Magdalena Kozena

I hate her: she is beautiful, she is blond, she is tall, she is talented, she seems nice and, of course, she is with him.

I loooooover: she is beautiful, she is super talented, with a voice that can give you goosebumps, she seems like a very nice and down to earth woman and, of course, she works with him.

Ms. Kozena has built a very good and solid singing carreer, since she takes singing very seriously and many conductors and coworkers have noticed it; no wonder they keep booking her… but criticism is always ready to pick on what it may appear as the weakest point, and in Magdalena’s case, it’s her beautiful looks. It’s great that she has a strong character and is very clear about that:

“I don’t think the recording company is promoting me on my photos,” she insists. “That is not a good direction to go and it doesn’t say anything I want said. It’s good to have nice photos taken of you, of course, but sometimes I think the pictures are not really me. I’m not a model.”

Maybe that’s why the best pictures of her are those more simple, with less make up and a lot of less poise… well it’s not like she needs the make up anyway… but you can compare for yourself:  the sexy pic…

Magdalena, "the hot, blond, czech opera singer"

Versus the honest pic….

Magdalena, the opera singer

So there is beauty all right, but there is something much more important: brains. And that’s a killer combo, so you can guess what caught Rattle’s fancy…

The origins of this great cocktail of a woman can be traced back to her childhood in comunist Checoslovaquia, very apart from the rest of world in the 80′s. Yeah, she may have not experienced Michael Jackson, or a lot of Madonna, or The New Kids on The Block, but she didn’t need them. She had a wonderful education that taught her the value of hard work and allowed her to concentrate in what she wanted: to make music. First as a pianist, then after an accident, as a singer. And she keeps that goal in mind:

“I work very hard to keep my career under control. I try to be quite simple. I just want people to be made happy by my singing. I know it sounds corny, but the communication with an audience is what I seek most. I don’t like this diva stuff – expensive cars, fur coats and all that. My image is that I don’t want to have an image.”

She may not want an image, but her records and her performances have provided her with a very good one. Sure, she is not always a success -she is human, you know… but her committment to the music always serves her right. She even prefers to cancel when she is sick than to give a sloppy performance, and as an audience, you have to be grateful for that.That committment is what she displays when she sings the music of her country, something she has done since her beginnings.

Magdalena is a superb baroque singer. Her voice and it seem her personal character too, fit like a glove to this music and this repertoire has allowed her to explore all the range of her voice. But of course, she doesn’t want to be taken as a one-trick pony:

Anxious not to be pigeon-holed, she is also keen to develop her interest in French music, already demonstrated on her French arias disc. “The record company wanted something more modern and a bit different, and anyway I am someone who gets easily bored. When I hear something lovely, I have to sing it. French repertoire appeals to me. But only certain roles suit one’s voice, not so many opera houses do these works and even then it’s not always easy to find the right production.”

On that note, she has explored the mozartian world, some XIX century french arias and contemporary repertoire… by the way, I have to admit that her Carmen doesn’t make an impresion on me, but her Ravel is ravishing.. and she ventured to sing Mahler in a recital once, following Simon’s advice, with beautiful results. Here, listen to her:

Christaline and deep at the same time, don’t you think?

Ms. Kozena is a wonderfully trained artist. Not just singer, artist. Like one of her coleagues said once, she is a musician that sings, so she knows what is happening around her when she sings and she knows how to get the best of the instrumental part of the music. That knowledge must be evident at rehearsal, when you know who did their homework properly… so, of course, a perfectionist like Mark Minkowski took notice of that. Here is what happens when these two work together:

Needless to say, her relationship with Simon Rattle put her on the map for the love of gossip. It was baaaaad… they had to deal with poisonous press and paparazzi harassment. And this made her very cautious with the media, so now she will not allow any journalist to go near her private life. If it’s about working with Rattle, fine. But get the f**k away from her domestic affairs!!!!   more power to her for this.

Magdalena Kozena, the happy mother.

Of course she loves Rattle, so life with him, apparently, is good. They have to babies: Jonas and Milos. Rattle has said that, since he’s had a family before -Sasha and Elliot-, this is not so new to him, that there’s less tension. In interviews, Magdalena has revealed that motherhood has been a great, beautiful discovery for her, even as a singer:

Motherhood has made a difference, physically as well as emotionally. “Going through those hormonal changes, the voice becomes a bit richer, rounder maybe, and stronger too,” she says. “It’s not been as great difference for me as it can be for others, though. Some women go through huge changes after giving birth, they even change their fach. Unfortunately,” she jokes, “this didn’t happen to me. I thought that maybe when I had kids I’d become a dramatic soprano! But no…”

Aaaaand now…. do I dislike anything about Magdalena Kozena? weeell.. not really. It just… doesn’t make me all that happy about her, you know what I mean… First, it’s her acting. Sometimes is great, specially on opera stage. But some other times there’s just not enough emotion for me, not enough strength. I think acting is not her biggest asset. So I prefer to listen to her than to watch and listen to her videos…

The other thing, and this is completly frivolous but also important, is her fashion sense. As you saw on the clip with Minkowski, she can look absolutly gorgeous when she chooses the right dress and hairdo. Some other times, she looks plain, and some other times, she just f**ks up. You be the judges:

What?

Exciting!

¿¡What the f**k was she thinking!?

Boring....

Great!

Pretty!

The ugliest dress in the world.

Sexy and chic!

So, I really love this lady. She is a super singer and she is smart. But as you can see, I am not blind. But it’s all with love, Ms. Kozena…..