Opera dramaturge, music journalist and radio producer

Jozef Červenka graduated in Economics and pursued private studies in opera and theatre dramaturgy with Branislav Kriška and scenography with Aleš Votava. He also completed a study residency at the Bayreuth Festival (Bayreuther Festspiele) in Germany.

He serves as Dramaturge of the Opera of the Slovak National Theatre and as an editor and presenter at STVR – Rádio Devín, where he creates and hosts the programmes Ars musica and Opera Rádio Devín. He also collaborated for several years with Czech Radio Vltava.

His professional interests focus on opera dramaturgy, music journalism and the history of Slovak theatre. He has published extensively in specialist and cultural journals, including Hudobný život, KØD, Svět a divadlo, Kino Ikon, Anthropos, Opera Slovakia, KlasikaPlus and Monitoring divadiel. He served as dramaturge of the Viva Verdi Opera Festival and was the editor of the anniversary publication Košická hudobná jar 70.

For the Theatre Institute in Bratislava, he curated the exhibition Lucia Popp – The Warm Voice of World Opera and the opera section of the large-scale exhibition project A Century of Theatre – Traces and Attitudes. He has also contributed to numerous publications on Slovak theatre, opera and film, including 100 Years of the Slovak National Theatre, Family Silver, Family Film Silver, Dictionary of Theatre Critics and Journalists and Legend Beyond Legends – Peter Dvorský and His Time.

From 2021 to 2025 he served as Head Dramaturge of the Opera of the Slovak National Theatre and has continued as Dramaturge since 2025. He has been responsible for the dramaturgy of productions including Albert Herring, Carmen, The Devil and Kate, Eugene Onegin, Le nozze di Figaro, The Kiss, Impresario Dotcom (Slovak premiere), La traviata, Madama Butterfly, Maria Stuarda, Die tote Stadt (Slovak premiere in concert performance), Muflón Ancijáš (world premiere), Nabucco, Hansel and Gretel, The Cunning Little Vixen and Svätopluk. He has collaborated with leading Slovak and international stage directors and conductors, including Jiří Heřman, Matúš Bachynec, Gilbert Blin, Roberto Catalano, Sláva Daubnerová, Andrea Hlinková, Tomáš Ondřej Pilař, Roman Polák, Tomáš Brauner, Marco Guidarini, Robert Jindra, Jaroslav Kyzlink, Ondrej Lenárd and Juraj Valčuha.

He has conceived and prepared gala concerts dedicated to distinguished Slovak opera artists, including Peter Dvorský, Peter Mikuláš, Gabriela Beňačková, Edita Gruberová, Ondrej Malachovský and Lucia Popp. He is also the curator of numerous exhibition projects devoted to the history of opera and to outstanding personalities of Slovak musical theatre.