Édouard de Reszke

Édouard de Reszke as Mephistopheles in Gounod's opera Faust

Reszke debuted in Aida in Paris on 22 April 1876. He was chosen by the composer Giuseppe Verdi for the role as the King of Egypt.[14][15] Fortunately, when he auditioned he already knew the opera well, because he was hired just days before the performance. He was asked to grow a beard so that he looked more like a king than the young man that he was.[15] That year, Reszke began using the French version of his surname: de Reszke.[16] Josephine and Jean, who had careers as opera singers,[17] changed their surname that year, too.[16] After Aida, he performed at the Théâtre des Italiens for two seasons.[12][13]

In 1879, he performed in Maria Tudor at the Teatro alla Scala and Indra in the premiere of Le roi de Lahore in Milan.[18] The role of Ilda was created for him by Jules Massenet.[12] He sang at Covent Garden in London in 1880.[2] The following year, he performed in The Prodigal Son, Simon Boccanegra, and Ernani. He performed as Charles V in Don Giovanni d'Austria and the king in Elda in southern cities including Lisbon, Trieste, and Turin.[18]

He performed in Italian opera at Covent Garden in London.[12] While in the capital of England, the Reszkes were often entertained at the residence of Lady de Grey, who treated the men like royalty and enjoyed their senses of humor. One night they missed their train for London to make their perform at Covent Garden, a guest remembered he was the honorary president of the local fire brigade and arranged for them to be taken to London in good speed.[19]

Reszke admired his brother, who was the leader of the two. He gladly sacrificed opportunities for a better and more independent career to perform with him,[8] which began after Jean had established himself as a tenor. In 1884, they appeared in Hérodiade at the Théâtre-Italien. Josephine joined her brothers in the role of Salome later in the run. In Le Cid, Jean had the title role and Reszke created the role of Don Diègue. They performed in Roméo et Juliette and Don Giovanni.[12]

Reszke and his brother Jean and sister Josephine were described as a jolly trio:

Energetic, hand some, even-tempered, gifted linguists, free from the customary eccentricities of the "star," they were social favorites. The imitative faculties which Jean and Edouard had shown since childhood were generously exercised to aid a host. Colleagues and friends were hilariously entertained by "take-offs" of friends and colleagues, but though the brothers enjoyed caricaturing to amuse, they never did so to wound... They loved practical jokes, but their jokes were never cruel.[8]

In 1887, they performed in Gounod's Faust at the Paris Opéra. Reszke was best known for his role as Mephistopheles, overshadowing his brother. He was compared to Faure, a tenor, who had previous performed as the legendary demon. He excelled as Mephistopheles due to his genuine bass voice and his imposing physical presence.[12] Reszke developed a reputation as a great singer in that year.[2]

The brothers were at Covent Garden in London from 1887 to 1890.[20] They performed in French productions of a full-length version of Faust as well as Les Huguenots with Jean Lassalle and under the impresario Augustus Harris. With these operas, the men added Wagner operas, beginning with Lohengrin and Die Meistersinger von Nürnberg , sung in Italian. This was the beginning of the addition of Wagner works to the brothers' repertoire.[12]

The Reszkes performed in Warsaw and Russia. From Poland, the Reszkes were Russian citizens. During the winter of 1889–1890, they were called to a command performance by the Tsar of Russia, which made Jean nervous. The performance, and other command performances, went well for the Tsar, who ennobled the Reszkes in appreciation.[21] More than three decades earlier, their father Jan Reszke was exiled to Siberia in 1863 by the Russian government for his leadership role in the January Uprising; he was there five years.[22]

They frequently performed together in the United States,[20] beginning in Chicago then New York's Metropolitan Opera in 1891.[2] They starred with Nellie Melba in Elaine by Bemberg.[23] Maurice Grau of Abbey, Schoeffel and Grau had a formula for winning casts: the Reszke brothers, Lassalle, Plancon, and two prima donnas. According to The New York Times, that period was considered the "golden days" of art and great voices.[23] He and his brother were among the list of well-known opera singers from Poland.[24]

Reszke performed a wide range of roles in French, German and Italian operas, including works by Wagner, Verdi, Gounod, and Meyerbeer.[12] In addition to his role as Mephistopheles, he was also known for his roles as Leporello, Sachs, and Hagen.[2]

A tall, genial man, Reszke possessed a big, smooth, flexible and ripe-toned voice that matched his imposing physique and extroverted personality.[12] He had a "full, resonant bass, capable of sending forth notes of immense volume or those of the most tender quality. His appearance was that of a broad-shouldered giant, with fair skin and blue eyes, and his stage presence was imposing.[25]

In 1903, he retired from the stage and helped his brother teach singing in Paris,[1][26] and four years later opened a singing school in London.[2][25] In 1909, he closed his school in London due to recurring bouts of bronchitis and dizziness and began to teach in Warsaw, which he had to stop due to his health problems prior to World War I.[27]

In the 25 years since Prince Albert's death, Queen Victoria did little entertaining, but in 1889 she issued a command for Emma Albani and the Reszke brothers to join her at Windsor Castle. The three performed solos and duets from L'Étoile du Nord, Lohengrin, Faust, Sweet Bird, Carmen, and La traviata. The Queen expressed her appreciation while "smiling and full of kindness".[8] The same year, they performed a gala performance for the Shah of Persia.[8] In 1890, after a performance of Faust at Windsor Castle, Reszke was given the Royal Victorian Order by the Queen, as was his brother fourteen months earlier.[28][29]

The Queen wrote of the Reszkes in her diary:

...we had a fantastic musical feast at the dinner, which was part of a show whose task was to compensate to us the absence of Jean de Reszke in the staging of Romeo and Juliet. Jean and Edward de Reszke represented all the qualities of youthfulness. It was a gorgeous display of musical skills. The two brothers’ singing was exquisite, their performance shall be memorable, so enchanting and ear-pleasing it was... The depth and powerfulness of Edward's voice were wonderful; the timbre of Jean's voice attracted with its amazing tone, worth of listening... There was no doubt that the brothers were gifted with the most eminent voices, and their singing fashion appears perfect indeed... I could be listening to this music longer still, endlessly. This is a real mastery. The voice pure and beautiful added pleasure to our soirée, and I wish it had never ended.[30]

External video
"Infelice", from Ernani
"Chi Mi Dira" (Porter's Song) from Martha
"Serenade" from Don Juan

Reszke made three records for commercial release that were recorded by the Columbia Phonograph Company in 1903.[31]

Mapleson Cylinders, primitive recordings made privately during an actual performance at the Metropolitan Opera in 1901, exist. It has been released with other performances on CD by the Symposium label.[7][32][33]

At the start of World War I (1914), residents of Warsaw had been told to flee the city for their safety. Children were told to cross the Alexandrian Bridge (pl), and that they would return later. As children marched across the bridge, Reszke sang Jescze Polska nie zginęła (pl) (English: Poland Is Not Yet Lost).[38]

He retired to his estate in Poland, where he was adversely affected by the outbreak of World War I in Europe in 1914. He, his wife, and his daughters were stuck at their estate in Granek, cut off from his brother in Paris by the fighting. He had a difficult time earning money for his family and they lived in destitution during the war.[25][39] At the start of the war, lines of communication were closed to them. His 12,000-acre estate called Borowno was in ruins and they lived in the cellar for one year. Princess and Prince Lubomirski, their neighbors, lived underground with them.[25][40] They had little food and were generally unsuccessful foraging for food. The Russian and German troops were on opposite sides of their house and during their conflict they shot through the house. Having run out of coal and with just a handful grain, they were cold and hungry.[40] After the troops left the area, they were somewhat comfortable for a time, but then had to hide out in a cold cave for their protection. After that they returned home. Reszke became ill and suffered from crippling rheumatism. He became very thin and unable to lie down, so he spent his time in an arm chair for a while. He was cared for by his wife and children, during which time he told funny and interesting stories about his career to lighten the mood.[41]

Reszke died of illness on 25 May 1917 in Garnek, near Częstochowa, Poland (16 kilometres (9.9 mi) from the village of Borowno.[2]) or at his estate in Erietrikov, Poland.[42] He was buried at the Michalski family tomb at the Borowno estate.[43] Daughter Minia comforted Jean after her father's death, and was with Jean when he died.[35]

Gala and command performances by Jean and Édouard de Reszke at Covent Garden and Command Performances at Windsor Castle:

• 2 July 1889 — Gala in honour of the Shah of Persia:
  • Éduoard as Mephistofele in Act I of Mefistofele and as Mefistofele in Act 4 of Faust
  • Jean as Faust in Act 4 of Faust
• 8 July 1891 — Visit of the Emperor and Empress of Germany
  • Éduoard as Enrico in Act 1 of Lohengrin, as Laurent in Act 4 of Roméo et Juliette and as San Bris in Act 4 of Les Huguenots
  • Jean as Lohengrin in Act 1 of Lohengrin, as Romeo in Act 4 of Roméo et Juliette and as Raoul in Act 4 of Les Huguenots
• 4 July 1893 — Gala in honour of the marriage of the Duke of York and Princess Mary of Teck
  • Éduoard as Laurent in Roméo et Juliette
  • Jean as Romeo in Roméo et Juliette
• 23 June 1897 — 60th Anniversary of Queen Victoria's accession
  • Éduoard as Laurent in Act 3 of Roméo et Juliette
  • Jean as Romeo in Act 3 of Roméo et Juliette
• 27 June 1898 — Command Performance at Windsor Castle (no data on programme)
• 24 May 1899 — Command Performance at Windsor Castle
  • Éduoard as Enrico in Lohengrin
  • Jean as Lohengrin in Lohengrin
• 16 July 1900 — Command Performance at Windsor Castle
  • Éduoard as Mefistofele in Faust