Hana Blaziková

The career of the soprano Hana Blažíková has developed through a path defined by focus, restraint, and a deep connection to early music and music of her native Czech Republic, a path that prizes historical awareness and musical integrity over broader mainstream visibility. What distinguishes Blažíková's artistry is her commitment to clarity and balance. Her singing avoids excess, favoring instead a quiet intensity that allows the music to speak with directness and authenticity. Active internationally since the early 2000s, she has appeared as a soloist with leading ensembles and conductors in early music, performing regularly across Europe, North America, and Asia both in concert and on recordings. Born in Prague in 1980, Blažíková studied voice at the Prague Conservatory, graduating in 2002, while also exploring musicology and philosophy at Charles University. This combination of performance and academic study would later inform her thoughtful and historically grounded approach to interpretation. Rather than pursuing a conventional operatic trajectory, Blažíková gradually oriented her work toward medieval, Renaissance, and Baroque repertoire. Although she performed roles such as Susanna in Le nozze di Figaro and Zerlina in Don Giovanni, her artistic direction became increasingly centered on sacred and early vocal music, where her clarity of tone and precision of expression found their strongest resonance. Blažíková's artistic development came through her work with leading historically informed ensembles such as Collegium Vocale Gent under Philippe Herreweghe and Collegium 1704 under Václav Luks. Her long-standing collaboration with Bach Collegium Japan under Masaaki Suzuki positioned her within the renowned BIS series J.S. Bach: Complete Cantatas, one of the most ambitious and widely respected recording projects dedicated to Bach's sacred music, valued for its stylistic clarity and interpretative consistency. Within this series, she appears both as a soloist and ensemble singer in multiple volumes later in the cycle, including Vol. 52 (2012) featuring Wachet auf, ruft uns die Stimme, BWV 140, and Vol. 53 (2015). She also contributed to major works closely associated with the project, such as the Mass in B minor (2013) and the St John Passion (2020). Alongside these larger works, Blažíková has also built a reputation for more intimate recordings. Her album of German Baroque cantatas (2010) with the ensemble CordArte demonstrates her nuanced approach to smaller-scale repertoire. She has also explored repertoire connected to her cultural roots. A Lily Among Thorns: Czech Marian Music (Supraphon, 2022), recorded with Collegium Marianum, was inspired by 17th century Marian music by Adam Václav Michna. Beyond her work as a soprano, Blažíková is also an accomplished harpist, as heard on Hildegard von Bingen: Ego Sum Homo (2017). She often accompanies herself or others in medieval music and performs with ensembles such as Tiburtina Ensemble. This dual role deepens her connection to the repertoire she performs. In 2026, she was the featured soloist on Vivaldi in Prague pairing the Italian's music with contemporary Czech music. ~ Prince Iwundu, Rovi