Baritone Svatopluk Sem graduated from the Conservatory in České Budějovice. While still a student, he joined the South Bohemian Theatre, where he played a variety of roles. He has won a number of prestigious opera awards, including the 2017 Opera+ Award, the 2017 Thalia Award for his portrayal of Giorgio Germont in La Traviata, and the 2017 Moravian-Silesian Jantar Award for his role as Kalina in the opera Tajemství, among others.
Since 2022 has been permanently engaged by the National Theatre in Prague, where he made his debut as the Devil (Hry o Marii) under the direction of J. Bělohlávek. He has since played dozens of roles there, including Don Giovanni, Guglielmo, Germont, Escamillo, Sharpless, Klingsor, Gérard or the Revírník (Forester)
Svatopluk regulary performs at all of the major opera houses in the Czech Republic and has appeared in Europe, Asia and the USA. He has collaborated with leading orchestras such as the Czech Philharmonic Orchestra, the Bohuslav Martinů Philharmonic Orchestra Zlín, the PKF – Prague Philharmonia, the Rotterdam Philharmonic Orchestra and the BBC Symphony Orchestra in London, where he has been a regular guest for several years. He toured Japan with the Prague State Opera in a production of La Traviata, performing the role of Germont. He also performed at the BBC Proms at the Royal Albert Hall, appearing as Jaroslav Prus in Janáček's The Makropulos Affair with the BBC Symphony Orchestra and as Stárek in Jenůfa. He has also collaborated with many renowned conductors, including J. Bělohlávek, T. Netopil, J. Hrůša, L. Pešek and J. Valčuha, throughout his career. At the Teatro Regio di Torino, he played Revírník in The Cunning Little Vixen, directed by R. Carsen. He will make his debut in the same role in 2025 at the Norwegian National Opera.
Sem regularly performs at domestic and international music festivals, including the BBC Proms, the Savonlinna Opera Festival, the Český Krumlov International Music Festival, the Dvořák Prague International Music Festival, the Prague Spring International Music Festival and the Smetana's Litomyšl National Music Festival. He performed Janáček's opera The Makropulos Affair at the Arts Festival in Hong Kong and Shanghai. He took part in the European opera project Opera Vision, performing live in Libuše as Přemysl at the National Theatre in Prague and as Revírník in Janáček's The Cunning Little Vixen at the National Theatre in Brno.
Alongside his concert activities, he participated in the recording of Smetana's The Bartered Bride, performing the role of Krušina with the BBC Symphony Orchestra under the direction of J. Bělohlávek for the Harmonia Mundi record label. In 2024, he took part in the National Theatre Prague's successful guest concert performance in the Savonlinna Opera Festival in Finland. He debuted at the Slovak National Theatre in Bratislava in a new production of The Cunning Little Vixen (Revírník). In the same year, he was honoured with an invitation to perform at the opening concert of the Houston Symphony's new season, performing Martinů's Czech Rhapsody under the direction of Slovak conductor J. Valčuha. He was shortlisted for the Thalia Award for his role as Gianni Schicchi in the eponymous opera, performed at the National Theatre in Prague and directed by D. Radok.
His work schedule is very busy in the near future. In January 2026, he is set to perform with the London Symphony Orchestra, conducted by Sir Simon Rattle, in a concert performance of The Makropulos Affair. He will also make his debut at the Staatsoper Unter den Linden in Berlin in a new production of The Cunning Little Vixen with Sir Simon Rattle. After that, he will appear as Eugene Onegin at the Hong Kong Arts Festival, and in July he will perform in a new production of The Adventures of Mr Brouček in Bregenz, conducted by R. Jindra.
http://www.svatopluksem.cz
https://www.youtube.com/playlist?list=PLW0vIuAMsrRT48-g8WTEyCY-H1R6475TZ