Slovakian mezzo-soprano Jarmila Balážová studied at the Janáček Academy of Music and Performing Arts in Brno. After graduation she began fruitful working partnerships with the prestigious Slovakian early music ensembles Solamente Naturali and Musica Aeterna. She also works with orchestras such as the Brno Philharmonic Orchestra, the Moravian Philharmonic Orchestra Olomouc, the Janáček Philharmonic Orchestra Ostrava, Ensemble Opera Diversa, L’Armonia Terrena, the Brno Contemporary Orchestra and the Czech Virtuosi chamber orchestra. She has appeared at many important festivals, among them the Rheingau Musik Festival, the Janáček Festival in Brno, the Prague Spring Festival, Smetana’s Litomyšl and the Bratislava Music Festival.
In 2018 Jarmila Balážová made her debut at the National Moravian-Silesian Theatre in Ostrava as La Ciesca in Puccini’s Gianni Schicchi, followed by appearances as Polina (The Queen of Spades) and the Mayor’s Wife (Jenůfa) at the National Theatre in Brno followed. She also sang this last role alongside Karita Mattila at the 2020 Janáček Festival, where in addition she appeared as Kosinká in Robert Carsen’s production of Osud (Fate). She regularly performs at the State Opera of Banská Bystrica, where her roles have included Emilia in Rossini’s Otello, and Lola (Cavalleria rusticana). As a member of the Slovak National Theatre’s opera studio, she sang Dido in Purcell’s Dido and Aeneas.
In February 2022 she returned to this opera house as a guest artist, making her role debut as Kate in Dvořák’s The Devil and Kate. She subsequently appeared as Third Lady (Die Zauberflöte) at the National Theatre in Brno and as a soloist in performances of Janáček’s Glagolitic Mass under Jakub Hrůša at the Accademia Nazionale di Santa Cecilia in Rome.
Jarmila Balážová’s plans for the 2022/23 season include her role debut as Aljeja (From the House of the Dead) at the 2022 Janáček Festival and her debut at the Prague State Opera as Cherubino (Le nozze di Figaro).
