Jean de Reszke
Jean de Reszke was a Polish dramatic tenor and opera star. Reszke came from a wealthy Polish family with classical and operatic musical traditions. His mother gave him his first singing lessons and provided a home that was a recognized music centre. His sister Josephine and younger brother Édouard performed in Western Europe, and Reszke would perform with each of them throughout his career.
He began as a baritone, but after having been trained by Giovanni Sbriglia he found that he was better suited and was most proficient as a tenor. His performance as John the Baptist in Massenet's Hérodiade in Paris in 1883 made him a notable singer. Reszke ranked as the world's leading tenor from that point until his retirement from the stage in 1902. He performed at opera houses in Paris, London, and New York among other places, including command performances for Queen Victoria. He was known for his desire to perform operas in the language in which they were written. Rather than taking the time-honored interpretation of the music and the characters, he brought a fresh and fuller perspective that impressed the audience, impresarios, and conductors. Music critic Camille Bellaigue said that he "gave to every word the fullness of its meaning and to every note the perfection of sound."
After suffering from a respiratory illnesses that affected his performances, he retired from the stage just after the turn of the 20th century. He was then a renowned vocal teacher and a horse breeder.
Early years
Jan Mieczysław Reszke was born into a prosperous family with operatic and classical music traditions in Warsaw, Congress Poland, in 1850. Both his parents were Poles; his father, Jan Reszke was a Polish state official and railroad controller and his mother, Emiljia, an amateur soprano. Their household was a recognized musical centre.His mother, Emilia Ufniarska, first taught him to sing. She was a soprano who had studied under Manuel García and Pauline Viardot, his daughter. He sang with his siblings Josephine and Édouard at a soirée in 1869 and he sang soprano solos as a boy in Warsaw Cathedral. Édouard, a bass, debuted in Aida in Paris in April 1876.
Reszke studied law at the city's university, but after a few years he abandoned his legal schooling to study singing. He initially trained as a baritone under Francesco Ciaffei at the Warsaw Conservatoire, followed by lessons with Antonio Cotogni in Italy.
Becoming a tenor
In January 1874, Reszke made his debut in Venice undertaking the baritone part of Alfonso in a production of Donizetti's La favorite. To appeal to his audience, he was billed as Giovanni de Reschi, an Italianised version of his name. He sang opposite his sister Josephine at Teatro Malibran. In April 1874, he sang for the first time in London, performing at the Theatre Royal, Drury Lane, and on 11 October 1876 in Paris in La forza del Destino. His name was established or billed correctly as Jean de Reszke beginning with this Paris performance. He performed in other operas as a baritone, such as Figaro in The Barber of Seville and Valentin in Faust. His voice was compared to that of Enrico Caruso.Reszke displayed limitations as a baritone and his voice had matured so that the "high notes became rounder and easier". He withdrew from the stage to allow for a further period of study, this time in Paris under Giovanni Sbriglia. His voice gained remarkably in the freedom of its upper register under Sbriglia. Reszke traveled with his sister Josephine, a soprano, and his younger brother Édouard as they performed in Western Europe, during which he took of note what performer's skills he wished to emulate and what traits he wished to avoid.
He made his reappearance in 1879 as a tenor in Madrid in the title-role of Meyerbeer's Robert le diable. The performance was not a huge success and for the next five years he would only sing in concert. In 1884, composer Jules Massenet and famous baritone Victor Maurel persuaded him to sing the role of John the Baptist in Massenet's Hérodiade. Reluctantly, he obliged and sang the role opposite his sister, Josephine, as Salomé. Despite suffering a nervous breakdown before the performance and having to be physically restrained by his brother, Edouard, and Maurel, his performance was a sensation; turning the then 34 year-old De Reszke into an overnight celebrity.
Fame
Performances
Reszke ranked as the foremost dramatic tenor until his retirement from the stage. He sang regularly at the Paris Opera during the ensuing years of his vocal prime. After his 1884 Hérodiade, he secured a five-year contract with Paris Opera from 1885 through 1890. During that period, he performed as Rodrique in Le Cid, which Jules Massenet had written for him; as Roméo in Roméo et Juliette by Gounod, as Radamés In Verdi's Aida, the title role in Faust, Jean de Leyde in Meyerbeer's Le prophète, and Vasco de Gama in L'Africaine by the same composer.Jean and his brother Édouard performed together at Covent Garden in London from 1887 to 1890. In 1887, Reszke was re-engaged by the management at London's Drury Lane, delivering among other things a notable Radamès in Verdi's Aida. The following year he was heard again in London, appearing no longer at Drury Lane but at the Royal Opera House, Covent Garden. Reszke's Covent Garden appearances in 1888 proved exceedingly popular with audiences. Indeed, they were mainly responsible for the revival of the operatic art form as a fashionable amusement in London. Reszke would sing in the British capital nearly every year until 1900. British critics stated that he was the greatest tenor since Mario.
The Reszke's performed in Warsaw and Russia. From Poland, the Reszkes were Russian citizens. During the winter of 1889–1890, they were called to a command performance by the Tsar of Russia, which made Jean nervous. The performance, and other command performances, went well for the Tsar, who ennobled the Reszkes in appreciation. Jean was the only performer to dine with the Tsar at his own table. More than three decades earlier, their father Jan Reszke was exiled to Siberia in 1863 by the Russian government for his leadership role in the January Uprising; he was there five years.
In 1891, Reszke sang in the United States for the first time. He and his brother continued to frequently perform together. They starred with Nellie Melba in Elaine by Bemberg. From 1893 to 1899 he starred in every season at the Metropolitan Opera House in New York City. Maurice Grau of Abbey, Schoeffel and Grau had a formula for winning casts: the de Reszke brothers, Lassalle, Plancon, and two prima donnas. According to The New York Times, that period was considered the "golden days" of art and great voices.
Over the course of his career, he mastered a number of roles. Including, but not limited to: Vasco da Gama in L'Africaine and Raoul in Les Huguenots, Faust in Faust, Lohengrin in Lohengrin, Siegfried, and Wagner's Tristan in Tristan und Isolde. By making these roles his own, he pushed aside the time-worn faute de mieux and brought a fresh understanding of the characters. Herman Klein, an English music critic, described his Raoul as "superb", his Faust was "unsurpassable" and that he was "an ideal Lohengrin".
The Australian lyric soprano Nellie Melba performed with Jean and Édouard and was a close personal friend. He performed in the United States until 1901.
In 1902, he retired from the stage as Canio in the French premiere of Pagliacci by Ruggero Leoncavallo at the Paris Opera.
Expertise
Reszke spoke German, French, Italian, Russian, Polish, and English. He was adept at translating the styles of the different operatic traditions: "From the Italian one learned the legato line and the control that comes from agility, the French school gave charm and sobriety, while the German method taught energy of diction, the violence required in certain dramatic situations and a particular poetic vehemence, or exuberance..."At Covent Garden, operas were performed in Italian traditionally. Reszke was the first to sing Wagner in German at the Covent Garden in the 1895–1896 season. He saw the composer's works as something sacred and brought intensity, skill, and charisma to his performances. Rather than following the interpretations of the music by the conductor, Reszke relied on his understanding about how a work should be performed. Some conductors were reticent to take his suggestions, while other conductors and impresarios were in awe of him. His bel canto performances, based upon his understanding of Wagner's works, provided a deeper meaning of the compositions. Music critic Camille Bellaigue stated that he "gave to every word the fullness of its meaning and to every note the perfection of sound."
During his heyday, Reszke sang Italian operas less frequently than French or Wagnerian ones. Indeed, in 1891, his keenly awaited interpretation of the title role in Verdi's last tragic masterpiece, Otello, had disappointed the critics somewhat; while expertly sung and played, it lacked the clarion ring and elemental force that his main tenor rival, Francesco Tamagno, had brought to the part. On this occasion Shaw also chided him for his laziness and his customary lateness in meeting cues.