Irene Kudela
Czech Republic & France
Member of the Knight of the Order of Arts and Letters and Laureate of the Yehudi Menuhin Foundation, Irene Kudela is a pianist as well as a Vocal and Language coach, specializing in Russian, Czech, and French repertoire.
Born in Yugoslavia with French, Russian, and Czech origins, Irene Kudela began her musical studies in Prag (Czech Republic) and then graduated from the Conservatoire National Supérieur de Musique de Paris, an institution at which she later taught from 1980 until 1994. Fluent in seven languages, Irene Kudela is regularly invited to work at as a musical assistant and language coach at major opera houses in Paris, Washington, Philadelphia, Rome, Munich, Brussels, among others, as well as at prominent festivals such as Salzburg, Aix en Provence, Glyndebourne, Savonlinna, and Bregenz.
As one of the world’s foremost specialists of the operas of Leoš Janáček, she is in constant demand throughout the world, most specifically by conductors and singers who seek her support when preparing these operas. Irene Kudela has also given many lectures on Janáček and has translated various Czech operas into French. After being MsEslav Rostropovich’s assistant for several years, Irene Kudela expanded her experience as a musical assistant by assisting such conductors as Pierre Boulez, Myung-Whun Chung, Charles Mackerras, Evelino Pidó, Jiří Bělohlávek, and Gennady Rozhdestvensky. She has also worked as a Chorus Master, having been invited in that func1on to the Paris Opera, Le Théâtre des Champs-Élysées, as well as Radio-France.
Irene Kudela has also performed as a concert pianist in Paris, Tokyo, Moscow, London, Beograd, Helsinki, Orange, Aix en Provence… In recitals she has partnered with Barbara Hendricks, Camille Maurane, Galina Vischnievskaya, Alain Vanzo, Karine Deshayes, and Florian Sempey among others. She also had the privilege of recording a Darius Milhaud recital with Jean-François Gardeil. Further recording projects saw her as Artistic Director for the Erato, Hungaroton, Teldec, and EMI labels. As a Musical Advisor she has worked on several movies and theatrical adaptations.
Irene Kudela is passionate about educating young artists and is in constant demand to give Masterclasses for both singers and pianists, particularly at the Academie de L’opera de Paris, the National Opera Studio in London, the Bolshoi in Moscow, the Opera Studio in Stuttgart, the Fondation Royaumont, the University McGill in Montreal, as well as in Tokyo, Gothenburg, Stockholm, Oslo, Bonn…Since her appointment in 2021 as a Professor for Collaborative Pianists at the famous École Normale Alfred Cortot in Paris, educating the next generation of collaborative pianists has remained a central pillar of her work. Young singers she has nurtured include Florian Sempey, Angela Brower, Aude Extremo, Elena Tsallagova, Stanislas de Barbeyrac, David Bižić, Marianne Crebassa, Elsa Dreisig….
Irene Kudela has also given lectures about Janáček, has translated Czech operas into french. She has also been Musical Advisor for several movies, and worked on theatrical adaptations with actors. https://www.irene-kudela.com/english