Daniel Hůlka

{{Infobox musical artist

| background = person

| name = Daniel Hůlka

| image = Daniel Hůlka.jpg

| image_upright =

| image_size =

| landscape =

| alt =

| caption = Pencil sketch of Daniel Hůlka, 2019

| birth_name =

| alias =

| birth_date = {{Birth date and age|1968|06|01|df=y}}

| birth_place = Prague, Czechoslovakia

| origin =

| genre = {{hlist|Musical theatre|opera|pop}}

| occupation = {{hlist|Singer|actor}}

| instrument = Vocals

| years_active = 1995—present

| label = EMI

| associated_acts =

| website = {{URL|danielhulka.com}}

}}

Daniel Hůlka (born 1 June 1968) is a Czech actor and baritone{{cite web|title=Daniel Hůlka rozezněl svým barytonem Pražský hrad |url=https://www.musical.cz/koncerty/daniel-hulka-rozeznel-svym-barytonem-prazsky-hrad/ |website=musical.cz |date=29 September 2010 |access-date=3 April 2021 |language=cs |trans-title=Daniel Hůlka's Baritone Resounded Through Prague Castle}} who is known for his performances in musical theatre, film, and opera. He has won both the Český slavík and the Anděl Award multiple times and has released several recordings on EMI.

Life and career

=Music and film=

Born in Prague, Hůlka took the flute, clarinet, and piano in grade school and played volleyball in high school, while also singing and playing guitar in a band with friends.{{cite web|title=Daniel Hůlka |url=

https://vstupenky.ticket-art.cz/index.php?pg=osobnost&predstaveni=198&osobnost=24&auth=d711c0bea3485f9cf30b13ef09494848 |website=ticket-art.cz |date= |access-date=3 April 2021 |language=cs}} He went on to study at the Prague Conservatory{{cite web|title=Daniel Hůlka: Don Giovanni byl vlastně chudák |url=http://www.radioservis-as.cz/archiv/3300/33titul.htm |website=radioservis-as.cz |date=31 July 2000 |access-date=3 April 2021 |language=cs |trans-title=Daniel Hůlka: Don Giovanni Was Actually an Unfortunate Guy}} and then briefly at the Academy of Performing Arts in the class of Magdalena Hajossyova, before embarking on an opera career in the early 1990s. He first drew wide acclaim portraying the title role in Karel Svoboda's 1995 musical Dracula. He has since appeared in numerous musical productions in Prague, portraying such roles as Javert in Claude-Michel Schönberg's Les Misérables and the title role in Frank Wildhorn's Jekyll & Hyde, among others.

As an opera singer, Hůlka has performed leading roles at the Estates Theatre; the Hudební divadlo Karlín, where he also sang under the direction of internationally acclaimed conductor Alexander Frey; the J. K. Tyl Theatre; the Liberec Theatre; the Městské divadlo Ústí nad Labem; and the Prague National Theatre, among others. Some of the roles he has portrayed on stage include Escamilio in Georges Bizet's Carmen, Kalina in Bedřich Smetana's The Secret, Silvio in Ruggero Leoncavallo's Pagliacci, and the title roles in Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart's Don Giovanni and Mozart's The Marriage of Figaro.

In 1997, Hůlka released his debut solo album, Daniel Hůlka. In 1999, he made his first film appearance in the movie Z pekla štěstí by Zdeněk Troška. In December of the same year, he travelled as a member of a delegation to hand over a Christmas tree to the Pope in the Vatican, and on this occasion, he sang in St. Peter's Square. In 2001, he appeared in Z pekla štěstí 2, the sequel to the 1999 film.

=Political activity=

In the 2013 Czech legislative election, Hůlka ran as the leader of the Party of Civic Rights in the Hradec Králové Region, but didn't win a seat.{{cite web|title=SPOZ.CZ -- společnosti, podniky, organizace, živnostníci |url=http://www.spoz.cz/novinky-a-clanky/zemanovci-informovali-o-vysledku-petice-a-predstavili-lidry-kandidatek-ve-vsech-krajich |website=spoz.cz |date= |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20160307091429/http://www.spoz.cz/novinky-a-clanky/zemanovci-informovali-o-vysledku-petice-a-predstavili-lidry-kandidatek-ve-vsech-krajich |access-date=3 April 2021 |archive-date=7 March 2016 |language=cs |trans-title=SPOZ.CZ - Companies, Enterprises, Organizations, Sole Traders}}

He was previously an admirer of Miloš Zeman, supporting him in both presidential elections. However, in an open letter dated 12 October 2020, Hůlka reconsidered his position and ended his friendship with Zeman.{{cite web|title=Miloši, proč jsi se obrátil proti svému národu? Hůlka vrátí Zemanovi státní vyznamenání |url=https://www.novinky.cz/domaci/clanek/milosi-proc-jsi-se-obratil-proti-svemu-narodu-hulka-vrati-zemanovi-statni-vyznamenani-40339076 |website=novinky.cz |date=13 October 2020 |access-date=3 April 2021 |language=cs |trans-title=Miloš, Why Did You Turn Against Your Nation? The Wand will return Zeman's state decoration}} He also announced that on Czech National Day, 28 October 2020, he would return the Medal of Merit that he had received from the president in 2016.{{cite web|title=Daniel Hůlka vrátil státní vyznamenání. Na Hradě ho odmítli, tak ho poslal poštou |url=https://www.novinky.cz/domaci/clanek/daniel-hulka-vratil-statni-vyznamenani-na-hrade-ho-odmitli-tak-ho-poslal-postou-40342277 |website= novinky.cz|date=14 November 2020 |access-date=3 April 2021 |language=cs |trans-title=Daniel Hůlka Returns State Decoration. He Was Turned Away at the Castle, So He Sent It By Mail.}}

Selected discography

Daniel Hůlka (1997)
Mise (1998)
Živé Obrazy (1999)
Rozhovor (2000)
Gold (2001)
Bravo, Pane Hrabě (2001)
Ještě Jednu Árii, Pane Hrabě! (2002)
Dílem Já (2004)

Filmography

class="wikitable sortable"
Year ! Title ! Role ! class="unsortable" \| Notes
1999 \|Z pekla štěstí \|Brambas \|Film
2001 \|Z pekla štěstí 2 \|King Brambas \|Film
2020 \|Modrý kód \| \|TV series – 1 episode

class="wikitable sortable"

Year

! Title

! Role

! class="unsortable" | Notes

1999

|Z pekla štěstí

|Brambas

|Film

2001

|Z pekla štěstí 2

|King Brambas

|Film

2020

|Modrý kód

|TV series – 1 episode

Awards and recognition

Český slavík

First place (1998)
Second place (1997, 1999, 2000, 2001)
Third place (2002)

Anděl Award

First place, Best Singer (1997)
Third place, Best Singer (1998, 1999)

Others

TÝTÝ Poll – Second place (1997, 1998, 1999, 2000)
Zlatý Otto – Gold (1997); Silver (1998); Bronze (1999)
National Medal of Merit (2016) – {{small|returned to the Office of the President in November 2020}}