CzechFolks.com

Barbara Semenov, a journalist, reporter, producer, publisher of CechoAustralan magazine and an author of articles in our “Czech Only” version of CzechFolks.com named CzechFolks.com PLUS,was a guest at Helena Vondrackova‘s birthday celebration and was kind enough to report back to us with her experiences and memories of the singer. She wrote:

Today I would like to share with readers of CzechFolks.com PLUS a wonderful experience from Monday evening in the Prague Theater “Kalich,” where Helena Vondrackova celebrated her sixty-second! birthday. Helena represents a real phenomenon in the world of Czech popular music. She sings, dances, plays percussion and speaks to her audience with absolute professionalism. Meanwhile she charms everybody with her vigor, optimism, and a natural heartiness. She has remained, and still is, as beautiful as in her beginnings; her voice has matured to unprecedented levels of tone, which she presented in some of her unusual pieces of extensive repertoire.

During her birthday celebration, Helena sang “Modry angel” (Blue Angel) with charm similar to that of singer Marlene Dietrich. She continued with the jazz song “Fly Me To The Moon” with bravura, and brought a romantic mood with a French chanson “Parlez-moi d’amour”. Of course, she did not forget to add her award-winning hits from her comeback, such as, “Dlouha noc” (Long Night), “Vodopad” (Waterfall) or “Ja vitam dest” (I welcome the rain). The legendary songs “Lasko ma ja stunu,” “Sladke mameni,” “Prejdi Jordan,” or “Vzdaleny hlas” were sung by the majority of the auditorium.

“I am very happy that you still like my singing. This is the best gift I can receive for my birthday,” expressed Helena to the excited audience. She also emotionally reminded the audience several times during her performance of her deceased musical friends, who made her famous and accompanied her during her musical career for more than forty years that - Karel Svoboda and Zdenek Borovec. At the end of the concert she devoted her unforgettable song “Cervena reka” (Red River) to her close friend Waldemar Matuska.

I brought for Helena a “rainmaker” from Australia (”an aboridzini rain stick”) - a long bamboo tube filled with beads which imitates the sound of the rain and water ripples when it is turned from side to side. “This is for you to complement your ‘welcoming of rain’”, I commented on the strange gift that I gave her in connection with the hit, with which she launched the concert. “Along with the rain in the red Australian desert, magic and happiness go hand in hand with the aborigine culture…” “I already have goose bumps …” the diva replied. In front of her changing room waited a crowd of fans to meet with their favorite star and I had to say a quick goodbye. Helena was still able to turn in the crowd of her admirers to say: “The recipe is great. All my friends have it already!” “What recipe?” I did not understand. “The stuffing” she laughed rascally and waived at me and then she disappeared in the crowd.
I wrote about the “stuffing” earlier. Maybe you too will like it …

When I cooked for the stars

I can not forget the tour of the Czech stars Karel Gott and Helena Vondrackova in Australia between 2000 and 2003. I then worked on the successful implementation of the concert with Peter Vitek in Sydney impresario. During their stay in Melbourne, Karel and Helena lived in my house, so my producer’s tasks were extended to host duties. As a matter of course, the dinners were expected to be in my house. But cooking when you have to take care of the concert: theater, technology, ticket sales, dancers, wardrobe, transporting of the performers, and millions of other acts associated with the production of the concert was no easy task.

Thus, the day before, I baked - the food, which here in Australia probably everyone knows, but the celebrities were astonished with it.

- “Salty cake,” Helena laughed; she is always laughing, she is always in a good mood.

- “Nettle stuffing”, noted Karel Stedry.

Only divine Kája did remained mostly silent except to say, “Well this is great!”.

The pan was cleared from our sight and would have similar success when a few years later the legendary band Olympic arrived.
In turn, I was invited to Helena’s party to Ritka. Lots of guests gathered there like for a concert of the stars. Suddenly I see Helča runs out of kitchen with full baking pans.
And Karel tells me, with his typical: “Oh, ‘please’, perhaps it is your salty cake from Melbourne! Whenever I think of that city, I think of your delicacy …”
And what was really served?

Zucchini SLICE!
We need:
6 large Zucchini - grated
1 large carrot - grated
500 g of ham - cut to about cm squares
400 g grated cheese (Edam, or Tasty Light in Australia)
½ onion – finely grated
2 cups of self raising flour
½ cup of light olive oil
5 eggs
nutmeg
spices
salt

Preparation:
Mix all ingredients in a large bowl in a viscous liquid mixture. Put on the butter-wiped pan and bake slowly an hour to an hour and a half until baked through.
The point is that the next day the Zucchini Slices taste even better after they are warmed in the oven, because the cheese and egg inside don’t run as much. Serve with pickles or just cold.

***

Barbara Semenov, novinářka, reportérka, producentka, vydavatelka časopisu CechoAustralan a autor článků v naší “pouze české” verzi CzechFolks.com nazvaným CzechFolks.com PLUS, byla hostem na oslavě 62. narozenin Heleny Vondráčkové a byla tak laskavá a poslala nám článek s jejími zážitky a vzpomínkami na zpěvačku. Česká verze článku ZDE.

***
HOME