and I'm happy that those difficult times are behind us. I believe in the truth; that's enough, isn't it??
Your latest album is called Hardheaded. Are you hardheaded?
Just a little. If I'm sure that I'm right, I always go after my goals diligently. I have no fear and I'm not scared of anything.
Do you know how to yield as well? To forgive?
I can do both, but it depends on the situation, of course.
“Drinking hot tea with a cushion of silence to rest on. Having my pleasant paradise, love, and a house with a garden,” you sing in the song A Cushion of Silence. Is it about your house and the life with your husband in Řitka?
Yes, it's exactly about my house, my life, my romances. Everything I sing, I feel, and it's the truth.
How do you spend your free time?
I like to travel, to meet up with friends, who come visit me at home or at our houseboat; I like hosting them. I enjoy reading interesting books, the last one I read was Milan Kundera's The Unbearable Lightness of Being. I like watching good movies, I recently watched the German TV show Der Palast, which takes place in the famous Friedrichstadt Palast in Berlin during the time when I performed there.
You and your husband are river and houseboat lovers, it's where you essentially live throughout the summer. What does this freedom in nature give you?
Peace, quiet, meetings with friends. That's where I feel truly happy and I can fully relax there. I love kayaking and taking boat trips, where I can admire the wonderful nature, the cliffs all around, and the sunsets.
Concert in Goja Music Hall
CONCERTS AND FESTIVALS
Throughout her career, Helena Vondráčková has performed at numerous festivals and concerts all over the world. “I like remembering the first Intervision Song Contest in Sopot, Poland, where I won the Grand Prix award with the Czech song Malovaný džbánku. I experienced great success in 2000 and 2005 in New York's Carnegie Hall, where I sang side by side with Karel Gott. The 1980s tour in Canada (Montreal, Quebec, Toronto, Ottawa) was also wonderful. The local newspapers wrote that there was a new Barbra Streisand in town, which was very nice. Two of my longest tours happened in 1972 and 1973 in the Soviet Union and later in Japan. Each was a three-month stretch of forty-five concerts.”
CV BOX
Helena Vondráčková (born June 24, 1947, in Prague) is a singer who has been at the top of show business for sixty years.
She kicked off her singing career in 1964 after winning the Singers Wanted competition, her first hit song coming out that same year was called Red River.
She is popular throughout Central and Eastern Europe (primarily Slovakia, Poland, Germany, Russia); however, she has performed essentially all over the world. Up until now, she has recorded roughly 1700 songs in ten different languages and put out 83 solo albums, 21 of which were released by publishing companies abroad. She has sold over 20 million records globally and has received numerous prestigious awards.
She has appeared in eight feature films, including a lead role in The Insanely Sad Princess, performed in nine musicals, voice acted in three movies for children, her songs have appeared in popular movies and TV shows, often sung by the main protagonists.
Vondráčková dedicates a lot of her performances to various charity projects. She is a patron of the Naše dítě (Our Child) Foundation, the Liblín Social Service Center, and an active supporter of the Kapka naděje (Drop of Hope) Foundation.
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