▶️Bogdan Paprocki was born on 23rd of September 1919 in Toruń, Poland and died on 3rd of September 2010 in Warsaw, Poland. One of the most outstanding Polish opera singers of the second half of the 20th century. He created many outstanding works that have become part of the history of singing. He is still regarded as the best interpreter of the Stanisław Moniuszko roles of Jontek and Stefan. His extraordinary vocal talent, supported by a conscious workshop, sensitivity and musical culture have created the legend of this exceptional artist.
Bogdan Paprocki began his extraordinary operatic career with the role of Alfredo in Giuseppe Verdi’s La traviata on the stage of the Silesian Opera in Bytom, Poland on 23rd of November 1946. He was connected with Bytom for many seasons – at the same time he began his cooperation with the Warsaw Opera, where he sang for 60 seasons.
In 1958 Bogdan Paprocki sang the role of Riccardo in Un ballo in maschera at the Silesian Opera; his partner on stage was another outstanding polish opera singer Andrzej Hiolski as Renato. The Silesian press wrote at the time: These two singers are the summits of our culture. The years that followed proved that these were not the highest peaks for either artist. Hiolski was in his element in highly dramatic roles in which he could show a wide range of expression.
▶️The artist sang the entire repertoire appropriate to his vocal qualities. In the course of my career I have sung almost everything I would like to and should sing….
In Warsaw he first became famous as Andrea Chenier, the unforgettable Stefan in Stanislaw Moniuszko’s The Haunted Manor (a performance that inaugurated the activity of the Grand Theatre in Warsaw rebuilt after the Second World War in 1965), Don José in Carmen, Rudolf in La bohème, Don Carlos, Lensky in Eugene Onegin, Canio in I pagliacci, Duca in Rigoletto, Manrico in Il trovatore Cavaradossi in Tosca, Pinkerton in Madama Butterfly, Turiddu in Cavaleria rusticana, the title character in Les contes d’Hoffmann and, above all, Jontek in Moniuszko’s Halka. His Stefan and Jontek are considered roles, great creations, the building blocks of Polish patriotism.
▶️With a great sense of national dignity, Paprocki associated his entire artistic life with Poland. He did not accept many offers of international fame. In 1959, while in the USA, I was offered the opportunity to work at the New York City Opera, but on the condition that if I returned to Poland, the offer would no longer be valid. In an interview with the Voice of America, he said without hesitation that he would rather stay at home, even barefoot and eating dry bread. I have performed abroad many times. I have toured halfway around the world, but I have never decided to sign a permanent contract, even though I have had many offers.
Bogdan Paprocki’s artistic output is impressive and extremely varied. It consists of more than 50 opera roles, participation in more than 2,800 opera performances, (he sang “The Hounted Manor” and “Halka” almost 300 times), numerous concerts, recordings for Polish and foreign record companies, recordings for Polish Radio and Television…. He has participated in the jury of numerous national and international vocal competitions…. In Poland he has performed in opera performances in 30 cities. Abroad, he has sung in 87 opera houses – on four continents, and in concerts he has performed in 182 cities in Poland …
▶️Asked – how does the most illustrious Artist of Poland feel in this new role, a few days after the premiere of Stanisław Moniuszko’s The Haunted Manor, which took place on 9 February 2007 in the Grand Theatre in Poznań, where Bogdan Paprocki served as artistic consultant, he said I am a man from an era that no longer exists. I constantly imagine, having seen so many realisations already, that Poland should have something so representative in two operas – ‘The Haunted Manor’ and ‘Halka’ – where there will be no room for mindless fantasies. Let’s show it in the original version, as Moniuszko imagined it. This can be done on the condition of selecting beautiful voices, a great chorus and ballet, an excellent orchestra. If these elements are met, Moniuszko will always defend himself.
▶️Two years before his death, the artist said: Fate has been extraordinarily generous to me. It has given me 88 healthy and peaceful years of life, 63 happy artistic seasons and 2,800 enchanting evenings on the opera stage. It is as if, for more than seven years, I had been standing in the spotlight, evening after evening, without a day’s rest, in front of my dear, warm, reliable and understanding audience.
I believe that there are two most important things in life – health and work. When I go on stage, I try to give my best. I think that’s one of the recipes for my long singing career.
Material based on interviews with Ms Anna Lewandowicz
MAESTRO Portal