Reviews

Critic’s Choice in Opera News: November 2019, Paula Mlyn, New York City

“Soprano Martina Jankova, a member of the Zurich Opera’s roster for two decades and a frequent presence at the Salzburg festival, frequently sings Mozart roles.
Her lyric instrument retains its fresh, appealing quality, and she can inflect words and musical phrases with keen, expressive definition.”

Opernwelt, July 2019-07-12, Gerhard Persché

CD of the month

The song cycles which originated in the American exile form the core of this splendid program. In it the Soprano Martina Janková and her Baritone colleague Tomás Král as well as Pianist Ivo Kahánek virtually rehabilitate the “Liedmeister” Martinu. The three artists transport the total of 52 songs of the album in exemplary unemotional and simple manner; The tone of voice always remains light, fresh, playful, as also in love’s joy and love’s grief, without bold exclamation marks and exaggerated pathos of meaning. An exemplary interpretation by these commendable advocates of the vocal art of intimacy of Bohuslav Martinu.

NZZ am Sonntag; July 2019-07-07, Christian Berzins

For 14 years the Swiss-Czech soprano Martina Janková (*1972) was a member of the ensemble of the Zurich Opera House. Not the first time she remembers her homeland singing, this time together with the baritone Tomás Král (*1983). By taking on 52 (!) songs by Bohuslav Martinu (1890-1959), the two also make the connection to Switzerland, where Martinu lived and died in exile. In the songs written in 1920 and 1942/43/44 (already in the USA) a lot of folk music can be heard, their basic tone being charming-melancholic. Both Janková and Král grieve, rejoice and suffer as they sing in a way that produces joy.

Gramophone, May 2019, Tim Ashley

Though Martinů probably intended each set to be sung by a single performer, Martina Janková and Tomáš Král divide the songs between them, depending on the sex of the protagonist, turning dialogues into duets when necessary, and Janková's clear, silvery soprano offsets Král's light, warm baritone throughout. Nothing is over-dramatised or tipped towards sentimentality, though Janková can often be extraordinarily poignant – the grieving 'My mother, my mother', which opens New Slovak Songs, really gets under your skin – while Král is amorous and witty, engaging and soulful by turns. Pianist Ivo Kahánek, meanwhile, binds the songs together with playing of understated dexterity and emotional restraint. It's a lovely disc, most beautifully done.

whole review

Das Opernglas 4, J.Gahre:

Martina Jankova sings these songs with a profound understanding for everything that is connected with the grief and desire of love. Her agile and wonderfully velvety soprano bestows intimacy and truthfulness upon the songs.

Diapason d'Or, März 2019, Nicolas Derny:

Martina Jankovas vital timbre and vocal maturity unfold like never before. (...) The songs are interpreted with consistent sensitivity and luminous intelligence - a feast of colours and accents.

Klasikaplus, June 2nd 2019, Petr Veber

"Every one of Martina Jankova’s return to the Czech Republic is a joy to the audience. She spreads a peaceful, luminous atmosphere, and her voice is a blessing...
Martina Jankova gave the songs diction and great expression, beautiful liveliness and truthfulness without exaggerating.
Barbara Maria Willi enriched the sparkling waves of the inconspicuous figuration with enormous breadth of shades, runs and chords, free and yet disciplined, spontaneous and stylistically confident...
Martina Jankova can give her voice a humorous note, her voice narrates. She enlivens every note with a suitable gesture and mimic..."

Opera Plus, June 4th 2019, Helena Havlikova

Martina Jankova had her recital for the fifth time at the Prague Spring Festival.
Rightly so. Since the end of the 90's, she has been among the prominent sopranos for Mozart and the Baroque era....
Jankova always manages to appear in interesting projects that are in harmony with her human and artistic personality.
Her excellent linguistic knowledge allows her to declaim precisely in Italian, German or English and to tell the content so colorfully.
She has performed songs full of love poetry with a fresh, balanced voice and a wide range of atmospheric nuances - funny, bold, cheeky, dramatic, angry, gloomy or sad. Always without exaggerating.

Bachtrack , Sam Jacobson, 18 Mai 2019

Tenors werner Güra and Mathew Plenk, joined by soprano Martina Jankova, took the spotlight here with their voices blending beautifully.
Mezzosoprano Tamara Mumford and bass-baritone Dashon Burton combined forces with Jankova and Güra in the Benedictus, the intimacy of this equally-matched quartet contrasted by the grandiosity of chorus and orchestra...
...gentle lyricism of Dona nobis pacem, aided by solo quartet...

The Plain Dealer, Zachary Lewis, May 17, 2019

The soloist were no less heavenly.
If the performance has been knocking at the pearly gates, the five guest vocalist pushed it the rest of the way through.
Tenors Werner Güra and Matthew Plenk sounded one and sublime same, so thorough was their blend, and bass-baritone dashon Burton was a subtle but potent force.
Likewise, soprano Martina Jankova and mezzo-soprano Tamara mumford dovetailed beautifully, together forging a vein of musical gold.

Radio Klassik, Marion Eigl, Januar 2019

Wunderschöne Stimme mit Ausdruckskraft.

ORF.at, Gerhard Heidegger, Januar 2019

Von Martina Janková bis zum Arnold Schönberg Chor leisteten die Sängerinnen und Sänger Grossartiges.

Online Merker, 18.1. 2019, Wien

Martina Janková’s drolliger, oft unverschämter Charme bewährt sich in allen Rollen.

Kurier, 18.1.2019, Wien

Die Darsteller...sowie Sänger agieren eindrucksvoll.
Martina Janková und Robin Johannsen führen das Ensemble an…

Süddeutsche Zeitung 15./16.2.2018, Michael Stallknecht

The lightning-fast flexibility of her singing, as well as the powerfull resonance of her high notes, give her Vixen a clear and brilliant profile.

Oktober 2017, Jean-Philippe Grosperrin

Is it suprising how easily Martina Jankova moves about in this many-facetted musical atmosphere, how she manages to unite smiles with sorrow?
It is a blessing,l this soprano voiceof Czech provenance, combining the claasic MOzart tradition with crystalline and yet fruity clarity, masterful in its use of dynamic subtlety.