Wysocki Walery, actually Walerian Wojciech Wysocki, *4 June 1835 Radomsko, †12 October 1907 Lviv, Polish singer (bass) and teacher. After finishing secondary school in Piotrków Trybunalski, he moved to Warsaw and signed up for the Singing School of the Grand Theatre, where he sang in the choir and performed in small solo parts in 1858–61. He debuted in the Italian opera ensemble in 1861, succeeding in G. Donizetti’s Lucrezia Borgia. After a few performances in Warsaw in 1862 (G. Rossini’s Il signor Bruschino, F. Halévy’s La Juive), he started his studies in Italy. He educated himself at the Milan Conservatory with B. Prati and F. Lamperti, then with P. Romani in Florence. He performed in Italy in 1863–68, among others, in opera theatres in Rovigo, Turin, Ancona, Bologna, Palermo, Genua, Florence, Triest, and Milan (Teatro Carcano in 1866, La Scala in 1868); he was especially appreciated in Turin and Milan. He made guest performances in Cologna, Wroclaw (1864) and Sevilla (1865). His best creation included parts in Rossini’s operas – Basilio in The Barber of Seville, Moses in Mosè in Egitto, Mustafà in L’italiana in Algeri, and moreover, the role of Bertram in G. Meyerbeer’s Robert le diable, and Oroveso in V. Bellini’s Norma. Wysocki often gave concerts in Poland, including Lublin (September 1866), Krakow (two concerts in 1867 and 30 March and 5 April 1868), Warsaw (Resursa Obywatelska Palace, 24 May 1867), and Poznan (Bazar Hotel, 11 and 21 February 1868). Finally, in 1868, he gave concerts in a few cities of Galicia with a repertoire of songs and ballads (he willingly sang W. Troschel’s pieces). In November 1868, he accidentally – as it was reported – arrived in Lviv and settled there; he gave up his European opera singer’s career to take up a job as a teacher. He taught singing in music schools in Lviv and in his own singing school, and he became a conservatory professor in 1885. The 30th anniversary of his artistic activity in Poland was celebrated in December 1897 in Lviv (counting from his concerts in Krakow and Warsaw in 1867).
Wysocki had a warm, although small, voice with a beautiful sounding and perfect vocal technique, secrets of which he passed on to his students. At La Scala in Milan, he was called “primo basso cantante assoluto”. As a teacher, he required proper breathing technique, model voice projection, flawless diction and beautiful phrasing. He worked with individual students and groups, often using fragments from Donizetti’s La favorite. He educated a galaxy of outstanding singers, including A. Bandrowski-Sas, A. Myszuga, J. Korolewicz-Waydowa, A. Didur, S. Kruszelnicka-Biccioni, E. Strassern, M. Mokrzycka, H. Zboińska-Ruszkowska, I. Bohuss-Hellerowa, J. Mann, and Z. Mossoczy. Wysocki was considered the most prominent Polish singing teacher of his time.
Literature: E. Kania Ze świata muzycznego. Koncert p. Walerego Wysockiego, “Tygodnik Ilustrowany” 1867 no. 403; Wiadomości miejscowe i potoczne, “Dziennik Poznański” 1868 no. 20 and 35; Korespondencja ze Lwowa, “Kłosy” 1868 no. 179; Jubileusz Walerego Wysockiego, “Echo Muzyczne, Teatralne i Artystyczne” 1897 no. 51; J. Reiss Almanach muzyczny Krakowa 1780–1914, 2 volumes, Kraków 1939; J. Korolewicz-Waydowa Sztuka i życie. Mój pamiętnik, ed. A. Gozdawa-Reutt, Wrocław 1958, 2nd ed. 1969.
