Hana Zagorová: Five decades in the spotlight
Hana Zagorová, one of the country’s most popular singers and a nine-time winner of the Golden Nightingale award would have turned 80 on September 6. She died in August of 2022, shortly after her 75th birthday. She left behind an extensive musical legacy - 11 million records sold, 800 songs recorded of which almost 100 lyrics were her own.
Hana Zagorová (1946–2022) was one of the most popular and enduring Czech singers of the second half of the 20th century. Born in Petřkovice near Ostrava, she initially dreamed of becoming an actress and studied at the Janáček Academy of Performing Arts in Brno. She began singing almost by chance, entering an amateur talent competition in 1963, and soon made her first recordings for Czech Radio. After moving to Prague in 1969, her singing career took off. During the 1970s and 1980s she became a household name, recording hundreds of songs and working with leading Czech composers and musicians, including Karel Vágner, Petr Rezek, Stanislav Hložek and Petr Kotvald. She won the Zlatý slavík award for best female singer nine times in a row, from 1977 to 1985.
Zagorová was more than a pop singer: she also wrote song lyrics, acted, hosted television programmes and appeared on stage. Her distinctive, slightly husky voice and intimate delivery became her trademark, while many of her songs combined mainstream pop with elements of chanson.
She was also one of the few major Czech entertainers to openly sign the “Několik vět” petition in 1989 calling for the release of political prisoners and greater freedom of speech. As a result, she was banned from performing publicly for several months. After the fall of communism, she returned to the stage and continued performing and recording right up until her death.
Here are a few excerpts of interviews she gave to Czech Radio.
“I always need to have a story. I am inspired by music. But when I am given a beautiful text, great lyrics, it takes the song to a whole new level.”
“I am interested in reaching the goal, but more than that, in the journey towards it. What I encounter along the way, what speaks to me. I adore the preparation and studying, learning the lyrics and melodies. I savour every word, every note. Once the work is finished, the songs recorded and the album released, I lose interest in it.
“I have been like that all my life. Even when I wrote my first poems, I savored the mood, experiences and feelings. But as soon as the poem was finished, I said to myself: What awaits me now? What comes next?”
“I always wanted to bring my personal and professional life into balance. But I never quite managed to do that. I only learned how to live during the last 25 years with Štefan Margita. The important thing is that Fate (or God) sends you that special person, and suddenly you know that you belong together and everything falls into place.”
“I am afraid of malice, stupid people, illness, ordinary things like everyone else. But I am an optimist at heart. Over time, I included fewer and fewer melancholic songs in my concerts. I don’t want people to leave my concert pensive, serious or nostalgic. I want to bring them joy.”
- 50 years on the music scene
- 11 million records sold
- 800 songs recorded
- almost 100 lyrics written herself
- 9 Golden Nightingale awards
