![[Kiepura 1 picture]](KiepuraJ_01.JPG)
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![[Kiepura 2 picture]](KiepuraJ_02.JPG) Jan Kiepura with Marta Eggerth |
Tenor opera singer. Born in Sosnowiec, Poland. He was to become a barrister until he discovered after obtaining his master of law degree, that he was not cut out to be a counselor, least of all, a legal one. Instead he nurtured a longing to sing. His father, however, disagreed with him. Subsequently, Kiepura left home and embarked upon a singing career. It was in Vienna that he first tasted the mellow sweetness of success. On he went to La Scala, Milan and from Milan to every opera house in the world. When the cinema world realized that Kiepura could be used, he was nowhere to be found. Began a tide of cables, telephones, telegrams and letters to practically every known opera house inquiring about the whereabout of the young Polish tenor. Finally in Buenos Aires he was tracked down and rushed to Milan, where he was offered his first chance to appear on the silver screen. Made his film debut in London, England. Engaged in 1933 by the Chicago Civic Opera House, Chicago, Ill., in 1935 engaged by Hollywood, Cal., and in 1938 by the Metropolitan Opera in New York, N. Y. In 1939, sang in Chicago in Carmen, Manon, La Boheme, Tosca, Rigoletto. In 1939 sang in Cleveland. Ohio, in Aida, and in Milwaukee, Wis., in Civic Opera House.
From: "Who's Who in Polish America" by Rev. Francis Bolek, Editor-in-Chief; Harbinger House, New York, 1943
Kiepura, Jan (John) -- opera and concert artist
Jan Kiepura (1902-1966) initially studied law at the University of Warsaw and graduated in 1924. However, his love of music prompted him to abandon a career in law practice and he enrolled in a musical school to study voice. Some of his classmates included operatic singers from the Warsaw Opera Company and they encouraged him to enter the Warsaw Opera Chorus. He accepted the challenge and after a short stay in the chorus he was given a minor role in "Halka". Poland's most popular opera by Stanislaw Moniuszko. His successful debut earned him an invitation to sing in Polish Opera Houses in Lvov and Poznan.
The Director of the Vienna Opera was impressed by Jan Kiepura's singing and stage presence and hired him to perform in the opera "Tosca". Complimentary reviews led to a principal role in "Turandot" and earned him an invitation to sing principal roles in "Tosca" and "Manom" at the world famous La Scala Opera House in Italy.
Jan Kiepura made his American debut in 1931 with the Chicago Opera Company. He eventually sang in all of the major opera houses of the world including London, Berlin, Paris, Copenhagen, Buenos Aires. and New York. In 1958 he sang at the Metropolitan Opera House in New York City in "Rigoletto", "La Boheme", and "Carmen." Jan Kiepura also appeared on Broadway in Franz Lehar's "The Merry Widow" and in over 800 performances of the musical "Polonaise."
From: Wally West
Kiepura, Jan (1902-1966) [commentary by Kazimierz Cimoszko]
... like he, I was "a boy from Sosnowiec." From my childhood I heard much about him from my parents and other people whom I considered honest and wise. Kiepura was given much recognition because he had made a wonderful career and attained a leading position as a singer but also because he had a patriotism which he demonstrated in his activities on behalf the Boy Scouts. He also participated in the Third Silesian Uprising (he was with the "Bytom Rifles"), and gave many concerts that benefitted charitable causes.
During my vacation in Wisla during the 1930s I saw Jan Kiepura perform. As he was getting into a car in front of his hotel, a crowd of admirers pleaded with him to sing. One did not have to plead long with Kiepura. He jumped onto the roof of the car and sang "Umarl Maciek Umarl" [a folk song] in Polish, "O Marie" and "O Sole Mio" in Italian. He departed to the applause of his grateful fans.
In the mid-1950s when I was already settled in the United States, an English language newspaper "The Ann Arbor News" published an article that spoke of Jan Kiepura in a vary favorable way and described him as "an Austrian singer." I wrote to the editor explaining the matter in the following way:
Tom Cullen makes a statement in his story "American Musical Revered," "The Ann Arbor News" of Dec. 8 page 49, that Marcel Prawy toured the United States as the manager to Jan Kiepura, the Austrian singer. This came as a big surprise to me because I share with Kiepura the same town as birthplace, namely Sosnowiec and I knew Kiepura as a Pole but never as an Austrian singer. Kiepura's association with the Vienna State Opera was a rather coincidental one. The singer passed away some years ago in New York as a highly respected member in the organization of the Americans of Polish origin.
The "Music Lover's Encyclopedia" compiled by Rupert Hughes, Garden City Publishing Co. Inc., 1947, contains on page 234 the following information:
Kiepura Jan: Polish tenor; after 1924 sang at Vienna State Opera with sensational success while still in his twenties; also heard as guest artist in many other European cities; with Chicago Opera Company, 1930; has sung in motion pictures in England and Hollywood; Metropolitan Opera 1937-1938.
The last time I saw Jan Kiepura was in New York in 1953. He and his wife, Marta Eggerth, were honored guests at a ball given at the luxurious Waldorf Astoria Hotel in Manhattan given by the Association of Polish Engineers. Jan Kiepura was well known in the United States for his support of Polish veterans' organizations, as well as Polish independence and anti-communist groups. On the day before his death from a heart attack in 1966, he was the guest of honor at an event given at a Polish veterans' post in New Jersey.
From: Kazimierz Cimoszko - "A Family from Sosnowiec," Wydawnictwo Biuro Tlumaczen, Wroclaw 2002; p. 21-22.