Biography

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Prof. M.A. VERA KOVATSCH – VITKAY, sopran

The eminent leading soloist, Prima Donna of the Opera of the Serbian National Theater of Novi Sad, regular Professor of solo singing at the Academy of Arts University of Novi Sad and vocal soloist of the Novi Sad Radio – Television.

Born in Belgrade into the family of Hungarian ethnicity.

Finished secondary music school “Isidor Bajić” in Novi Sad. In 1964 graduated from the Music Academy in Belgrade in the class of Professor Zlata Gjungjenac – Gavella, in 1971 acquired the M.A. degree at the same Academy in the class of Professor Anita Mezetova.

Over the fourteen-year period (1947–1961) she was a member of many cultural artistic societies; she actively particpated in folklore programmes, comedies, operettas as well as plays.

As a vocal soloist since 1951 she regularly participated in public concerts of RTV Novi Sad, interpreting parts from operettas, operas, classical music, solo songs, Hungarian folk and “old citie’s songs″.

In the period between 1955-1961 she worked as a music teacher at the Music School “Petar Konjović” in Bečej, and as of 1992, she continued her pedagogical work as a professor of solo singing at the Academy of Arts in Novi Sad, as a part-time professor of solo singing at the Music Secondary School “Isidor Bajić” in Novi Sad, selflessly passing on her vast experience and knowledge to her students. Her dedicated and professional teaching work was crowned by the success of her students and pupils in national and international competitions. It should be noted that the majority of itsher graduates have acquired the status of opera soloists.

In the period of 1961-1971 she was the Editor of the Division for classical music at the Novi Sad Radio.

ARTISTIC CAREER

Already at the beginning of her career she become very popular by interpreting Hungarian and ”old cities’ songs ” which she sung in Yugoslavia, Hungary, the FR Germany, France, Canada, Moldavia etc., taking part also in many festivals and tours organized by the Yugoslav Association of Artists and Concert Offices. She won the competition of professional singers interpreting Hungarian songs and csardas from Hungary and diasporas in 1998 in Budapest part in the final »Golden voices of Yugoslavia » in Sisak 1978 and a few appearances with the Hungarian State Gipsy Orchestra consisting of one hundred members in Budapest. She recorded for Public Broadcast Service of Belgrade, Budapest, Toronto, Zagreb, Skopje and Novi Sad.

Already at the beginning of her career she become very popular by interpreting Hungarian and ”old cities’ songs ” which she sung in Yugoslavia, Hungary, the FR Germany, France, Canada, Moldavia etc., taking part also in many festivals and tours organized by the Yugoslav Association of Artists and Concert Offices. She won the competition of professional singers interpreting Hungarian songs and csardas from Hungary and diasporas in 1998 in Budapest part in the final »Golden voices of Yugoslavia » in Sisak 1978 and a few appearances with the Hungarian State Gipsy Orchestra consisting of one hundred members in Budapest. She recorded for Public Broadcast Service of Belgrade, Budapest, Toronto, Zagreb, Skopje and Novi Sad.

Ever since from her early days of studies she had developed a very rich activity in appearance on concerts both in Yugoslavia and abroad. She took part in many festivals and on solo – concerts among the others in Žilina, Bratislava and Nitra (ex Czechoslovakia), Opatija, Pula (ex Yugoslavia), BEMUS – Belgrade, NOMUS – Novi Sad as well as in many larger cities of the ex USSR, Arad, Timisoara – Romania, Germany, Switzerland,Sloveniji, Banja Luci – Republika Srpska Austria, Paris, Budapest and others, interpreting compositions of old masters, classical repertoire as well as the contemporary and even avant-garde music.

Beside solo concerts she sung also as a solo singer accompanied by orchestras of chamber music, chamber choirs and symphonic orchestras interpreting Händel, Pergolesi, Haydn, Beethoven, Mozart and Verdi. She is a member of the ˝Trio Novo” Novi Sad. This trio besides the classical music also interprets the music of foreign – and domestic contemporary master pieces.

Her opera debut was in 1964 at the Novi Sad Opera in the role of Nedda of Leoncavallo’s Pagliacci. She became member of the Opera House of the Serbian National Theater of Novi Sad, later she was a regular guest of the Operas of Belgrade and Ljubljana. She appeared on all ex-Yugoslav opera scenes: Zagreb, Sarajevo, Osijek, Skopje, Split, Maribor and Rijeka as well as on domestic – and foreign festivals (Ruse – Bulgaria, Constanta – Romania, The May Opera Evenings – Skopje, BEMUS – Belgrade, the Dubrovnik Summer Festival, Opera Biennale at Osijek, ″Music Festival- Baghdad ˝ Iraq etc.). She had participated on all concerts of ″Leading Yugoslav opera soloists″ including also the artists working abroad. She achieved significant success in many European and Near East countries, like Italy, Russia, Ukraine, Armenia, Romania, Bulgaria, Greece, Hungary, Egypt, Iraq etc. An overall accepted statement is that in Yugoslavia she has been recognized as one of the best interpreters of Puccini and Verdi.

Vera Kovatsch -Vitkay with the elementary power of her ego , creative energy , magic power of her talent , intellectual approach and courage managed to become the leading person of soprano – roles at the Novi Sad Opera ( from lyrical – through young – dramatic to dramatic roles) breaking her way through with her successful creations to the place of most successful Yugoslav artists of international class.

REPERTOIRE – OPERA REPERTOIRE

MUSICAL:

PREŠER & STEVANOVIĆ

1. THE LOFT Grannie Mamoka

ART SONG REPERTOIRE

Songs of composer’s: Bach, Bruči, Britn, Beethoven, Bartók, Baranović, Čajkovskog, De Falje, Dvoržaka, Diparka, Debisija, Erkela, Gluck, Griga, Hubaija, Huske, Hajdna, Hatcea, Ivana Kovač, Jakobi, Kacsók, Konjović, Királj, Kodály, Kadosa, Kálmán, Liszt, Milojević, Mozart, Mendelson, Munić, Obradors, Obradović, Petin, Pergolesi, Perišić, Rossini, R. Strauss, Rahmanjinov, Santalikvido, Slavicki, Schumann, Štatkić, Schubert, Turina, Vukdragović , Zajc and pieces of other Hungarian and Austrian Composers.

CRITICS – EVALUATION OF THE PROFESSION

“Vera Kovatsch – Vitkay ( Desdemona ) displayed a soft liquid fullness of tone as resilient as fine enamel, while her legato middle register was most impressive . Her Desdemona was perfection itself . Surely this gifted singer is destined for stardom ” – Dimitri Bogdanović, Opera Canada, TORONTO, 02 . 09 1982.

“Soprano of Vera Kovatsch – Vitkay , with dramatic power and stability , soft in tembre and steady in the whole range , with the wonderful piano of Puccini’s lyric sensivity , had all those qualities , beside the natural stage talent , marked with the seal of genuine artistic creation” – Mihailo Vukdragović, Politika Ekspres , BEOGRAD, 31. 03. 1978.

“Vera Kovatsch – Vitkay is the ideal Djula with beautiful voice and very warm and suggestive interpretation” – Marija Barbieri – Jelača, Vjesnik, ZAGREB, 26. 11. 1977.

Since 1991 at the same time with her singing career Vera Kovacs-Vitkay has been a full time professor in the Department of Solo Singing at the Academy of Arts in Novi Sad. With great success she has been giving unselfishly her remarkable experience and knowledge to her students.

She is a member of the Association of Musical Artists and the Entertainment Artist’s Association of Yugoslavia, The Association of Independent Composers of Hungarian Folk Songs and Genuine Hungarian Folk Song of Hungary, a member of the Managing Board of the Serbian Theater in Novi Sad, professional boards for taking examinations, juries etc.

Within her indeed rich artistic career VERA KOVATSCH – VITKAY appeared on 835 concerts and over 932 opera performances , of which 40% on the domestic and foreign scenes , for the Novi Sad Radio she recorded 75 hours of program and 45 hours for the TV . She has published 7 gramafonskih plate, 2 and 1 video cassette tape, and a compact – disc with operatic arias and compact – disc with Hungarian folk songs.

STATE HONOURS AND AWARDS

STATE HONOURS – for Her artistic achievements she received State Honours: in 2015. “ HUNGARIAN KNIGHT’S CROSS OF THE ORDER OF MERIT” of President R.Hungary and in 2001. the decoration of “VUK KARADŽIĆ” of President of S.R.Yugoslavia and numerios

AWARDS: – like the Award of the Yugoslav Entertainment Artist’s Association 1978, the 1979 Annual Prize ”Isidor Bajić“, the October Prize of Novi Sad 1981, Award of the Serbian National Theater in 1982 for the best performance of the year (Desdemona – Otello), ”Sparks of Culture” Award 1982, Prize of the Cultural – Educational Community of the Autonomous Province of Vojvodina in 1989 for performing the compositions of Yugoslav composers (as a member of the TRIO NOVO), the ”Jovan Djordjević ”Golden Medal award (theater prize) in 1987, Prize of the Liberation of Vojvodina 1988, Golden Badge of the Cultural – Educational Association of Serbia in 1996, The November Charter of the City of Novi Sad in 1997, Medal with a golden wreath of the Singer’s of Hungarian Folk Songs – Budapest 1998,in 2002 by of the Ministry of Culture of Hungary she was rewarded „PRO CULTURE HUNGARICA«, in 2003 and the reward for her life deed »THE TREE OF LIFE«, in 2004 Golden Bell Popularity for unselfish contribution – embellishment children’s world by Centre for Cultural Animation of Novi Sad, and 2013 Medal of Honor of Novi Sad from the Ecological Movement of Novi Sad.

LEXICOGRAPHY

Music Lexikon „BRUKHAUS – RIMAN“ Budapest 1985.; „NEW REVAI LEXIKON“ Hungary 2006,; Lexikon of „JUGOSLAV MUSIC“ Zagreb 1994.; „OXFORD’S – BOOK“ Beograd.; „WHO IS WHO IN SERBIA“ Beograd 1991 1995, 1996.; „MUSIC MREVIJAR OF VOJVODINA“ Beograd 1972. Ecc.

COOPERATION WITH COLLAQUES

Gena Dimitrova (Bugarska), Radmila Bakočević (Beograd), Magdalena Kononovici (Strasburg), Danica Mastilović (Hamburg, Metropoliten USA), Božana Ruk – Fočić (Zagreb), Milka Stojanović (Beograd), Lamia Šabić (Pariz ), Dunja Vejzović (Zagreb, Nemačke operske kuće – snimanja sa Karajanom), Irina Arhipova (Moskva), Biserka Cvejić (Beograd, Beč Austrija), Đurđevka Čakaravić (Beograd, Napulj), Elena Obrazcova (Moskva, Metropoliten USA), Mirna Pećile (Milano), Ruža Pospiš – Baldanji (Zagreb, Metropoliten USA), Ljiljana Molnar – Talajić (Zagreb), Gaetano Bardini (Rim, Metropoliten), Franko Bonanome (Rim), Krunoslav Cigoj (Zagreb), Emil German (Bukurešt ), Vahan Marikijan (Jerevan), Vlađislav Pjavko (Moskva), Bruno Sebastijan (Rim, Metropoliten), Vladimir Todorov (Sofija), Francisko Vals (Španija), Oktav Enigarescu (Bukurešt), Radovan Ferdinand (Zagreb), Nikola Mitić (Beograd), Živko Prančev (Sofija, Diseldorf), Đerđ Meliš (Budimpešta), Miroslav Čangalović (Beograd), Rudolf Nemet (Novi Sad), ecc.

2016.11.21. Novi Sad