Hana Hegerová (20 October 1931 – 23 March 2021 ) was a Slovak singer and actress. Often referred to as the Queen of Czechoslovak chanson, she gained popularity primarily as a singer of chansons. Outside of Czechoslovakia, Hegerová attained recognition especially in German-speaking countries.

Early life

Hegerová was born Carmen Mária Štefánia Farkašová.

Career

In 1954, Hegerová played the title role in the film Frona under the name Hana Čelková. She made her singing debut in Tatra Revue in Bratislava in 1957. After she came to Prague, the foremost Czech actor Jan Werich offered her an engagement in the ABC Theatre, but she refused. Hegerová performed at the Rokoko Theatre in Prague from 1958 until 2021. From 1961 to 1966 at the Semafor Theater, she appeared in the jazz opera Dobře placená procházka by Jiří Suchý (libretto) and Jiří Šlitr (music), and film Kdyby tisíc klarinetů (If a Thousand Clarinets). Hegerová's repertoire included many chansons by Czech and Slovak authors, and also Czech versions of songs from the repertoire of Édith Piaf ("Mylord"), Jacques Brel ("Ne me quitte pas"), and songs by Kurt Weill ("Surabaya Johnny" and "The Barbara Song") and many others. In 1967, Hana Hegerová appeared at the Paris Olympia. In 2002, Heregová received a Medal of Merit from Czech President Václav Havel. In 2014, she received an Order of Tomáš Garrigue Masaryk from President Miloš Zeman. In August 2011, the national press announced that the diva decided to retire from the music industry, telling MusicServer: "I have decided that I no longer want it. I don't want to sing, I don't want to go public. I want to get rid of stress. Simply, the Hana Hegerová enterprise is terminated, only Hana Hegerová remains as a private person who finally wants to enjoy peaceful days with her dog. Wish me luck so that there are still lots of them left."

Illness and death

In December 2014, Hegerová was hospitalized with serious heart problems in the General University Hospital (Všeobecná fakultní nemocnice) in Prague. She died on 23 March 2021 at 89 years old in Prague Hospital Na Homolce due to complications from a hip fracture.

Discography

Filmography

Awards

Major awards

Music polls

Sources