Adam Plachetka has been a hit for years now. His mesmerizing bass-baritone has captured the attention of the whole world.
Plachetka was born on May 4, 1985 in Prague. After graduating Prague conservatory and the HAMU, he launched his career at the National theatre and the State Opera in Prague. One of his first roles at the State Opera was Micha in Prodaná nevěsta by Bedřich Smetana. Plachetka also appeared as Argante in Händel’s Rinaldo in Seoul, South Korea and as Pompeo in Berliozo’s Benvenuto Cellini.
In the season 2007/2008, Plachetka recorded one of the first official versions of the Czech National Anthem.
He sand for Pope Benedict XVI. in the Spanish Hall of the Prague Castle in the season 2009/2010 together with Kateřina Kněžíková, another Czech opera singer and his future wife, and Jakub Hrůša, a Czech conductor of world renomé. and formed part of the State Opera staff until 2010/2011, when he became a soloist of the Vienna State Opera. His interpretation of Don Giovanni made the media notice him and Plachetka became not only a celebrity but also the only soloist to perform all three main characters of DaPonte’s trilogy at the Vienna State Opera (Don Giovanni, Figaro and Guglielmo). In the same season, he made his debut at the Royal Opera House.
In 2012/2013, Adam Plachetka performed with the Scottish Chamber Orchestra and in 2013/14, he made his debut at the Teatro alla Scala in Milano.
In the season 2014/2015, Plachetka met again with the conductor Jakub Hrůša to perform Kytice by Bohuslav Martinů in Japan together with the Tokyo Metropolitan Orchestra. He made his debut in the Slovak National Theatre and continued singing in Vienna.He attended several Czech events, such as Smetanova Litomyšl and performed in London’s Wigmore Hall.
February of 2015 was Plachetka’s first time at the Metropolitan Opera in New York where he returned in 2016 and also in the season 2017/2018.
In 2019/2020, he continued performing in Vienna, Chicago and Prague. Adam Plachetka continues performing mainly in Vienna but he says he likes coming back to Prague. He and his wife, the Czech soprano Kateřina Kněžíková have a cottage near Znojmo, where they like to spend their free time with their two daughters.
Photo by: David Sedlecký – Vlastní dílo, CC BY-SA 4.0, https://commons.wikimedia.org/w/index.php?curid=111558246
