Dalibor Novotný

1 December 1926 Opava – 30 December 2014

Dalibor Novotný as Don José, 1977

Dalibor Novotný sings Nevěsta messinská: Ó lásko božská, with Věra Soukupová and Václav Zítek

Dalibor Novotný was an aviation engineer, an aviator and an officer. Then from 1959 to 1965, he studied voice at the conservatory in Prague, but made his debut only in 1970 – at age 44. From 1970 to 1972, he sang in Liberec, then in Plzeň until 1975, and for the rest of his career (until 1989) at the Prague National Theater, where he was also deputy opera director from 1980. His most important roles were Jeník, Dalibor, Lukáš (Hubička), Vít (Tajemství), Ladislav (Dvě vdovy), Šťáhlav (Libuše), Prince (Rusalka), Jiří (Jakobín), Jirka (Čert a Káča), Max, Florestan, Gounod's Faust, Erik, Stolzing, Don José, German, Cavaradossi and Calaf.

Novotný's story, with the extremely late debut, is good; the singing, not quite. Only one LP was published of his voice: excerpts from Fibich's Nevěsta messinská/The bride of Messina from a TV production; Novotný can be heard in only one (longer) excerpt on that LP, and only the above final part of that excerpt is interesting, as far as Novotný is concerned. His slow wobble and squeaked high notes don't make me long for more.

Reference 1, reference 2 and picture source