Having seen soprano Jana Šrejma Kačirková’s splendid performance as Ellen Orford in “Peter Grimes” at the Brno Opera, OperaWire took the opportunity to find out more about her with a short, light-hearted interview.

In November, she will be performing as Rusalka in this year’s Brno Janacek festival, which OperaWire shall also be covering.

OperaWire: What is the next opera you will sing in? 

Jana Šrejma Kačirková: Smetana’s “Dalibor” in Brno.

OW: What was the first opera in which you performed?

JSK: I sang in “La Boheme” and “Polish Blood” when I was a child. I was 12 at the time.

OW: At what age did you know that you wanted to become an opera singer?

JSK: I didn’t want to become an opera singer; I wanted to be a pop singer. However, my mother told me to learn how to sing first, and then choose what to sing. And it was my teacher, the famous opera singer, Libuse Dominska, who convinced me to sing opera. She was a role model for me, and I wanted to do it for her.

OW: What was the first opera in which you sang a major role?

JSK: It was Susanna in “Le Nozze di Figaro.”

OW: If you were having a dinner party and you could choose three guests, one of whom had to have a connection with opera, who would they be?

JSK: Anna Netrebko, the director David Radok and my daughter Anna.

OW: What is your favorite piece of non-classical music?

JSK: “Les Misérables”

OW: If you weren’t an opera singer, what career would you like to follow?

JSK: Anything in which I can meet people. Maybe I would be a translator.

OW: If you were a radio talkshow host, who would you most like to interview?

JSK: My grandfather. He died 15 years ago, but it was like he left yesterday. He had a big personality and had a big effect on me.

OW: What city in the world would you most like to visit? 

JSK: Paris. I have never been.

OW: What is your favorite food?

JSK: I love eating. I can eat anything. I love Chinese food.

OW: What is your favorite holiday destination?

JSK: Cape Verde. It is like paradise. It is a calm place with a tropical climate.

OW: Who is your favorite painter?

JSK: Monet

OW: What book are you reading at the moment?

JSK: I am reading a detective novel by Tess Gerritson called “Instinct.”

OW: You are singing Rusalka at the Brno Janacek Festival this November. The director will be David Radok. What is it like to work with him?

JSK: He is a genius. I love working with him. Every minute of working with him is great. He loves the singers’ ideas; he loves directing; he is very precise and wants everyone to be involved in the production. He wants energy on the stage, and he wants everyone to feel important. Everybody who works for him wants to do the right thing for him and to make him happy.