Fast confession - Helena Vondráčková: About her love in the reeds and about a fate she could not change
This woman certainly doesn’t waste time. You certainly won’t find her where you put her. She isn’t even able to sit still while having coffee. She has to keep on doing something. And this is also why she is still so vital and fit.
Helenka, thanks to you I feel as if time has stopped. You look exactly the same, still great. You have to have some sort of recipe for looking this good?
Of course I look after myself. I exercise, swim, work physically, I am always walking somewhere, I am always on the go. My husband is extremely happy if I sit down with a coffee for 5 minutes. So whenever he is making coffee he asks if I will be sitting with him, or if I will be running off again. I always sit down, then I have an idea and I have to go and realise it. I come back in half an hour, the coffee is cold and my husband is long gone. He has a difficult time with me. And I also play tennis of course. This year I had some bad luck with skiing. We were all packed and ready to travel to Austria. In the end we went, but without our skis. I had my O2 Arena show in front of me, so I was afraid I would hurt myself. In the end I injured myself after the show, I tore the ligaments in my shoulder when I crashed into a metal post at the theatre. I now have a tennis course in Přerov soon and my shoulder is still not completely healed. I am a little worried that I will make it worse.
It is possible to achieve inner and outer beauty in many ways. Are you a fan of aesthetic treatment or plastic surgery?
I am completely open to everything. With regard to my profession I think it is most important that when you find out that “something” is very visible or it basically starts to bother you, then you should do something about it. Of course you should always consider things carefully and choose the right reliable clinic for undergoing any treatment. So you don’t come out of the clinic looking worse than you went in. But I think that the quality of plastic surgery in this country is so good that there is no need to be concerned.
We women are specialists in spending a lot of money on expensive creams, to try and salvage as much as we can....
I also use them and I have also tried to take the best possible care of my skin throughout my life, when I have been in the theatre or on concert stages. I use the best quality cosmetics and I never go to sleep without cleaning my skin properly. My mother always told me to never buy things and buy good cosmetics instead. Massages are also excellent. I love them. And of course I use beauty treatments on my skin and body, which I really enjoy.
Although you are open to aesthetic procedures, is there anything you wouldn’t do?
I can’t think of anything right now. But I think that if there is any risk to you and you have the option of correcting things, then I would go for it. I am not that scared. I think I take after my mother in this aspect, because she had heart surgery twice. It was about 25 years ago and treatment was not as good as it is today. I know that the first time she had surgery was very complicated. They had to open her whole chest, but in the end everything was successful. She is my example, my model.
Several men have played a part in your life. Have they ever tended to try to change you?
Not really. When you reach a certain age there isn’t much you can change. Which works both ways of course. So if a woman thinks that she will be able to change her partner, then she is wrong (laughter). Maybe she will be able to affect him a little, but that is all. Otherwise, with regard to me, my weak point is punctuality. I try to arrive on time, because letting someone wait a long time is disrespectful. And another thing I have to remember is keys. I have to be very careful where I put them. Once I needed to lock a room and I told myself that I knew where I was putting the keys. And of course when I wanted to open the room I wondered where I put my keys?
You hid them, so you would find them (laughter)
Exactly (laughter). In the end I remembered where they were, but I spent half an hour looking for them. And now I remember another incident with contact lenses, which I used at one time. I came home from the theatre and I was exhausted, so I went straight to bed. In the morning I woke up and went to the bathroom to take care of my morning routine and then I put my contact lenses in. And suddenly I couldn’t see anything at all. I panicked and started screaming at my husband that I couldn’t see anything. And then I realised that I had two pairs of contact lenses in. I had forgotten to take them out the evening before.
Did you always choose the same type of man?
Do you know that I didn’t? I usually follow the principle of “A different dog for every master”. One was smaller and stockier. The second was a tall blonde, the next a tall brunette.
And their personalities?
Two were similarly hard-headed, which is horrible. But overall I have a lot of horned people around me. My mother is an Aries, my father is an Aries, my first boyfriend was an Aries, my brother is a Capricorn...and I am a peaceful Cancer. Cancer and Aries suit each other. Or at least that is what I read in a book. Opposites attract.
Have you ever received an unusual invitation to a date?
Yes, it was a new love. Because I loved swimming and paddling I went on a school trip to Želetavka, near the Vranov reservoir. There was a very romantic place there and I liked a boy there. He was a tall blonde and he wore a beautiful white and red striped t-shirt.
You remember all the details?
Yes I do. He was really nice and I really liked him. And even though the teacher kept her eye on us he asked me out. So we quietly crept to the river at night and we sat in the reeds. I know that the moon was very bright and he suddenly grew brave and decided to kiss me. He kissed me, lips on lips and when it went on for about 10 minutes I though right, this is pretty boring (laughter). I was actually hoping it would finally end.
Do you sometimes feel that things should have happened differently?
There are matters like that. You sometimes plan things and they don’t work out. There are sometimes moments and situations that we cannot influence, that simply happen. All we can do is try to accept them and deal with them. That’s life.
You are probably referring to the fact that you were not able to become a mother....
Yes that was what I was referring to. You knew where my thoughts were leading......
How can you cope with that?
First of all you feel regret, then you are miserable. Then you cry. But what can you do. Some things are set in stone and there is nothing you can do.
I feel the older you are, the more you work. Or is this just a feeling?
You are right. I work because I enjoy it. I do it with love and I also don’t have that much time left. When you think about how old I am, it’s no walk in the park. So while people are still interested, while they still want to listen to my songs, while my voice is still working and my body is holding together, I will enjoy doing what I do.
So you don’t feel the fatigue, when you start thinking that it would be better to stop doing it?
No I don’t. But I try to rest when I can, so I avoid this fatigue. Last autumn was quite demanding, so I tried to find some time to relax.
You will be going on tour this year. How are the preparations going?
Preparations are in full flow. We are planning 20 concerts. Monika Absolonová and Tomáš Slavíček§s dance group will be performing with me. The first concert will take place in Písek on 17 May and you can find the next tour destinations on my website. This year I will also perform at Lucerna on 14th December.
I heard that you have already chosen your costumes for the Christmas concert!
I was invited to a beautiful fashion show by Tatiana Kovaříková, who has collaborated on my wardrobe in the past and I chose two wonderful models there.
Can you reveal what they look like?
No I can’t…well OK, I can reveal the colour at least. One model is black and the other is silver with sequins…
And these are the colours for this Christmas…
Exactly.
