Gabriela Beňačková

Gabriela Beňačková (also Gabriela Beňačková-Čápová: born March 25, 1947) is a Slovak lyric soprano.

She specializes in the music of her compatriots, particularly Eugen Suchoň, as well as Czech composers, notably Bedřich Smetana and Leoš Janáček. She is considered to be one of the greatest 'Jenůfa's' in Janáček's opera of the same name. Her Carnegie Hall performance (and subsequent Metropolitan Opera run with Leonie Rysanek) is considered to be legendary.

In 1981 Czech television starred Ms Beňačková in a definitive version of Prodaná Nevěsta (The Bartered Bride), which has since become a popular DVD recording available in an all-regions format(2006). That recording teamed her with the heroic tenor (fellow Slovak) Peter Dvorský, and with bass Richard Novák and other popular singers. She completed her farewell recital tour in 2008.

She has made a number of recordings, and has appeared in several filmed operas on DVD, as well as the feature film The Divine Emma, where she supplied the singing voice of the famous Czech soprano Emmy Destinn. Her voice can also be heard in the movie Driving Miss Daisy singing title role "Rusalka" by Dvořák, and in Copycat singing Puccini's aria Vissi d'arte from the opera Tosca.

She has appeared as Fidelio/Leonore in the Royal Opera House production of Fidelio (1991). In 2012, she sang the difficult role of the Comtesse de la Roche, in Die Soldaten, at the Salzburg Festival, a production now on DVD.

She has made a beautiful recording in the title role Rusalka by Dvořák. The conductor was Václav Neumann.

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