Piotr Beczała

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Piotr Beczała
Piotr Beczała.png
Piotr Beczała (2012)
Born (1966-12-28) 28 December 1966 (age 54)
Czechowice-Dziedzice, Polish People's Republic
OccupationOpera singer (tenor)
Years active1992–present
Websitepiotrbeczala.com

Piotr Beczała (pronunciation: [pʲɔtr bɛˈt͡ʂa.wa]) (born 28 December 1966) is a Polish operatic tenor.

Life[]

Beczała was born in Czechowice-Dziedzice in southern Poland and initially trained in Katowice, both Upper Silesia. He studied under Sena Jurinac in Switzerland. His first engagements were with the Linz State Theatre from 1992 to 1997, after which he became a regular member of Zurich Opera. One of his early roles in Zurich was that of Matteo in Richard Strauss’ Arabella (with Cheryl Studer in the title role). Between 2004 and 2006, Beczała made several major international house debuts. In April 2004, he made his debut at London's Royal Opera House as the Italian Tenor in Der Rosenkavalier, later returning in October of that year in the title role of Faust, then in June 2005 as the Duke in Rigoletto, and in September 2006, again in Faust. In November 2004, he made his San Francisco Opera and American debut as Lensky in Eugene Onegin.[1] Beczała's La Scala debut came in January 2006 as the Duke in Rigoletto, the role in which he also made his Metropolitan Opera, New York, debut on December 19, 2006. In 2007, Beczała was awarded the Munich Opera Festival Prize.

In 2012/2013, Beczała reprised his role as the Duke in Michael Mayer's new "Rat Pack" production of Rigoletto at the Metropolitan Opera.[2] Following a hostile reception from the loggionisti at the opening night of the 2013/14 La Scala season in La traviata, Beczała announced his refusal ever to appear in another production at La Scala.[3]

Beczała's commercial recordings include a Farao Classics recording of La traviata (as Alfredo Germont), and the complete songs of Karol Szymanowski.[4]

In 2018 Beczała was awarded the International Opera Awards – Best Singer.[5] In 2018, Beczala signed an exclusive, multi-album contract with Pentatone.[citation needed] His first solo recording on the label, Vincero!, was released in 2020.[6]

Video simulcasts[]

Beczała has appeared in eight roles in Met Opera video simulcasts, all of which are available for streaming at Met Opera on Demand:[7]

References[]

  1. ^ Joshua Kosman (2004-11-26). "Soaring Opera hits new heights in Tchaikovsky's 'Eugene Onegin'". San Francisco Chronicle. Retrieved 2014-10-07.
  2. ^ Anthony Tommasini (2013-01-29). "Bringing the Sinatra Style Out in 'Rigoletto'". The New York Times. Retrieved 2014-10-07.
  3. ^ Lizzy Davies (2013-12-09). "Polish tenor hits back after a 'fanatical minority' boos La Scala production". The Guardian. Retrieved 2013-12-09.
  4. ^ Andrew Clements (2004-07-23). "Szymanowski: Complete Songs: Beczala/ Gondek/ Kryger/ Sobotka/ Meers". The Guardian. Retrieved 2014-10-07.
  5. ^ Łozińska, Olga. "Best Singer – International Opera Awards". rmfclassic.pl. Retrieved 10 April 2018.
  6. ^ Vincero!, Pentatone
  7. ^ Met Opera on Demand

External links[]

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