Mariusz Kwiecień
| Mariusz Kwiecień | |
|---|---|
| Born |
4 November 1972 Kraków, Poland |
| Occupation | Opera singer |
| Years active | 1993–present |
| Website |
www |
Mariusz Kwiecień (Polish: [ˈmar-juʂ ˈkvjɛ-tɕɛɲ], born 4 November 1972) is a Polish operatic baritone who has sung leading roles in the major opera houses of Europe and North America. He has received particular distinction in the title role of Mozart's Don Giovanni which he has sung at the Vienna State Opera,[1] Bilbao Opera, Houston Grand Opera, San Francisco Opera,[2] Santa Fe Opera,[3] Warsaw Opera, Royal Opera House, London,[4] and Seattle Opera where he won the company's 2006-2007 Artist of the Year award for this role,[5] and the Metropolitan Opera.
Career
Kwiecień studied at the Warsaw Academy of Music and began his professional career as Aeneas in Purcell's Dido and Aeneas at the Kraków Opera in 1993. In 1995 he sang the title role in The Marriage of Figaro in Luxembourg and Poznań, and made his Warsaw Opera debut the following year as Stanisław in Moniuszko's rarely performed Verbum Nobile.[6] Debuts in major European and American opera houses soon followed.
A former student of the Metropolitan Opera's Lindemann Young Artist Development Program, he made his Met debut in 1999 as Kuligin in Janáček's Káťa Kabanová. By 2003 he was singing leading baritone roles there including Marcello in La bohème (2003), Silvio in Pagliacci (2004), Count Almaviva in The Marriage of Figaro (2005), Guglielmo in Così fan tutte (2005), Dr. Malatesta in Don Pasquale (2006), and Enrico in Lucia di Lammermoor (2007).[7]
Kwiecień has won awards in several international voice competitions, including the Vienna State Opera and Hamburg State Opera Prizes in the 1996 Hans Gabor Belvedere Competition, and the Mozart Interpretation Prize and Audience Choice Award in the 1998 Francisco Viñas Competition in Barcelona. He was also selected to represent Poland in the 1999 Cardiff Singer of the World competition.[8]
Recordings
- Slavic Heroes Arias from Russian (Eugene Onegin, Iolanta, Mazeppa, Prince Igor, Aleko, Sadko), Polish (Halka, The Haunted Manor, Verbum nobile, King Roger) and Czech (The Cunning Peasant, The Devil's Wall) operas. Polish Radio Symphony Orchestra, Lukasz Borowicz. HMF
- A Night At The Opera (Kristine Jepson, Mariusz Kwiecień, Matthew Polenzani, Valerian Ruminski, Indra Thomas, Royal Philharmonic Orchestra, Charles Rosekranz) Naxos 8557309
References
- ↑ Midgette, Anne, "Women Onstage and in the Pit at a Venerable Opera House", The New York Times, 25 January 2005
- ↑ Rowe, Georgia, "Kwiecień exudes Don Giovanni", The Contra Costa Times, 31 May 2007
- ↑ Smith, Craig, "Don Giovanni in excelsis at Santa Fe", The New Mexican, 5 July 2004
- ↑ Gutman, David "Don Giovanni", 9 September 2008
- ↑ Seattle Opera (accessed 24 September 2007)
- ↑ Naxos Records (accessed 24 September 2007)
- ↑ The Metropolitan Opera Archives (accessed 24 September 2007)
- ↑ Naxos Records (accessed 24 September] 2007)
Sources
- Bargreen, Melinda,"New production sets quite a stage for stellar 'Giovanni'", Seattle Times, 15 January 2007 (accessed 24 September 2007)
- Concurso Internacional de Canto Francisco Viñas (accessed 24 September 2007)
- Dobnik, Verena, "Met's Cav and Pag shines from the orchestra up", Associated Press, 31 October 2004
- Kozinn, Allan, "Hints of Youthful Charm and a Dash of the Sublime", New York Times, 5 February 2005
- Meyers, Eric, "Mostly Mariusz", Opera News, January 2006, vol 70, no. 7 (available on subscription — accessed 24 September 2007)
- Winn, Steven, "Kwiecien's Marcello stirs pulse of Opera's Bohème", San Francisco Chronicle, 8 January 2004
External links
- Mariusz Kwiecien official website (accessed 24 September 2007)
- Biography on Columbia Artists Management (Biography, schedule of engagements, high resolution photos — accessed 24 September 2007)
- Biography at Culture.pl