Hana Kvapilová

Hana Kvapilová (November 29, 1860 — April 8, 1907) was a Czech actress.

Hana Kvapilová (foto Jan Tomáš)
Hana Kvapilova Monument

Early life

Johanna Kubesch (Hana Kubešová) was born in Prague, the daughter of Gustav Kubeš.

Career

Kubešová became a member of the National Theatre in Prague in 1888. She was known for her Shakespearian roles, and for being the first Czech actress to play "Nora" in Ibsen's A Doll's House; she also played the lead in Hedda Gabler, "Masha" in Chekhov's Three Sisters, and "Helen" in her husband's The Will o' the Wisp.[1][2] She was a friend and colleague to Czech composer Leoš Janáček, and Czech writer Alois Jirásek, among many others.[3][4]

She was awarded the Order of St. Sava for her stage work in Belgrade in 1902, and was compared to Italian actress Eleonora Duse: "Her grasp of character and range of expression were such as to have earned her the title of the Czech Duse."[5]

Personal life

Hana Kubešová married writer and director Jaroslav Kvapil in 1894. She died in 1907, from complications related to diabetes; she had performed five days earlier, in Shakespeare's Much Ado About Nothing.[6][7] She was 46 years old. After her death, Jaroslav Kvapil published her memoirs.[1] Her ashes were buried in a park in Prague, and the site was marked with a statue of Kvapilová by Jan Štursa.[8] She was featured on a Czech postage stamp in 1960.[9]

References
  1. Hrbkova, Šárka B. (January 1916). Poet Lore. pp. 79–80.: Jaroslav B. Kvapil
  2. Senelick, Laurence (1997). The Chekhov Theatre: A Century of the Plays in Performance. Cambridge University Press. p. 101. ISBN 9780521783958.
  3. Wingfield, Paul (1999). Janácek Studies. Cambridge University Press. p. 171. ISBN 9780521573573.
  4. Zemanova, Mirka (2002). Janacek: A Composer's Life. UPNE. pp. 71 & 283. ISBN 9781555535490.
  5. Selver, Paul (November 1922). The Czech Drama. Czechoslovak Review. p. 283.
  6. "The Strakonice Bagpiper, 1885", from the Prague National Theatre; Google Arts and Culture.
  7. Robert Saudel, "Hana Kvapilova" Bühne und Welt (1907): 247-248.
  8. Map of the recommended trip through Kinský Garden, Prague City Line, Your Guide Through Prague.
  9. Hana Kvapilová (1866-1907), actress; stamp catalog, Colnect.com.
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