When Štefan Margita talks about saying goodbye to opera, he does not sound sentimental or theatrical. Rather matter-of-factly, with the calmness of a person who knows that he is closing a chapter at the right time.
In February 2026, he will play the role of Loge in Wagner’s Golden Rhine at the National Theater – and it will be his last operatic role. A symbolic end to a career that took him from his native Košice to the stage of the Metropolitan Opera, La Scala and San Francisco. It is precisely Loge who is a character with whom Margita has been connected for years.
“It’s a role that won’t let you go. Loge knows from the beginning that everything is going to end badly – and yet he keeps playing the game,” he says. In Zlat Rýna, he will perform alongside another famous singer who has established himself abroad and at the same time dares to perform in front of a non-opera audience. This is Adam Plachetka, who will portray Wotan, which will also be his first role in a Wagner opera.
“Štefan and I are long-term colleagues and friends, but we have not yet met on the stage of an opera. I am very much looking forward to this production,” adds the leading Czech bass-baritone.
Ambassador of the opera thanks to Zagorová
Although Margita is a respected figure in world opera, she has an exceptional position at home for another reason. He is one of the few singers who was able to bring opera closer to people who would otherwise never have set foot in the theater. His wife, the singer Hana Zagorová, played an important role in this.
“Thanks to us, her fans became interested in opera. And it still works today,” he admits openly. The idea that it was a popular singer who won him fame is an odd one, Margita established himself abroad long before he became a media-known personality in the Czech Republic.
Margita has tens of thousands of followers on social networks – yet she does not consider herself an influencer. “I’m not familiar with that concept. My social networks are managed by an agency, I couldn’t do it myself and I wouldn’t even enjoy it.” At the same time, he notices the paradox of today’s times: a photo from New York at Christmas will garner more reactions than news about a performance at the Metropolitan Opera. “People are more interested in the backstage than the show itself.”
The popularity that Margita has gained even outside the traditional opera audience, but according to him, it is not an end in itself. “I feel a responsibility. I don’t want to provoke just to be seen. Rather, I try to make people happy.” Perhaps this is also why his public image seems so natural – without poses and without trying to shock.
According to him, there is no shortcut to success in opera. “The most important thing is to be able to say no,” recalls the advice of the legendary singer Mirella Freni. According to his words, he has in mind in particular not to accept offers for roles that he knows are tempting, but can damage his voice in the long term. “The voice needs time, rest and balance,” he says.
How did he keep his voice healthy for so long? Štefan Margita gives young singers one essential piece of advice: “Letting the voice rest does not mean being silent; mere silence is not vocal hygiene! Yes, it is possible to sing two performances in a row, but then the voice must really rest and not sing anything else. This is one of the most common mistakes of young singers, which fortunately I did not make in my youth,” he describes.
It was this that allowed him to sing even at a mature age – and without unnecessary crises. He became famous especially as a representative of roles in the operas of Richard Wagner and Leoš Janáček, which he sang from the Metropolitan Opera through La Scala to the Vienna and Bavarian State Operas.
“In Japan, they were literally shocked by our performance of Janáček’s Její pastorskýn – they were surprised that such a thing could even exist. After the thanksgiving ceremony, we went to wash and change clothes, and when we came back, people were still applauding and we were still in civilian clothes giving thanks, such was the success!” he remembers.
But his farewell to the opera does not mean the end of performing. Margita now wants to focus more on concerts and song evenings, which she considers to be a more intimate and freer form. And also for large projects for a wide audience – for example, at the concert in the O₂ arena, where he will celebrate his jubilee, he is going to offer a “taste” of opera to those who would otherwise remain standing in front of the theater doors.
“I would like people to say to themselves: ‘I liked this, I’ll go see Margita again’. And that can then lead them all the way to the National,” he says. Perhaps this is where Margit’s greatest contribution lies: in a natural bridge between the world of grand opera and an audience that is just finding its way to it.
When the curtain closes on the Golden Rhine at the National Theatre, it will not be the end of the voice. Rather, a calm and dignified departure – a singer who stood his ground in the world and remained modest, dignified and understandable at home.
