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 , 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 the Medal of Merit from Czech President Václav Havel. In 2014, she received the 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 in Prague.

She died on 23 March 2021 at 89 years old in Prague Hospital due to complications from a hip fracture.

Discography

Studio albums 1966: Šansony s Hanou Hegerovou 1971: Recital 1973: Recital 2 1977: Lásko prokletá 1987: Potměšilý host 2010: Mlýnské kolo v srdci mém

Export albums 1967: Ich (aka Chansons) 1969: Hana Hegerová 1972: So geht es auf der Welt zu 1974: Fast ein Liebeslied 1975: Wir für euch 1987: Chansons (aka Wenn die Schatten)

Filmography Year Title Director(s) Original English 1954 Frona Frona Jiří Krejčík 1957 Tam na konečné At the Terminus Ján Kadár and Elmar Klos 1960 Přežil jsem svou smrt I Survived Certain Death Vojtěch Jasný Policejní hodina The Hour of the Cop Otakar Vávra 1962 Zhasněte lampióny Turn Off Lanterns Ján Roháč and Vladimír Svitáček Neděle ve všední den A Weekday Sunday Félix Máriássy 1963 Naděje The Hope Karel Kachyňa Konkurs Audition Miloš Forman 1965 Kdyby tisíc klarinetů If a Thousand Clarinets Ján Roháč and Vladimír Svitáček 1966 Dobře placená procházka A Well-Paid Walk Miloš Forman and Ján Roháč 1967 Ta naše písnička česká This Is Our Czech SongZdeněk Podskalský Sedm žen Alfonse Karáska Seven Wives of Alfons Karásek 1974 Třicet případů majora Zemana Thirty Cases of Major Zeman Jiří Sequens 1988 Lovec senzací Stunner-fisher Martin Hollý 1989 The Officer Factory Wolf Vollmar 1991 Poslední motýl The Last Butterfly Karel Kachyňa 2006 Kde lampy bloudí Where the Lamps Roam Jakub Kohák 2008 Nestyda Nasty Jan Hřebejk

Awards Major awards Year Nominated work Award Category Result 1962 "Szeptem" Sopot Festival Contest of Polish Songs – Best Interpretation "Ošklivá neděle" International contest – Best Song The Critics' Prize 1968 rowspan=3 Prague City Award rowspan=2 1969 Festwochen Wiesbaden 1983 tz Rose July 15–22 1988 Potměšilý host Golden Note Best Album "Levandulová" Best Song Herself Best Female Singer 2010 Anděl Awards Female Singer of the Year Mlýnské kolo v srdci mém Album of the Year Lifetime honors and achievements 1974 Herself H-D.Genscher Prize Goldene Europa Académie française Ordre du Mérite de l'Education Artistique – Chevalier 1995 Gramy Awards The Hall of Fame 2002 Václav Havel Prize The Medal of Merit 2007 MOFFOM Award Lifetime Achievement in Music Film 2012 Prague 1 Assembly Honorary citizenship 2013 Pierre Lévy Prize Ordre national du Mérite – Commandeur 2014 Miloš Zeman Prize Order of Tomáš Garrigue Masaryk – 1st Class Notes A "Szeptem" composed by Jerzy Abratowski for lyrics by Jacek Korczakowski, and the Gold award won by "Jesienna rozłąka" sung by Anita Traversi from Switzerland. B Hegerová shared the Bronze award along with Emil Dimitrov who entered the contest with "Arlekino". The Gold went to Greek Jeanne Yovanna for "Ti Krima", while Silver won by "Stav" by Ester Reichstadt from Israel. C The award for the Female Singer of the Year went to Lucie Bílá, while the second nominee was Lucie Vondráčková. D The category of the Album of the Year won by Tepláky aneb Kroky Františka Soukupa set by Nightwork band. Outlet People by Toxique group featured the rest of nominated works. E According to the municipal authorities, Prague 1 awards the Honorary citizenship title only exceptionally. As such, Hegerová became the first female ever and the fifth honoree in total, respectively (following writer Josef Topol, photographer Ladislav Sitenský, conductor Jaroslav Hrnčíř and architect Josef Hyzler).

Music polls Zlatý slavík, Czechoslovakia Year Nominated work Category Result 1962 Herself Singer 1963 1964 Female Singer 1965 1966 1967 1968 1969 1970 1971 1972 1973 1974 1975 1976 1977 1978 1979 1980 1981 1982 1983 1984 1985 1986 1987 1988 1989 1990 1991 Český slavík, Czech Republic Year Nominated work Category Result 1997 Herself Female Singer 1998 1999 2000 2001 2002 2003 2004 2005 2006 2007 2008 2009 2010 2011 2012 2013 2014 Notes F The initial two editions of the Zlatý slavík poll included only one category for both, either male or female vocalists. Else in 1962, Hegerová would be ranked as the third most popular female singer, following Yvetta Simonová and Eva Pilarová. G In 1963, Hegerová entered the poll as the second most voted female vocalist in the country, following Pilarová.

See also Hana a jej bratia (Slovak film, featuring music by Hegerová, from 2000) Strážce plamene ("Kdo by se díval nazpátek") Strážce plamene v obrazech ("Kdo by se díval nazpátek") Honorific nicknames in popular music

References

Sources

External links

Hana Hegerová (Fansite)

Hana Hegerová at CDmusic.cz Hana Hegerová on Discogs Hana Hegerová at EuroPopMusic