Jan Berlík
24 May 1892 Tábor – 27 December 1972 Prague
Berlík as Cavaradossi
Born Jan Brdlík, he was the son of a wealthy miller who was a patron of several musicians. Jan studied agricultural
engineering in Brno and obtained a diploma in 1923; only after that, he studied voice in Prague
with Moritz Wallerstein, Carl Emerich and Egon Fuchs. He started his career in December
1924 in concert (Mahler's Lieder eines fahrenden Gesellen in Prague with the Czech Philharmonic Orchestra), but was
to sing primarily opera: in Brno (where he made his debut as Alfredo) and Bratislava (1925), at the National Theater in Prague
(1926), in Hamburg (1927–30), and again at the National Theater Prague, from 1931 to 1940. Guest appearances in Zagreb,
Berlin (Staatsoper), Amsterdam, Warsaw and in the Czechoslovak provinces. Because of health issues, he left the
operatic stage early, but continued to sing in public until 1957.
From 1951 to 1959, he taught voice at the Prague conservatory, and was quite successful: among his pupils were tenors Miroslav
Frydlewicz, Viktor Koči and Jiří Olejniček as well as
bass-baritone Antonín Švorc and basso Jan Kyzlink.
Berlík's most important roles were Jeník, Don José, Alfredo, Don Carlo, Rodolfo or
Cavaradossi. In the Hamburg world premiere of Das Wunder der Heliane by Erich Wolfgang Korngold (7 October 1927), he
sang the Young man.
Picture source and reference
In RA format
Discography
Parlophon/Odeon, Berlin, 13 October 1927
2-20407 Tosca: Wie sich die Bilder gleichen unpublished
2-20407-2 Tosca: Wie sich die Bilder gleichen O-6590
(=xxB7891)
2-20408 Tosca: Und es blitzten die Sterne O-6590
(=xxB7892)
2-20409 Bohème: Wie eiskalt ist dies Händchen P-9198
2-20410 Pagliacci: Jetzt spielen P-9198
34330 Rigoletto: Freundlich blick' ich B11005, B12202
34331 Rigoletto: O wie so trügerisch B11005, B12202
Reference for the discography: Gesellschaft für historische Tonträger, Wien
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