Biography
The baritone Richard Šveda studied opera singing at the State Conservatory in Bratislava with František Livora and at the Universität für Musik und darstellende Kunst in Graz. He attended international voice master classes given by Peter Dvorský, Deborah Polaski, Franz Grundheber, David Syrus, Zlatica and Dagmar Livorová. He has garnered numerous accolades at international competitions (the Antonín Dvořák International Voice Competition in Karlovy Vary, Mikuláš Schneider-Trnavský Competition in Trnava, Francisco Viñas Competition in Barcelona, Hans Gabor Belvedere Competition in Vienna, Emmerich Smola Förderpreis in Baden-Baden). The core of his repertoire includes the Mozart roles of Don Giovanni, Count Almaviva (Le nozze di Figaro), Papageno (Die Zauberflöte) and Guglielmo (Così fan tutte). In September 2008, at the age of 22, he debuted at the State Opera Prague as Papageno and in October of the same year appeared as a guest at the State Opera in Košice as Sharpless (Madama Butterfly), the next year as Onegin. In 2009 he first performed in Vienna, singing Papageno at the Volksoper. He has appeared at leading German opera houses (Dortmund, Essen, the Semperoper in Dresden) and since the 2010/11 season has been a permanent member of the Deutsche Oper am Rhein (Düsseldorf/Duisburg), where he has portrayed to great acclaim numerous classic roles (Don Giovanni, Count Almaviva, Papageno, Escamillo in Carmen, Schaunard in La bohème) and performed in works by contemporary composers (Anno Schreier: Mörder Kaspar Brand, Hans Werner Henze: Phaedra). At the beginning of the 2014/15 season, Richard Šveda is scheduled to debut at the National Theatre in Prague (Don Giovanni, Count Almaviva), to appear as a guest at the Volksoper in Vienna again (Marcello in La bohème) and sing opposite Edita Gruberová at a concert within the Bratislava Music Festivities.