Piotr Beczała

Piotr Beczała (Polish pronunciation: [ˈpjɔtr bɛˈt͡ʂawa]); born 28 December 1966) is a Polish operatic tenor with an international career based primarily in Europe and the United States. He has performed in the world's leading opera houses including Metropolitan Opera, La Scala, Gran Teatre del Liceu, Royal Opera House, Semperoper, Carnegie Hall, Teatro Real, Deutsche Oper Berlin and is particularly known for his portrayals of characters from the operas of Giuseppe Verdi and Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart.[2] In 2015, he was awarded the Knight's Cross of the Order of Polonia Restituta for his artistic achievements.[3]

Piotr Beczała
Piotr Beczała in 2012
Born (1966-12-28) 28 December 1966
Czechowice-Dziedzice, Polish People's Republic
NationalityPolish
Alma materKarol Szymanowski Academy of Music
OccupationOpera singer (tenor)
Years active1992–present
SpouseKatarzyna Bąk[1]
AwardsEcho Klassik Award (2014)
Order of Polonia Restituta (2015)
International Opera Award (2018)
Medal for Merit to Culture – Gloria Artis (2018)
Websitepiotrbeczala.com

Life

He 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 Zürich Opera. One of his early roles in Zürich 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.[4] 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.[5]

In 2012/2013, Beczała reprised his role as the Duke in Michael Mayer's new "Rat Pack" production of Rigoletto at the Metropolitan Opera.[6] 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.[7] In 2014, he was awarded the Echo Klassik Prize in the Male Singer of the Year category.[8] In the same year, he received the Fryderyk Award conferred by the Polish Society of the Phonographic Industry in the Artist of the Year category[9] as well as the Opera News Award presented by the American classical music magazine Opera News.[10]

Beczała's commercial recordings include a Farao Classics recording of La traviata (as Alfredo Germont), and the complete songs of Karol Szymanowski.[11]

In 2018 Beczała was awarded the International Opera Awards – Best Singer.[12][13] In 2018, Beczala signed an exclusive, multi-album contract with Pentatone. In the same year, he became the recipient of the Gold Medal for Merit to Culture – Gloria Artis awarded by the Ministry of Culture and National Heritage of Poland for his distinguished contributions to the Polish culture and national heritage.[14] His first solo recording on the label, Vincerò!, was released in 2020.[15]

In 2019, Beczała received a Grammy Award nomination in the Best Opera Recording category for his performance in Deutsche Grammophon's 2018 recording Lohengrin.[16]

In 2022, he received an honorary degree from the Karol Szymanowski Academy of Music in Katowice.[17]

Throughout his career he has collaborated with many distinguished artists and conductors including Placido Domingo, Diana Damrau, Gerd Albrecht, Vladimir Jurowski, Anna Netrebko, Antonio Pappano, Angela Gheorghiu, Zubin Mehta, Richard Bonynge, Semyon Bychkov, Sir Andrew Davis, Edo de Waart, Iván Fischer, Marek Janowski, Michael Gielen, Carlo Maria Giulini, Nikolaus Harnoncourt, Trevor Pinnock, Philippe Herreweghe, Mariss Jansons, Ton Koopman, Kent Nagano, Christian Thielemann, Franz Welser-Möst and Alberto Zedda.[18][19]

Selected discography
Piotr Beczała and Anna Netrebko performing in Puccini's La bohème, Salzburg Festival, 2012

Source:[23]

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:[24]

During the 2022-23 season, he is set to be seen in HD as Loris Ipanov in Fedora and the title role in Lohengrin.

See also

References
  1. "Wielki tenor i jego muza. Piotr Beczała i Katarzyna Bąk-Beczała szczerze o swojej miłości" (in Polish). Retrieved 6 August 2022.
  2. "Piotr Beczała. Tenor". Retrieved 6 August 2022.
  3. "M.P. 2015 poz. 851" (in Polish). Retrieved 6 August 2022.
  4. Joshua Kosman (26 November 2004). "Soaring Opera hits new heights in Tchaikovsky's 'Eugene Onegin'". San Francisco Chronicle. Retrieved 7 October 2014.
  5. "Piotr Beczała". Retrieved 6 August 2022.
  6. Anthony Tommasini (29 January 2013). "Bringing the Sinatra Style Out in Rigoletto". The New York Times. Retrieved 7 October 2014.
  7. Lizzy Davies (9 December 2013). "Polish tenor hits back after a 'fanatical minority' boos La Scala production". The Guardian. Retrieved 9 December 2013.
  8. "Piotr Beczała Named Opera Singer of the Year". Retrieved 4 August 2022.
  9. "Piotr Beczała artystą roku!" (in Polish). Retrieved 4 August 2022.
  10. "Tenth Annual Opera News Awards to Honor Piotr Beczala, Ferruccio Furlanetto, Sondra Radvanovsky, Samuel Ramey and Teresa Stratas". Retrieved 4 August 2022.
  11. Andrew Clements (23 July 2004). "Szymanowski: Complete Songs: Beczala/ Gondek/ Kryger/ Sobotka/ Meers". The Guardian. Retrieved 7 October 2014.
  12. Łozińska, Olga. "Best Singer – International Opera Awards". rmfclassic.pl. Retrieved 10 April 2018.
  13. "Poles among winners of prestigious International Opera Awards". Retrieved 7 August 2022.
  14. "Tenor Piotr Beczała odznaczony Złotym Medalem Zasłużony Kulturze Gloria Artis" (in Polish). Retrieved 4 August 2022.
  15. Vincerò!, Pentatone
  16. "Polish singers nominated for Grammy". Retrieved 6 August 2022.
  17. "Uroczystość nadania tytułu doktora honoris causa" (in Polish). Archived from the original on 18 May 2022. Retrieved 6 August 2022.
  18. "Piotr Beczała". Retrieved 6 August 2022.
  19. "Piotr Beczała". Retrieved 6 August 2022.
  20. "Rachmaninoff & Tchaikovsky Romances". Pentatone. Retrieved 15 August 2023.
  21. "Piotr Beczała. The French Collection". Retrieved 6 August 2022.
  22. "Piotr Beczała. Heart's Delight". Retrieved 6 August 2022.
  23. "Discography". Retrieved 6 August 2022.
  24. Met Opera on Demand
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