Czech soprano Helena Tattermuschová was born in Prague, Czechoslovakia, on January 28, 1933. She began singing as a child in the school choir directed by Václav Matoušek, and continued her studies at the Prague Conservatory under Vlasta Linhartová (1948-1953), then at the Academy of Performing Arts under Jaromíra Tomášková (1953-1954). From 1950, she sang in the university artistic ensemble of Charles University in Prague, and made her professional debut in June 1953 at the Smetana Theatre in the roles of a young girl or boy in drag in Le Baiser, Rusalka, La Fiancée vendue and Krútňava. After winning second prize in the 1954 Prague Spring Competition, the dramatic soprano made her debut at the Ostrava Opera in La Bohème (1955) and some fifteen other roles. In 1956, she joined the troupe of the Prague National Opera, where she performed the great roles of the repertoire until 1991, notably in The Cunning Little Vixen, The Makropoulos Affair, From the House of the Dead, The Kiss, The Secret, The Two Widows, Dalibor and The Jacobin, alongside Italian operas such as Falstaff, Rigoletto, The Barber of Seville, Madame Butterfly, Gianni Schicchi and Turandot, and French operas such as Carmen. Helena Tattermuschová is a regular guest on major international stages, and has taken part in over eighty recordings for Czechoslovak radio, including numerous recitals. From 1977 to 1991, the coloratura soprano taught at the Prague Conservatory and was awarded the Thalia Prize in 2013, before being inducted into the National Theater Hall of Fame in 2023. On July 6, 2025, Helena Tattermuschová died at the age of 92.
