Reszke, Edward
Reszke Jan Mieczysław, Giovanni di Reschi, Jean de Reszke, *14 January 1850 Warsaw, †3 April 1925 Nice, tenor. He started learning to sing with his mother and performed in a choir and as a soloist in Warsaw churches. He started to learn systematically with F. Ciaffei at the Music Institute in Warsaw, in 1868–73, he studied with A. Cotogni in Turin, and later he followed F. and G. Lampert’s instructions in Milan. He debuted in January 1874 in Venice as King Alphonse in G. Donizetti’s La favorite. Until the end of 1876, he sang baritone parts; after two throat surgeries, he decided to change the range of his voice and after three years of study, probably with G. Sbriglia, on 9 November 1879, he made his debut in the tenor role in Robert the Devil by G. Meyerbeer at the Teatro Real in Madrid. For the next few years, he accompanied his siblings, continued his vocal education and performed at salons (e.g. at H. Modrzejewska in London). He met J. Massenet in Paris, who offered him the role of Jean the Baptist in Hérodiade (staged on 1 March 1884, with Edward and Józefina) and the role of Rodrigue in Le Cid (premiere 30 November 1885). In 1885–89, Jan Reszke was the first tenor of the Opéra de Paris, enthusiastically received by the audience; he mainly sang in Aida by G. Verdi (Radames), The African Woman by G. Meyerbeer and Faust by Ch. Gounod. He performed as Radames on 13 June 1887 in London, where he also performed as Lohengrin in R. Wagner’s opera for the first time a few days later. In the autumn of 1887, he sang with his brother in Paris, celebrating the 100th anniversary of the premiere of W.A. Mozart’s Don Giovanni and the 500th performance of Faust. With Jan Reszke in mind, Gounod added the aria O jour de deuil in the finale of Act 3 of Romeo and Juliet; the performance of this opera on 28 November 1888, with the participation of A. Patti and Jan’s brother Edward, became legendary. In the summer of 1889, the brothers went to Bayreuth to see Wagner’s Die Meistersinger de Nuremberg; on 13 July that year, they performed (with N. Melba) in the premiere of this opera in London. The concert of both brothers at Windsor Castle marked the beginning of their friendship with Queen Victoria and the English aristocracy. In the 1889/90 season, both artists stayed in Warsaw and then in St. Petersburg, where they received a knighthood from Tsar Alexander III; from then on, they signed themselves “de Reszke,” In 1890, Jan Reszke worked alternately in London and Paris; in the same year, he appeared in the London premiere of G. Bizet’s Carmen.
In the fall of 1891, the Reszke brothers set off on a journey to America (Louisville, Chicago, Boston); Jan Reszke sang the parts of Lohengrin, Faust, Romeo, Othello, Radames, Raul (Meyerbeer’s Les Huguenots), and on 14 December 1891, he appeared for the first time at the Metropolitan Opera House. In 1893, he performed with his brother at the Opera in Warsaw (Faust, 19 May; Lohengrin, 23 May; Romeo and Juliet, 26 May), donating his fees to social causes. At the end of the year, he appeared again in America (the title role in Massenet’s Werther); in 1894–96, he opened three consecutive seasons in New York, triumphing in the role of Tristan in Wagner’s work (27 November 1895), which he repeated in 1896 in London. In the summer of 1896, he and Cosima Wagner agreed in Bayreuth on the details of the preparation of the role of Siegfried in Wagner’s Twilight of the Gods; when working on the roles of Siegfried and Tristan, he took advice from the conductor of the Metropolitan Opera House, A. Seidel, Wagner’s assistant. He spent the years 1898–1900 in Europe, in 1900 he performed for the last time at the Covent Garden Theatre, and in 1901 he made his last, seventh American tour (over 10 years he performed 227 times at the Metropolitan Opera House in New York and 115 times in other American cities); on 29 April, a ceremonial farewell concert took place at the Metropolitan Opera House, with the participation of S. Bernhardt. In the summer of 1902, he sang the part of Siegfried in Paris for the first time in French, and in the autumn, he sang the newly arranged part of Canio in Pagliacci by R. Leoncavallo; these were his last appearances. He left the stage with full vocal strength.
From 1902, he took up teaching work, creating an opera studio in his house at 53 rue de Faisanderie in Paris, and building a small theatre in its back room. Jan Reszke was an excellent teacher; his students included, among others, M. Teyte (who described his teaching method), F. Kaszowska, L. Slezak, W. Grąbczewski, B. Romaniszyn, B. Sayão; Jan Reszke also provided consultations to A. Patti and J. Korolewicz-Waydowa. During the war, he headed a committee supporting wounded Poles. In 1916, he moved to Fontainebleau, and in 1919 to Nice, where he continued to work as a teacher. He died of pneumonia and was buried in the Montparnasse cemetery in Paris; he had numerous awards, including the highest decoration of the Legion of Honour (Knight of the Grand Cross) and the Royal Victoria Order. Jan Reszke’s only son was a painter, he died in 1918 in the war as a lieutenant in the French army.
In the 1880s and 1890s, Jan Reszke was considered the first tenor in Europe and America, especially as an unrivalled performer of tenor parts in French operas and Wagner’s works. In addition to masterful technique (excellent emission, intonation, diction) and great musicality, his art was characterised by the power of expression, well-thought-out interpretation, excellent acting and warm voice timbre; G.B. Shaw, Ch. Gounod, E. Grieg, and Cosima Wagner, among others, recognised Jan Reszke’s singing. Jan Reszke often sang with his brother or both siblings; he was accompanied by outstanding singers, including N. Melba, L. Nordica, A. Patti and M. Sembrich-Kochańska. Jan Reszke defended himself against recordings, but in 1901–03, 22 recordings were made (fragments from various operas), including 19 for the so-called Mapleson cylinders and 3 for Fonotipia.
Literature: A. Rajchman “Józefina Reszke oraz Bracia Reszke” Echo Muzyczne, Teatralne i Artystyczne 1888 No. 272 and 1893 No. 503; “Ś.p. Józefa z Reszke Kronenbergowa” Tygodnik Ilustrowany 1891 No. 61; J. Kleczyński “Występy braci Reszke” Przegląd Muzyczny 1893 No. 504; H.O. Stecki Wspomnienia mojej młodości, Lviv 1895; Bemol [L. Trzebuchowski] „Szkoła śpiewu Edwarda Reszkego” Świat 1908 No. 42; A. Wieniawski „Ś.p. Jan Reszke” Rzeczpospolita 1925 No. 95; N. Melba „Wspomnienia o braciach Reszke” Muzyka 1926 No. 11/12; C. Leiser Jean de Reszke and the Great Days of Opera, London 1933, reprint Westport (Connecticut) 1970; L. Kronenberg Wspomnienia, Warsaw 1933; B. Romaniszyn „Wspomnienia o Janie Reszkem” Ruch Muzyczny 1948 No. 5/6; H. Modrzejewska Wspomnienia i wrażenia, translated from English by M. Promiński, Kraków 1957; M. Teyte Star on the Door, London 1958; J. Kański Fenomenalne rodzeństwo. Jan Edward, Józefina Reszke, in: Mistrzowie sceny operowej, Kraków 1974, 2nd ed. revised and extended 1998; J. Kański “Wokół rodzeństwa Reszke…” Ruch Muzyczny 1987 Nos 7 and 12; W. Matuszewski “Jak Jan podbił Metropolitan” and M. Gordon-Smith “Słowo ważne jak dźwięk. Maestra B. Sayão opowiada o swoim nauczycielu Janie Reszke” Scena Operowa 1993 Nos 3 and 4.