Beczała Piotr, *28 December 1966 Czechowice-Dziedzice, Polish singer (tenor). In 1986–92, he studied singing at the Academy of Music in Katowice (initially with I. Lewińska, later with J. Ballarin). During his studies, he improved his vocal skills in Weimar under the supervision of P. Lisizian (1987), and also in Lenk (Switzerland, 1988) and Villecrose (France, 1989) with S. Jurinac. From 1992, he took singing lessons with D. Fundling. In 1992, he made his debut on the stage of the Landestheater in Linz, where he performed until 1997. In 1996, he sang the part of Belmont from The Abduction from the Seraglio by W.A. Mozart at the opera in Zurich, and a year later, he became a member of the theatre’s ensemble. In 2004, he performed for the first time in the United States on the stage of the San Francisco Opera (Leński in P. Tchaikovsky’s Eugene Onegin). He cooperates with, among others, La Scala in Milan, De Nederlandse Opera in Amsterdam, Théâtre de la Monnaie in Brussels, Opera in Paris, Deutsche Oper in Berlin, Wiener Staatsoper, Grand Théâtre in Geneva, Teatro Comunale in Bologna, Metropolitan Opera House in New York, Covent Garden in London and the Grand Theater-National Opera in Warsaw. He regularly performs at festivals in Salzburg, Vienna, Zurich and Lucerne, and has also guested at the Musikverein and Konzerthaus in Vienna, the Concertgebouw in Amsterdam, the Philharmonic Hall in Berlin, Munich and others. In 2007, he performed in Warsaw (The Prince of Mantua in Rigoletto by G. Verdi) and as part of the Poznań Concerts, and in 2008 in Warsaw, he played the role of Edgar in Lucia di Lammermoor by G. Donizetti. Beczała’s repertoire includes mainly tenor lyrical parts in operas by Verdi, Donizetti, Puccini, Bellini, Mozart, Massenet, Gounod, Tchaikovsky, Dvořák, as well as oratorio-cantata and religious works by Dvořák, Beethoven and Schubert. He is a recognised performer of works by K. Szymanowski (songs, the role of the Shepherd in King Roger); with the pianist R. Mees, he recorded the album Szymanowski. Complete Songs for Voice and Piano (Channel Classics 2004), and with the ensemble of the Grand Theater-National Opera under the direction of J. Kaspszyk, they recorded King Roger (CD Accord 2003).
Beczała has recorded numerous albums, including Abduction from the Seraglio by W.A. Mozart (Arte Nova 1997, Oehms Classics 2010), Mass in E-flat major by F. Schubert (ORF/Casinos Austria LID 1997), Svatá Ludmila by A. Dvořák (Orfeo 1999), Romeo and Juliet by H. Berlioz (Haussier Classic 1999), Simplicius by J. Strauss II (EMI 1999), Jolanta by Tchaikovsky (Relief 2002), Die Rheinnixen by J. Offenbach (CD Accord 2002), Traviata by G. Verdi (Farao Classics 2006), The Land of Smiles by F. Léhar (CPO 2006), Salut! (arias in Italian and French, Orfeo 2007), Faust by Ch. Gounod (Orfeo 2009), Slavic Opera Arias (Orfeo 2009). Several Beczała’s creations (including performances in Zurich and Salzburg) have been recorded on DVDs, including The Abduction from the Seraglio by Mozart (Bel Air Media 2003), The Merry Widow by Léhar (Arthaus 2004), Der Rosenkavalier by R. Strauss (TDK 2004), Traviata and Rigoletto by Verdi (Arthaus 2005, 2006), Don Giovanni by Mozart (twice – Decca 2006, EMI 2006), Lucia di Lammermoor by Donizetti (DG 2009), Beethoven’s LX Symphony (Unitel/C Major 2010).
