Svatopluk Sem studied voice under the guidance of D. Volfová at the Conservatory in České Budějovice. He became a soloist in the South Bohemian Theatre in České Budějovice after finishing his studies. Here he portrayed many main characters such as Figaro (Il barbiere di Siviglia), Germonte (La traviata), Valentin (Faust), Papageno (Die Zauberflöte), Guglielmo (Cosí fan tutte) or Belcore (L´elisir d´amore).
He regularly performs in many opera houses in the Czech Republic such as the National Theatre in Prague, The State Opera in Prague, the J. K. Tyl Theatre in Pilsen, the South Bohemian Theatre in České Budějovice, the National Theatre Brno or the National Moravian-Silesian Theatre in Ostrava. His repertoire includes several dozen roles of different nature.
Svatopluk Sem has been performing in productions of various directors – O. Havelka, J. Heřman, M. Forman, The Theatre Group SKUTR (M. Kukučka & L. Trpišovský) and cooperated with many famous conductors. Among others we can name G. Albrecht, A. Allemandi, J. Bělohlávek, T. Brauner, E. Dovico, P. Feranec, E. Fiore, H. M. Förster, J. Hrůša, R. Jindra, J. Keenen, O. Lenárd, T. Netopil, L. Pešek, Mario De Rose or D. Savic.
He has made his appearance not only in the Czech Republic but also abroad. Japan, Denmark, South Korea, Austria, Spain, Germany, Russia or England are examples of countries where we could see Svatopluk Sem in concert. He cooperates with orchestras such as the BBC Symphony Orchestra, PKF – Prague Philharmonia etc.
cooperated with London BBC Orchestra under the baton of J. Bělohlávek on a recording of Smetana’s Bartered Bride for the label Harmonia Mundi. He recorded a document “Rolando meets Don Giovanni” for BBC, where he performed together with Rolando Villazón in the role of Don Giovanni.
He is a frequent guest of prestigious international music festivals such as the Dvořákova Praha International Music Festival, Opern Air Gars am Kampf in Austria, The Prague Spring International Music Festival, International Opera Festival Smetana’s Litomyšl or the IMF Český Krumlov.
Svatopluk also regularly performs in other opera houses in the Czech Republic. In the National Theatre Brno, he appeared in 2007 in the role of Figaro in Il barbiere di Siviglia and in the role of Harašta in The Cunning Little Vixen. In the National Moravian-Silesian Theatre in Ostrava he portrayed Marcello in La boheme or Escamillo (Carmen).
In his field he has received three times the prestigious Karel Roden Award.
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