[Ewa Bandrowska-Turska]
Bandrowska-Turska Ewa Helena, *20 May 1894 Kraków, †25 June 1979 Warsaw, Polish singer (soprano). She was educated by her uncle A. Bandrowski-Sas and H. Zboińska-Ruszkowska. She made her debut in 1919 at a concert at the Polish House in Vienna, and a recital in Krakow (songs by Schubert and Schumann). She first appeared on the opera stage, performing the role of Margaret in Gounod’s Faust (19 February 1917) at the Grand Theatre in Warsaw, then she sang in Krakow (1917) and in the opera group of the City Theater in Lviv (1917–22). Then she was a soloist in the Lviv opera for a year and a half, but the disease forced her to stop performing and undertake long-term treatment. After treatment in Zakopane (1922–23), she returned to the stage of the Grand Theatre in Warsaw (1922–24) and Poznań (1923–25). In the following years, she performed as a guest in Lviv, Katowice, Poznań and again in Warsaw (where she sang with breaks until 1937 and 1949–61), as well as in Bratislava (Halka by Moniuszko, 1928), Stockholm, Copenhagen, Hamburg (1929), Sofia ( 1930), Leningrad, Odesa and Moscow (1934 and 1936), Cleveland (1935) and Paris (1930). From 1926, she sang at the opera in Poznań, and in 1929, she became a soloist at the Grand Theatre in Warsaw. She became famous primarily in the lyrical repertoire (Massenet’s Manon and Werther, Bizet’s The Pearl Fishers, Puccini’s La bohème, Verdi’s La traviata) but also played typically coloratura parts (Mozart’s Abduction from the Seraglio, Rossini’s Barber of Seville, Donizetti’s Lucia di Lammermoor, Delibes’ Lakmé), and also dramatic ones (Moniuszko’s Countess, Rytel’s Ijola, Wagner’s Lohengrin and Tannhäuser). In 1930, she went to Paris at the invitation of the Association of Young Polish Musicians and there she performed mainly in the song repertoire, performing songs by contemporary Polish and French composers, often presented for the first time. Leading French composers (Ravel, Roussel) accompanied her when performing their works; for her, T. Kassern wrote a Concerto for voice and orchestra, and K. Szymanowski prepared an orchestral transcription of Songs of a Fairy Tale Princess (performed in 1933). She gained widespread fame, performing, among others, in Paris (Opéra Comique), Nice, Brussels, Ostend, New York and Chicago, in cities of Italy and the USSR. Her repertoire was exceptionally versatile and included both early and modern music. After World War II, she continued to perform on national stages, collaborating with the Warsaw Opera from 1949; she also continued to give many concerts abroad, receiving applause, especially in the USSR. She appeared on stage for the last time in September 1961, singing the title role in Moniuszko’s Countess at the Warsaw Opera. She conducted her teaching activities as a professor at the State Higher School of Music in Kraków (1945–49) and the Higher Opera School in Poznań (1949–51). Winner of the 1st degree State Award (1952).
Literature: A. Wieniawski E. Bandrowska-Turska, Warsaw 1932; Z. Bieske E. Bandrowska-Turska, wspomnienia artystki, Warsaw 1989 (contains discography).