(April 18, 1931 – January 28, 2026)
The management of the Slovak National Theatre and the Opera of the SND received with deep sorrow the news of the passing of Július Gyermek, one of the founding figures of Slovak operatic creation.
Born in Dolné Hámre, he moved to Bratislava in early childhood. He began his studies in drama directing at the Academy of Performing Arts, later transferring to opera directing after two years. He joined the Slovak National Theatre in 1954, initially with the Drama Company; a year later, he moved to the Opera Company, where he worked as a director and later as dramaturg and chief dramaturg, apart from a brief period between 1997 and 1999.
Július Gyermek, together with Branislav Kriška and Miroslav Fischer, formed a generation that set a new standard for opera directing in Slovakia. These three key figures helped change the perception of opera directing, which had previously often been limited to arranging simple interactions between characters and their movement across the stage. They succeeded in bringing the theatrical component of opera productions closer in importance to the musical component.
In his directing, Július Gyermek consistently drew on the classical theatrical canon. He often staged operatic narratives as a clear sequence of shorter, contrasting scenes and paid exceptional attention to the dramatic dimension of the vocal performances. Rather than seeking new interpretative layers or personal readings, he focused on consistently and vividly highlighting the qualities of the score. He approached scenography in a progressive way, with a strong sense for visual gesture and a clear understanding of the fundamental role of lighting. By using contrasts of light and shadow, he shaped the stage space and often replaced traditional scenery with lighting alone. He was among the first to employ a “light curtain”, allowing a soloist to begin a role unseen at the back of the stage and gradually emerge into view. His long-term collaborators in scenography included Pavol Mária Gábor and Vladimír Suchánek.
Július Gyermek made his directorial debut with Werner Egk’s opera The Inspector General (1959), a production that already foreshadowed his lifelong interest in staging works of the twentieth century. Particularly significant were his productions of original Slovak operas by Juraj Beneš, Bartolomej Urbanec and Tibor Frešo. He also played an important role in introducing Baroque opera to Slovak stages, including one of the early productions of Handel’s Serse, and created notable productions of Wagner’s operas. Verdi’s operas held a central place in his work, notably a landmark, Il trovatore and the legendary Nabucco, which reached a record 420 performances.
In an interview with Terézia Ursínyová for Literárny týždenník, Július Gyermek—often described as an aristocrat of Slovak opera directing—summed up his life philosophy: “Always strive for something, always make the effort – and ground it in moral integrity.”
May his memory be honoured.
The final farewell will take place on Thursday, February 5, 2026, at 11:00 a.m. at St Michael the Archangel Parish Church in Čunovo.