CANTILINGUA
PRODUCTS
In the light of the fact that the uneasy pronunciation of the Czech language often poses difficulties for singers, we decided to create
a series of audio recordings of spoken texts of major Czech operas and Czech songs. The spoken texts of Czech operas are presented in the form of full opera librettos, single roles and separate arias. The audio files of these spoken recordings are available on-line for download.
A spoken text will enable you to concentrate fully on the right Czech pronunciation and catch the right diction more easily when studying a role or a song. The quality of spoken language is ensured by a Czech native speaker who is a professional singer and linguist too, a graduate of the Prague Conservatoire and a private Czech teacher, for more information click here.
If you are interested in professional spoken recordings of Dvořák´s Rusalka, Janacek´s Jenufa, Kata Kabanova, The Makropoulos Case, The Cunning Little Vixen or Smetana´s The Bartered Bride, please, see our offer (bellow). If you are interested in any other pieces in the Czech language according to your wish, do not hesitate to contact us. In case of any other questions or demands regarding our product or ways of improving your Czech pronunciation, we will be glad to help you.
OPERA
LIBRETTOS
Spoken texts of full operas are devided into individual tracks according to the logic of music flow. The texts of all the characters are included and introduced in a way respecting the exact sequence of the texts in the librettos. Names
of particular characters are always mentioned in addition to the text itself to ensure better orientation in the spoken libretto. The texts are spoken in a natural clear way respecting the common rhythm of the Czech language. Apart from audio recordings full opera products are also supplied with a synopsis of the opera concerned and with its libretto.
ROLES
The product Roles comprises complete spoken texts of the major roles from the operas offered on this website. Each role contains purely texts of the respective character without interventions of other characters. The texts are spoken in a natural clear way respecting the common rhythm of the Czech language.
ARIAS, DUETS, EXCERPTS
The product Arias, Duets, Excerpts includes spoken texts of some distinctvive arias, duets
or excerpts from the operas offered on this website. The texts are always spoken in a natural clear way respecting the common rhythm of the Czech language.
Testimonial
"Studying any arias in a foreign language with which you are not familiar always poses a difficulty. In spite of all your vocal qualities your performance will always be missing something if you do not master the pronunciation of the language in which you sing. I am very grateful to these spoken recordings which enabled me to understand more the principles of the Czech language pronunciation on the pieces I studied in an efficient and relatively fast way. So getting nearer to perfection does not always need to be time-consuming and you can manage it on your own."
Agnes Wildehall, soprano