Ivo Žídek

Ivo Žídek was born on 4 June 1926 in Kravaře, Czechoslovakia. He was descended from a long family line of music teachers and cantors. His father, Libor Žídek, was also an actor and a singer. As a youth, he was schooled in Ostrava where he studied painting because the local music schools had been closed under the Nazi occupation. However, he studied voice privately with Rudolf Vašek (at first, as a baritone) and studied music theory with Josef Schreiber. He was invited by conductor Zdeněk Chalabala to sing with the opera company in Ostrava, making his debut in the title role of Jules Massenet's Werther" in 1944. He continued singing in Ostrava until 1948.

Žídek was a welcome guest in foreign opera houses beginning early in his career. He sang at the Vienna State Opera from 1956 to 1971 and at the Deutsche Staatsoper in Berlin from 1954 to 1968. In addition, he appeared in other European opera houses, in South America and at the Wexford opera festival in Ireland.

During the Prague National Theatre's two residencies at the Edinburgh Festival in 1964 and 1970, the company mounted several acclaimed productions of Czech operas when Žídek and fellow company members Beno Blachut and Helena Tattermuschová were at the height of their powers. In 1964, he appeared as the Prince in Rusalka and Skuratov in the original version of From the House of the Dead; the latter production was recorded on Supraphon the following year under the direction of Bohumil Gregor. In 1970, he was Dalibor in Smetana's opera and again sang Jeník as well as roles in The Makropulos Case and The Excursions of Mr Brouček.

During the 1960s and early 1970s, Žídek and the Prague National Theatre recorded the entire catalogue of Janáček operas on the Supraphon label.