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JIŘÍ ROŽEŇ

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"STILL, THE REAL STAR OF THE EVENING WAS IN THE PIT."
BACHTRACK

01 | BIOGRAPHY

Jiří Rožeň, Artistic Curator of the OPERA NOVA FESTIVAL, National Theatre Prague, is quickly becoming known for his thoughtful programming and knowledge of a broad range of repertoire. As passionate and knowledgeable advocate of Czech music, he is expanding audiences with his unique interpretations of well-known works and those of lesser-known contemporary composers, including Bohuslav Martinů, Josef Suk, Viktor Kalabis and Miloslav Kabeláč. In the 2023/24 season Rožeň makes his house debut with Bergen National Opera for a new production of Janáček’s Katya Kabanova and returns to Gothenburg Opera for a gala concert on the occasion of the bicentenary of Smetana’s birth which follows the success of Bartered Bride there last season. Elsewhere, in the Nordics he returns to Finland to make his orchestral debut with Jyväskylä Sinfonia. Early next year he will conduct Scottish Chamber Orchestra in New Year’s concerts with and will make returns to the Slovak Philharmonic, Filharmonie Hradec Králové and Slovak Sinfonietta. Rožeň continues to develop his relationship with Prague State Opera where he returns this season to conduct the Czech premiere of Ligeti’s Le Grand Macabre and to curate the Opera Nova festival, of which he is Artistic Director, further cementing his reputation as one of the leading conductors of avant-garde opera. For the house in previous seasons, he has conducted Flammen, Seven Deadly Sins, Erwartung and Rusalka and in summer 2022, he premiered Nono’s Prometeo in the Czech Republic, continuing his close working relationship with the Ostrava Centre for New Music. Last season he made important debuts with orchestras in North America joining Seattle Symphony, Utah Symphony and Naples Philharmonic. Elsewhere, highlights in previous seasons have included successful debuts with Danish Radio Symphony Orchestra, BBC Symphony Orchestra, Royal Philharomnic Orchestra, Royal Scottish National Orchestra, Stavanger Symphony Orchestra, Royal Liverpool Philharmonic, Aalborg Symphony, Hallé, Orchestre National de Metz MDR Leipzig, Bochumer Symphoniker and Orquesta Sinfónica de las Islas Baleares. In Belgium, he has conducted many of the major orchestras, including Orchestre national de Belgique, Brussels Philharmonic, Flanders and Antwerp Symphony orchestras as well as Orchestre Philharmonique Royal de Liège. Soloist collaborations in previous seasons have included renowned soloists such as Nobuyuki Tsuji, Randall Goosby, Alban Gerhardt, Lukáš Vondráček, Esther Yoo, Kian Soltani, Josef Špaček, Francesca Dego, Arabella Steinbacher, Jan Mráček, Pavel Šporcl, Kirill Gerstein, Vadim Gluzman and Lawrence Brownlee. Born in Prague in 1991, Rožeň studied conducting at conservatoires and universities in Prague, Salzburg, Hamburg, Zürich and Glasgow where he was Leverhulme Conducting Fellow. He was successful in Salzburg and London as the Finalist of both the Nestlé and Salzburg Festival Young Conductors Award and the Donatella Flick LSO Conducting Competition. Formerly Assistant Conductor at the BBC Scottish Symphony Orchestra, Jiří worked alongside Donald Runnicles and Thomas Dausgaard and assisted them at the BBC Proms and the Edinburgh International Festival. His mentors have included Garry Walker, Dennis Russell Davies, Ulrich Windfuhr and Johannes Schlaefli. Other important influences include Bernard Haitink, David Zinman and Peter Eötvös in masterclasses with orchestras such as the Concertgebouworkest, Orchestre Philharmonique de Radio France and Tonhalle-Orchester Zürich. HarrisonParrott represents Jiří Rožeň for worldwide general management.

02 | NEWS

Following his successful debut with Gothenburg Opera last season, Jiří Rožeň returns to Scandinavia, making his house debut with Bergen National Opera for a new production of Janáček’s Katya Kabanova. As his reputation of presenting unique interpretations of Czech music continues to grow, Rožeň teams up with Barbora Horáková Joly to present Janáček’s shocking but exultant work, which is based on Alexander Ostrovsky’s drama The Storm. Audience members have multiple opportunities to see the opera on 4, 6, 8 and 10 November. The production also sees HarrisonParrott Tenor James Ley debut in the role of Kudrjas and Katarina Dalayman reprising her Kabanicha – a role she has performed at Glyndebourne Festival Opera, with the Netherlands Radio Philharmonic Orchestra as part of NTR ZaterdagMatinee series and most recently with the London Symphony Orchestra.

Jiří Rožeň returns to Scotland, conducting Scottish Chamber Orchestra in four concerts of classic New Year’s repertoire; first on 1 January in Edinburgh, then in Aberdeen on 3 January, moving on to Perth on 4 January and finishing the tour in Ayr on 5 January. Adding to a programme of traditional pieces, including Strauss Jr.’s The Blue Danube and Dvořák’s Slavonic Dances, the orchestra plays songs by Lehár, Strauss Jr. and Zeller featuring soprano Jennifer France.

Jiří Rožeň joins the Gala concert celebrating the 200th anniversary of Bedřich Smetana with several Czech and Slovak musicians, including HP conductor Tomáš Netopil on 2 March at The National Theatre in Prague. The concert is one of a number of events that Jiri conducts across the year, shining a light on the work of Smetana.

03 | UPCOMING

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04/04/2024 | 19:30 Interlaken, Switzerland INTERLAKEN CLASSICS Beethoven Romance No. 1 G major, op. 40 Violin: Youlan Lin Beethoven Piano Concerto No. 5 Piano: Nobuyuki Tsuji 12/04/2024 | 15:30 London, United Kingdom BBC SYMPHONY ORCHESTRA Smetana Vyšehrad Mozart Piano Concerto No. 25, KV 503 Smetana Vltava Janáček Suite from opera Káťa Kabanová 05/05/2024 | 19:30 Gothenburg, Sweden GOTHENBURG OPERA HOUSE SMETANA 200 Smetana Overture to the Two Widows, selection from the opera Selection from the opera The Brandenburgers in Bohemia Hakon Jarl My Country: Vyšehrad, Vltava, Šárka Soloists: Sofie Asplund, Karin Fjellander, Carolina Sandgren, Ann-Kristin Jones, Joachim Böckström 14/06/2024 | 19:00 16/06/2024 | 19:00 22/06/2024 | 19:00 27/06/2024 | 19:00 Prague, Czech Republic STATE OPERA PRAGUE Ligeti Le Grande Macabre Stage Director: Nigel Lowery 24/06/2024 | 19:30 Chateau Náměšť nad Oslavou CONCENTUS MORAVIAE Work by Smetana, Dvořák and Mahler Victoria Khoroshunova - soprano Pavel Voráček, Jiří Rožeň - piano

Image by Tucker Monticelli
Image by Jonas Jacobsson

04 | VIDEOS

05 | REVIEWS

“Throughout, Rožeň — a rare left-handed conductor — led the orchestra in warm, thoughtfully shaped support. While he generally favored a big and bold sound, he also brought out the work’s lyricism, especially in the slow movement. His transition from the first to the second movement was particularly magical.” UTAH ARTS REVIEW, MARCH 2023 “Rožeň is a fantastically energetic and passionate conductor whose relationship with the orchestra and the repertoire makes it clear that the program is very special to him.” FRONT ROW REVIEWERS, MARCH 2023 ‘Prague born Rožeň prospered conducting the Hallé in a sterling performance of Dvořák’s Seventh Symphony, energised with this work by a fellow Czech…Under Rožeň the players excelled, with successful emphasis on the striking contrasts of this glorious score, evoking dark depths of anguish to unwavering rebelliousness to warm and brightly lit pastoral landscapes.’ (MICHAEL COOKSON, SEEN AND HEARD, MARCH 2022) “Still, the real star of the evening was in the pit. Just 30, Jiří Rožeň is a major emerging talent who was born in Prague but has spent most of his career abroad, conducting orchestras throughout Europe and developing a particular expertise in modern opera. He drove Todsünden with expert pacing, smart support for the singers and dance rhythms that crackled with energy. Erwartung was even better. Working with an orchestra and instrumentation reduced by pandemic restrictions, Rožeň spun out a sophisticated atonal score, striking in its clarity and precision.” (4*, FRANK KUZNIK, BACHTRACK, NOVEMBER 2021)

06 | MANAGEMENT

HARRISON PARROTT

South Wing, Somerset House

The Strand

London, WC2R 1LA

United Kingdom

JANE BROWN

Director

jane.brown@harrisonparrott.co.uk

+44 (0)20 3725 9129

CAMILLA WALT

Artist Manager

camilla.walt@harrisonparrott.co.uk

+44 7780481288

LAURA KJÆRGAARD-GRIER

Artist Coordinator

laura.kjaergaard-grier@harrisonparrott.co.uk

 +44 (0)7966 194 843 

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