Reszke, Jan
Reszke Józefina, Giuseppina di Reschi, married Kronenberg, *4 June 1855 Warsaw, †22 February 1891 Borowno (near Częstochowa), soprano, sister of Jan and Edward. She started to learn to sing with her mother and then continued with H. Nissen-Salomon at the conservatory in St. Petersburg, later she studied in Italy. She debuted on 1 August 1874 in Venice as Marguerite in Faust by Ch. Gounod. From 22 June 1875 in Opéra de Paris, she sang main parts in Hamlet by A. Thomas, La Juive by F. Halévy, Les Huguenots and Robert le Diable by G. Meyerbeer, becoming the theatre’s prima donna; her biggest achievement was the role of Sitta in Le roi de Lahore by J. Massenet (premiere 27 April 1877). From the season 1877/78, she was a prima donna at the Madrid Opera, in 1879/80 she sang at La Scala in Milan, 1881 at the Covent Garden Theatre (in both the role of Aida in the opera by Verdi), 1882/83 in Spain and Portugal. From 7 May to 3 August 1883, she performed at the opera in Warsaw 20 times as Marguerite, Aida, Rachel in La Juive, Halka in Moniuszko’s opera (3 July) and at numerous concerts in Krakow and Poznań; she donated all her fees to social purposes, saving, among others, Teatr Wielki from bankruptcy and contributing to the reconstruction of the burned Variety Theatre. On 1 March 1884, she dazzled Paris as Salome in Massenet’s Hérodiade and then returned to her country. She taught singing, among others, A. Stromfeld-Klamrzyńska, was an honorary member of the Warsaw Music Society. On 30 September 1885, she married L.J. Kronenberg in Vienna. She had a large voice with a noble timbre, and she used excellent vocal technique (fine finishing of phrases, excellent diction); her creations were a model of simplicity and culture, and she was compared with D. Artôt. Józefina Reszke was buried in the Kronenberg tomb at the Powązki Cemetery in Warsaw.
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.