Jolana Fogašová studied classical singing at the Conservatoire in Bratislava (1986-1990) and at the Academy of Music and Dramatic Arts under the guidance of Professor V. Stracenska (1990-1994), where she also completed her doctorate in 2009. In recent years she has been working with Professor J. Loibl in Munich. She was taught by Carlo Bergonzi in Masterclasses in Siena, Italy.She was awarded a scholarship by the Friends of the Vienna State Opera. She was also a finalist in “Luciano Pavarotti International Voice Competition“. Since 1992 she has been a permanent guest at the Slovak National Theatre in Bratislava. The same year she launched her international career as a mezzo-soprano. It is her voice range, singing technique and her artistic potential that directed Jolana Fogašová in recent years towards the soprano repertoire.In December 2011 she sung at a Concert alongside the world famous tenor José Carreras.
During her operatic performances and concerts she has worked with many remarkable conductors: Z. Mehta, F. Luisi, P. Boulez, L. Hager, J. Latham-Konig, J. Svetlanov, N. Bareza, Zhang Guoyong, M. Letonja, E. Villaume, O. Kazushi, E.de Waart, J. Mercier, J. Kovács, J. Bělohlávek, M. Venzago, S.A. Reck , J. Fiore, O. Lenárd, S. Lano, A. Eschwé, R.Štúr, L. Langrée, G. Korsten, H. Wolf, I. Fischer, B. Gregor, A. Ligeti and others.
Her operatic repertoire of the more recent years has concentrated on “ soprano spinto d´agilita” parts: Tosca, Manon Lescaut, Elza (Lohengrin), Eglantine (Euryanthe), Lucrezia Contarini (Due Foscari), Abigaille (Nabucco), Joan of Arc (Joan of Arc), Judith (Bluebeard’s Castle), Santuzza (Cavelleria Rusticana), Marina (Boris Godunov), Lucrezia Borgia (Lucrezia Borgia), Kostelnicka (Jenufa), Witch and the Foreign Princess (Rusalka), The Fox (The Cunning Little Vixen) and Kristina (The Makropulos Affair), which she sang in Teatro alla Scala in Milan end in Teatro Maggio Musicale Fiorentino with Z. Mehta.
She has worked with many renowned orchestras: Wiener Philharmoniker, Wiener Symphoniker, Münchner Philharmoniker, Orchestre Philharmonique de Radio France, Suisse Romande, Orchestra Sinfonica dell' Accademia Nazionale di Santa Cecilia, Orchestre Teatro Comunale di Bologna, Orchestra del Maggio Musicale Fiorentino, Orchestre Philharmonique de Strasbourg, MDR Sinfonieorchester, Slovenská filharmónia, Matáv Hungarian Symphony Orchestra, Orquestra Sinfónica Portuguesa, Mozarteum Orchester Salzburg, Orchestre National Bordeaux - Aquitaine, Hungarian Radio Symphony Orchestra, Hessische Rundfunk Orchester, Nord Nederlands Orchestra, Orchestre National ďIle de France, Dusseldorfer Symphoniker, Orchestra del Teatro Verdi Trieste, Istanbul State Symphony Orchestra, Orchestre de Picardie and others.
Her concert repertoire includes pieces by J.S. Bach, J.B. Pergolesi, J. Haydn, W.A. Mozart, L. van Beethoven, G. Verdi,A. Bruckner, G. Mahler, A. Dvořák,
F. Mendelssohn - Bartoldy, A. Skrjabin, Z. Kodály, L. Janáček, B. Martinů, L. Nono, Penderecky, I. Stravinsky and others.
Her international performances took her to:Argentina (Buenos Aires), Belgium (Brusel), Czech Republic (Praha, Brno), France (Paris, Lille, Bordeaux, Strasburg, Montpellier), Greece (Athens), Holand (Amsterdam, Haag, Leeuwarden, Drachten, Groningen), China (Peking), Croatia (Split), Japan (Tokyo), Hungary (Budapest, Miskolc), Germany (Berlin, Dusseldorf, Munich, Koln, Leipzig, Frankfurt, Bamberg, Halle, Furth), Portugal (Lisbon), Austria (Vienna, Bregenz, Salzburg, Linz, Graz, Krems, Lilienfeldt ), Spain (Cuenca), Switzerland (Bern, Geneva, Zurich, Lausanne, Basel), Italy (Roma, Milano, Napoli, Bologna, Firenze, Trieste, Cagliari, Brescia), Turkey (Istanbul) etc.
She has recorded several CDs:
- Famous arias under the baton of R. Štúr with the Slovak Philharmonic
- "Lullabies", a chamber arrangement of famous lullabies,
- "Euryanthe" by Weber, under the baton of G. Korsten.