Stanisław Gruszczyński, tenor Opery Warszawskiej (from the Warsaw Opera) - Śmiej się, pajacu (Vesti la Giubba („Pagliacci” Leoncavallo) z fortepianem (with piano) Syrena, c. 1927 (Polish; accoustical recording)

Dear friends! With MY BEST WIHES FOR THE EASTER for the all of you
I am uploading the penultimate recording on my list of opera presentations during Holy Week and Easter this year.
I will present the last one tomorrow. And then – we’re back to happy jazz again!

NOTE: Stanisław GRUSZCZYŃSKI (b. 1891 in Ludwinowo near Wilno, now in Lithuania - d. 1959 in Milanówek near Warsaw, Poland). Born into a peasant family, he was absorbed into city life at an early age and took part in anti-Russian demonstrations and street fights in Wilno. In 1908 he moved to Warsaw, where he worked in a chocolate factory and as a waiter. For some time he took private singing lessons and in 1915 made his debut at the vaudeville-operetta theater of Nowości, where he successfully performed in operettas by Offenbach and J. Strauss. His beautiful and incredibly powerful tenor was heard in 1916 by the director of the Grand Theatre in Warsaw, and Gruszczynski was immediately given the lead role in Verdi's Aida. His almost ”titanic” voice reportedly shattered the chandelier crystals in the theater, and Gruszczynski became a star, abroad as well, where he was considered one of the best tenors in Europe at the time. He appeared on most European opera stages, including those in Vienna, Milan, Lisbon and Barcelona, and was everywhere invited to sing his parts in Polish, an uncommon privilege for few singers. He recorded for the record companies His Master's Voice and Parlophon, as well as in Warsaw for Syrena, until his engagement at the Warsaw’s Opera expired in 1931. It became clear that the sudden increase in wealth and free living style combined with a lack of solid musical education had caused a gradual loss of the qualities of his voice. In the 1930s, Stanisław Gruszczyński could only be seen and heard on the stages of cabarets or music-halls Rex, Hollywood, or Wielka Rewia. He became addicted to alcohol and began to lose his accumulated wealth (including his own stud farm). During World War II, he worked physically and as a coachman. After the war he got a job in a small town of Milanówek near Warsaw as a manager of a local theater troupe and as a librarian. He continued to drink heavily and died in 1959 completely forgotten.

See another fabulous operatic renditions of that singer [ Ссылка ] - it's aria from Andrea Chenier recorded in 1926
and Gabriel Faure's " Crucifix" sung in duet with the Polish baritone Eugeniusz Mossaakowski [ Ссылка ]

And his rendition of the popular tango "Przyjdź" sung in the revue theatre Morskie Oko (1932) [ Ссылка ]

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