Biography

Due to health problems - due to the "health problems" of the communist establishment - he had to in 1953 retire early and worked only very irregularly. At the Academy of Performing Arts, it was not possible to give lectures on Jamnicky even in the years 1957-1960... He only interrupted his retirement by participating in recitation groups of Slovak poetry: Co vatru nietili , Slovak folk ballads and O krvi ) and v. They reaffirmed that Ján Jamnicky is still among our most evocative interpreters of the poetic word.

As a student, he performed on the stage of the Slovak National Theater from 1928 .

Janko Borodác noticed Jamnicky's talent and employed him in dramaturgical work and also as a translator of plays. For Jamnicky, it was only a step from there to directing, which he began to systematically devote himself to. In the end, he prepared a total of 33 productions on the stage of the theater, and over time he only engaged in acting sporadically.

During the war , Jamnicky developed into a distinctive and unique artistic personality. He updated his productions with allusions to the negative phenomena of the time. During the Slovak wartime state he had an encouraging effect with his direct attack in productions such as Molière's The Misanthrope and Zdravy nemocny , Schiller's William Tell and Zvon's play Dance over Crying .

Criticism accused him of too much pathos, coldness and monotony. The village types, especially from Tajovsky 's plays, did not suit him at all, while the other actors brilliantly managed to create distinctive Slovak characters. Even the Czech theater critics pointed out Jamnicky's underappreciated acting qualities during the hospitality performance of Palarik's play Reconciliation in Prague .