Lada Valešová

Lada Valešová’s debut CD of Czech piano music, 'Intimate Studies', followed by her second album, 'Dumka' on the label Avie Records have received universal international critical acclaim.

These were followed by 'Fata Morgana: Song by Pavel Haas' in 2017 on Resonus Classics, which was nomined for the BBC Music Magazine Award in the Vocal and Choral Category and won the title 'Europadisc Album of the Year'. The album offers an in-depth exploration of vocal chamber music by Czech Jewish composer Pavel Haas. Masterminded by Valešová and featuring an impressive line-up of singers including Nicky Spence and the award-winning Navarra String Quartet, the album has gained exalted reviews and praise for its concept, and for containing a bench-mark world premiere recording of the unique chamber piece Fata Morgana.

The year 2020 saw the release of the album 'Arion: Voyage of a Slavic Soul' with soprano Natalya Romaniw in her recording debut. The disc in which the duo explores the wealth of the Czech and Russian song repertoire received glowing reviews and was named one of the Sundays Times 'Best Classical Recordings of the Year'.

Acclaimed for her work as music director and pianist in Ivo van Hove’s production of Janáček’s Diary of One Who Disappeared (2018), Lada has toured the production internationally in festivals including Beijing International Music Festival and Janáček Festival Brno. Venues include, among others, the Royal Opera House's Lindbury Studio, the Brooklyn Academy of Music New York, Muziekgebouw Amsterdam, Kaaitheater Brussels, Antwerp Opera House, Teatro dell’Opera di Roma and Opera de Lyon.

British/Czech Lada Valešová graduated from the Prague Conservatoire and Prague Music Academy, followed by the Guildhall School of Music and Drama, where she is now a professor. For the last couple of decades, she has been introducing young singers to the Russian and Czech Vocal repertoire in her popular class projects. She is also an Opera Role Coach at the Royal Academy of Music. Lada is in great demand by the international opera companies as an expert on Russian and Czech operatic repertoire. Her most recent engagement in October 2020 included a new production of Rusalka at the Teatro Real Madrid conducted by Ivor Bolton and directed by Christof Loy.

Working on the operatic productions in close cooperation with singers and conductors lead to her interest in conducting. Her conducting training began after years of working closely in opera and participating in masterclasses in London and Moscow, and has been overseen and supported by Sian Edwards, whom she assisted on the critically acclaimed production of Tchaikovsky’s Iolanta at Opera Holland Park. The production was nominated for 'Best Production' in the 2020 International Opera Awards. Lada is scheduled to make her conducting debut in the summer 2021 in a production of Onegin for the Opera West Green House directed by John Ramster.