Peter Dvorsky

Peter Dvorský (born 25 September 1951) is a Slovak operatic tenor. Possessing a lyrical voice with a soft, elastic tone, and warm and melodious timbre, Dvorský's repertoire concentrates on roles from the Italian and Slavic repertories.

Born in Partizánske, Czechoslovakia, Dvorský has four brothers, three of whom are also successful opera singers: Jaroslav Dvorský, Miroslav Dvorský and Pavol Dvorský. His other brother, Vendelín Dvorský, is an economist.

Dvorský studied under Ida Cernecká at the Comenius University, Bratislava. There he also enjoyed his first successes at the Slovak National Theatre, making his professional opera debut there in 1972 as Lensky in Tchaikovsky's Eugene Onegin. He won the national singing contest named after Mikuláš Schneider-Trnavský at Tnava in 1973, and in 1974 he won first prize at the international Tchaikovsky Competition in Moscow. In 1975 he won first place in the singing contest at the Geneva International Music Competition which led to a year long apprenticeship under Renata Carosia and Giuseppe Lugga at La Scala in Milan.

In the following years he quickly achieved international fame. He debuted at the Vienna State Opera, where he was particularly successful and popular, in 1976, at the New York Metropolitan Opera in 1977, and one year later at La Scala, Milan.

Dvorský was highly esteemed by Luciano Pavarotti, who referred to him several times as, "my legitimate successor". Although his career has never been that of a superstar, he has become one of the leading tenors of his generation. He has received several distinctions, among others being a national artist and state prize-winner of the former Czechoslovakia. Since 2006, Dvorský has been the head of the opera house in Košice.