Vladimír Chmelo is a Czech opera singer known for his international career as a baritone and his work in Italian and French operas. Born in Lučenec, Slovakia, in 1963, he studied at the Janáček Academy of Music in Brno and built the core of his repertoire at the National Theatre in the same city.
Key career highlights
International debut: In 1998, Chmelo launched his international career after winning the Ferruccio Tagliavini International Competition in Graz, Austria.
Renowned performer: He has performed in major opera houses throughout Europe, including Hamburg, Essen, and Bonn, as well as on multiple tours in Japan.
Metropolitan Opera: Chmelo has been a regular guest soloist at the Metropolitan Opera in New York. He was the first Czech singer to be featured in a global HD broadcast from the Met for his role as the Gamekeeper in Dvořák's Rusalka.
Vatican performance: As part of the Millenium Project, he sang the title role in Liszt's oratorio Christus during a concert for Pope John Paul II.
Choral and chamber music: In addition to opera, Chmelo has a concert singing career and a wide song repertoire that includes works by German, Czech, and French composers.
Other activities
Awards: In 1998, he won the Thalia Award for Best Performance in Opera.
Teaching and outreach: He is active in music education and is the founder and director of the Czech Vocal Institute. He also serves as the artistic director for the project "Opera for the People".
Voice type: While sometimes mistakenly listed as a tenor, his primary tessitura is baritone.