Josef Zygmunt Szulc (4 April 1875,

Warsaw Warsaw ( pl, Warszawa, ), officially the Capital City of Warsaw,, abbreviation: ''m.st. Warszawa'' is the capital and largest city of Poland. The metropolis stands on the River Vistula in east-central Poland, and its population is officia ...

Warsaw Governorate Warsaw Governorate ( pl, Gubernia warszawska; russian: Варшавская губерния) was an administrative unit (governorate) of Congress Poland. It was created in 1844 from the Masovia and Kalisz Governorates, and had the capital in Wa ...

Russian Empire The Russian Empire was an empire and the final period of the Russian monarchy from 1721 to 1917, ruling across large parts of Eurasia. It succeeded the Tsardom of Russia following the Treaty of Nystad, which ended the Great Northern War. ...

– 10 April 1956,

Paris Paris () is the capital and most populous city of France, with an estimated population of 2,165,423 residents in 2019 in an area of more than 105 km² (41 sq mi), making it the 30th most densely populated city in the world in 2020. S ...

France France (), officially the French Republic ( ), is a country primarily located in Western Europe. It also comprises of Overseas France, overseas regions and territories in the Americas and the Atlantic Ocean, Atlantic, Pacific Ocean, Pac ...

) was a composer and conductor. He also used the pseudonym Jan Sulima.

Life

Born in Poland to a musical family, he began his formal training as a pianist at the Warszawa Conservatory under Moszkowski. He also lived in Berlin briefly (using the name Joseph Schultz) and later moved to Paris to complete his studies in conducting and composition in 1899, converting the spelling of his first name to Joseph. At the conservatoire he trained under

Jules Massenet Jules Émile Frédéric Massenet (; 12 May 1842 – 13 August 1912) was a French composer of the Romantic era best known for his operas, of which he wrote more than thirty. The two most frequently staged are '' Manon'' (1884) and ''Werther' ...

. In 1903 he moved to

Brussels Brussels (french: Bruxelles or ; nl, Brussel ), officially the Brussels-Capital Region (All text and all but one graphic show the English name as Brussels-Capital Region.) (french: link=no, Région de Bruxelles-Capitale; nl, link=no, Bruss ...

, where he was made chief conductor at the

Théâtre de la Monnaie The Royal Theatre of La Monnaie (french: Théâtre Royal de la Monnaie, italic=no, ; nl, Koninklijke Muntschouwburg, italic=no; both translating as the "Royal Theatre of the Mint") is an opera house in central Brussels, Belgium. The National O ...

and saw instant success with his

ballet Ballet () is a type of performance dance that originated during the Italian Renaissance in the fifteenth century and later developed into a concert dance form in France and Russia. It has since become a widespread and highly technical form of ...

''Ispahan'' and several tunes. His wife, Suzy Delsart, was an operetta star (operette divette) and sang the title role of ''

The Merry Widow ''The Merry Widow'' (german: Die lustige Witwe, links=no ) is an operetta by the Austro-Hungarian composer Franz Lehár. The librettists, Viktor Léon and Leo Stein, based the story – concerning a rich widow, and her countrymen's attempt t ...

'' by

Franz Lehár Franz Lehár ( ; hu, Lehár Ferenc ; 30 April 1870 – 24 October 1948) was an Austro-Hungarian composer. He is mainly known for his operettas, of which the most successful and best known is ''The Merry Widow'' (''Die lustige Witwe''). Life ...

and also influenced her husband into writing lighter and more popular tunes. In 1907 he completed the music for

Marcel Gerbidon Marcel Gerbidon (1868–1933) was a French playwright and screenwriter. He collaborated frequently with Paul Armont. A number of his plays have been adapted into films such as the 1958 film '' School for Coquettes''.Pallister & Hottell p.77 Select ...

's operetta, ''Flossie'' or ''Je m'appelle Flossie.'' In 1908 he adapted

Pierre Veber Pierre-Eugène Veber (15 May 1869 – 20 August 1942) was a French playwright and writer. Biography Pierre Veber was the brother of the painter Jean Veber, and the brother-in-law of both René Doumic and Tristan Bernard. His family was quite l ...

's comedy ''Loute'', then in 1914 began the musical comedy ''Flup !'' to a

libretto A libretto (Italian for "booklet") is the text used in, or intended for, an extended musical work such as an opera, operetta, masque, oratorio, cantata or Musical theatre, musical. The term ''libretto'' is also sometimes used to refer to the t ...

by Gaston Dumestre, which had a successful premiere in 1920, followed by 5,000 performances. His other successes included ''Titin'' to a libretto by Gaston Dumestre. Between World War I and World War II, he composed nearly twenty operettas. Additionally, he wrote songs to poetry of Paul Verlaine (Opus 83) one song of which was recorded by the great tenor,

Enrico Caruso Enrico Caruso (, , ; 25 February 1873 – 2 August 1921) was an Italian operatic first lyrical tenor then dramatic tenor. He sang to great acclaim at the major opera houses of Europe and the Americas, appearing in a wide variety of roles (74) ...

. It was recorded by other major artists of the day and was featured in an anthology printed in the United States by International Music Company. Sergius Kage was the compiler of this anthology. Szulc wrote some other lieder to German poetry which were published in Berlin during a brief stint there. he also composed a Violin Sonata. Szulc's song, "Clair de Lune", from his 10 Melodies, Op. 83, has been recorded by French countertenor Philippe Jaroussky on his album Green – Melodies Francaises. This was also the song recorded by Caruso and other artists in the 1910s and 20s. Collections of Szulc operetta scores have been found in the University of Nebraska, Lincoln music library, donated by Jack Rokhar. Another collection can be found at the British Library. The donor pasted many articles and reviews in the flyleaf of these scores and they are an invaluable source of information for researchers.

Musical comedies

*1920 : "''Flup !''", with a libretto by Gaston Dumestre *1920 : "''Titin''", with a libretto by Gaston Dumestre *1925 : "''Mannequins''", with a libretto by

Jacques Bousquet Jacques Bousquet (1883–1939) was a French actor and screenwriter.Waldman p.43 Selected filmography * '' Dancing Mad'' (1925) * '' A Gentleman of the Ring'' (1926) * '' Rendezvous'' (1930) * ''Love Songs'' (1930) * ''My Wife's Teacher'' (1930) ...

and *1926 : "''Divin Mensonge''", with a libretto by Alex Madis,

and Hugues Delorme. *1945 : "''Pantoufle''", with a libretto by

Albert Willemetz Albert Willemetz (14 February 1887 – 7 October 1964) was a French libretto, librettist. Career Albert Willemetz was a prolific lyricist. He invented a new type of musical, with a humorous and "sexy" style. He was the author of more than 3000 ...

Filmography

*1930 : La route est belle, directed by

Robert Florey Robert Florey (14 September 1900 – 16 May 1979) was a French-American director, screenwriter, film journalist and actor. Born as Robert Fuchs in Paris, he became an orphan at an early age and was then raised in Switzerland. In 1920 he worked a ...

and

André Baugé André Gaston Baugé (4 January 1893, Toulouse - 25 May 1966, Clichy, Hauts-de-Seine, Clichy-la-Garenne) was a French baritone, active in opera and operetta, who also appeared in films in the 1930s.Steane JB. André Baugé. In: ''The New Grove Dic ...

*1930 :

L'Enfant de l'amour L'Enfant may refer to: * L'Enfant (film), ''L'Enfant'' (film), a 2005 Belgian film * L'Enfant (poster), a noted 1987 photographic poster * Pierre Charles L'Enfant, architect and civil engineer credited with planning the city of Washington, D.C. * , ...

, directed by

Marcel L'Herbier Marcel L'Herbier (; 23 April 1888 – 26 November 1979) was a French filmmaker who achieved prominence as an avant-garde theorist and imaginative practitioner with a series of silent films in the 1920s. His career as a director continued unti ...

*1933 :

Mannequins A mannequin (also called a dummy, lay figure, or dress form) is a doll, often articulated, used by artists, tailors, dressmakers, window dressers and others, especially to display or fit clothing and show off different fabrics and textiles. Pr ...

, directed by

René Hervil René Hervil (1881–1960) was a French actor, screenwriter and film director.Goble p.322 Most of his films were made during the silent era. He directed the ''Maud'' series of films between 1912 and 1915 starring the Anglo-French actress Aimé ...

*1933 : , directed by

Karl Anton Karl Anton or Karel Anton (25 October 1898 12 April 1979) was a Bohemian-born German film director, screenwriter and film producer. Biography He was born in Prague on 25 October 1898. His father Wilhelm Anton (1861–1918) was a physician. An ...

*1935 :

Une nuit de noces Une is a municipality and town of Colombia in the Eastern Province, part of the department of Cundinamarca. The urban centre is located at an altitude of at a distance of from the capital Bogotá. The municipality borders Chipaque in the no ...

, directed by

Maurice Kéroul Maurice may refer to: People *Saint Maurice (died 287), Roman legionary and Christian martyr *Maurice (emperor) or Flavius Mauricius Tiberius Augustus (539–602), Byzantine emperor *Maurice (bishop of London) (died 1107), Lord Chancellor and Lo ...

and

Georges Monca Georges Monca ( 23 October 1867 – 26 December 1939) was a French film director. He was extremely prolific, making nearly four hundred films during his career - mainly during the silent era. His shorts ''Rigadin Directeur de Cinéma'' and ''Ri ...

Discography

*2013 : Violin sonata in A minor op. 61 – Acte Préalable AP027

Notes

1. ^Brister, Wanda. (2011). The Songs of Józef Zygmunt Szulc. Journal of Singing, Vol. 67, no. 3, 347-354.

External links

*
Biography of Joseph Szulc onapophtegmePage on lesgensducinemaFilmography on dvdtoile
* {{DEFAULTSORT:Szulc, Josef 1875 births 1956 deaths Musicians from Warsaw French composers French male composers Polish composers French male conductors (music) Polish conductors (music) Male conductors (music) 19th-century conductors (music) 20th-century French conductors (music) Polish expatriates in France Polish emigrants to France 19th-century French musicians 20th-century French male musicians