Czaplicki Jerzy, *24 April 1902 Warsaw, †19 April 1992 Warsaw, Polish singer (baritone). He trained at the Warsaw Conservatoire and, from 1923 – thanks to a scholarship he had secured – in Italy under N. Gontaruk and E. Ventura. In 1928, he made his debut in Vigevano (near Milan), standing in for an ill singer from La Scala’s company in Leoncavallo’s Pagliacci and Mascagni’s Cavalleria Rusticana; he subsequently sang in Bergamo, Piacenza, Venice and Milan. From 1931, he was a soloist at the Warsaw Opera, where he sang, among others, in Gounod’s Faust, Meyerbeer’s L’Africaine, Leoncavallo’s Pagliacci, Mascagni’s Iris and Verdi’s Don Carlos. In 1932, he won second prize at a singing competition in Vienna. Following guest appearances in Lviv in 1937 – thanks to an enthusiastic recommendation from A. Didur – he was engaged by the Chicago Opera, where he made his debut in the opening performance of the new season in Verdi’s Aida, with Gigli as his partner; he remained with the company until 1944, admired in particular for his roles as Scarpia in Puccini’s Tosca and Iago in Verdi’s Otello. From 1946, for three consecutive seasons, he sang at the San Francisco Opera, mainly in the Wagnerian repertoire. After 1950, whilst still in his prime, he gave up his singing career. In 1967 he returned to Poland; in 1971 he became vocal director of the Grand Theatre in Warsaw. After 1971 he retired from artistic activity.
Literature: W. Panek Kariery i legendy, vol. 3, Wrocław 1994; J. Kański Mistrzowie sceny operowej, Krakow 1998.
