Jan Kiepura

Jan Wiktor Kiepura was a Polish lyric tenor, lirico spinto, and Heldentenor who built an international career spanning opera houses, film, and the Broadway stage. Born in Sosnowiec, in what was then Austria-Hungary, he was the son of Franciszek Kiepura, a baker and grocery owner, and Maria Kiepura, a former professional singer whose family was of Jewish origin and who had converted to Christianity. He had one brother, Władysław. Kiepura attended the Junior School in Sosnowiec between 1916 and 1920, then studied law at the University of Warsaw beginning in 1921. He trained as a singer under Wacław Brzeziński and Tadeusz Leliwa, and gave his first public concert in 1923 at the Sphinx cinema in Sosnowiec. The following year he was admitted by Emil Młynarski to the local choir, where he took on the role of Góral in Moniuszko's opera Halka and also participated in a production of Gounod's Faust in Lwów.

In 1926 Kiepura departed Poland to pursue an international career, performing in Germany, Hungary, France, and England. His operatic engagements brought him to some of the most prominent venues in the world, including La Scala, the Metropolitan Opera, the Royal Opera House, the Opéra-Comique, La Fenice, and the Teatro Colón. At La Scala he signed a three-year contract beginning in 1928, making his debut there in the role of Calaf and later appearing in the premiere of Lattuada's Le Preziose ridicole under Arturo Toscanini. His Metropolitan Opera debut came on February 10, 1938, where over the 1938 and 1939 seasons he sang Rodolfo, Don José, the Duke of Mantua, Cavaradossi, and Chevalier des Grieux across performances in New York, Boston, Cleveland, Dallas, and Rochester. He returned to the Metropolitan Opera in 1942, again performing roles including Don José, Cavaradossi, and the Duke of Mantua.

Alongside his operatic work, Kiepura developed a substantial film career, initially collaborating with Berlin's UFA studio and later working in Hollywood. Among his most recognized films were The Singing City, The Song of Night, Ich liebe alle Frauen, The Charm of La Boheme, and The Land of Smiles. He appeared in approximately twelve Polish musicals, including O czym się nie myśli in 1926, Die Singende Stadt in 1930, Tout Pour L'amour in 1933, and Mon coeur t'appelle in 1934. With earnings from his performances abroad, he financed the construction of the Hotel Patria in the border town of Krynica-Zdrój at a cost of approximately three million US dollars.

On October 31, 1936, Kiepura married Hungarian-born lyric soprano Marta Eggerth, and the two performed together regularly in operettas, concerts, recordings, and films throughout the remainder of his life. In 1937, with the rise of German Nazism, the couple fled Europe and emigrated to the United States. During the early 1940s Kiepura was associated with the Civic Opera of Chicago.

His Broadway career ran from 1943 to 1945. In 1943 he appeared at the Majestic Theater in a production of The Merry Widow, taking the role of Danilo alongside his wife, and subsequently toured the production to other American cities. He later starred in the musical Polonaise, which featured music drawn from the works of Frédéric Chopin and was presented at the Majestic Theater in 1946. His Broadway credits also include The Merry Widow Burlesque.

Throughout his career Kiepura received numerous honors from several countries. He was awarded Poland's Order of Polonia Restituta, France's Legion of Honour, and Sweden's Order of the Polar Star, among other national and international distinctions. He died at the age of 64 in New York and was buried at Powązki Cemetery in Warsaw.