Jana Jonášová with Bendlová and then at the Academy of Performing Arts in Prague with Teodor Šrubař. She made her professional opera debut in 1965 at the Liberec Theatre as Konstanze in Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart's "The Abduction from the Seraglio". That same year she became involved with the Chamber Opera Prague. She remained committed to the Liberec Theatre through 1970 and then joined the National Theatre in Prague where she initially sang minor roles and worked in the opera chorus. In 1973 Jonášová was promoted to principal sopranos at the National Theatre and she quickly became one of the house's most important
Donald Shanks (bass-baritone) "Norma" with Dame Joan Sutherland, "La bohème" with Luciano Pavarotti, and Banquo in "Macbeth" with Sherrill Milnes. Other roles he became associated with were Zaccharia in "Nabucco", Rocco in "Fidelio", Osmin in "The Abduction from the Seraglio", Boris in "Boris Godunov", Timur in "Turandot", Ramphis in "Aida", Pistol in "Falstaff", Kekal in "The Bartered Bride", Baron Ochs in "Der Rosenkavalier", Nourabad in "The Pearl Fishers", the Commendatore in "Don Giovanni", and a major role in Leoš Janáček's "The Cunning Little Vixen". He created the role of The Maestro in Alan John's 1995 opera "The Eighth Wonder" at the Sydney Opera