Kazimierz Kowalski (30 July 1951 – 1 August 2021) was a Polish operatic

bass Bass or Basses may refer to: Fish * Bass (fish), various saltwater and freshwater species Music * Bass (sound), describing low-frequency sound or one of several instruments in the bass range: ** Bass (instrument), including: ** Acoustic bass gui ...

and opera manager at the

Grand Theatre, Łódź ''Teatr Wielki w Łodzi'' (The Grand Theater in Łódź) is an opera house in Łódź, Poland. It is the largest theatre in the city, specialising in opera, operetta and ballet. History It was opened on 19 January 1967 and by the end of 2005 it ...

, and a radio and television presenter. He founded an opera and operetta festival in the spa town Ciechocinek in 1998, and also the Polish Chamber Opera.

Life and career

Born in Łódź, the son of theatrical actor Wiesław Wierusz-Kowalski, Kowalski studied voice at the Academy of Music with Antoni Majak, who was a singer and one of the founders of the Łódź Opera. Kowalski participated in the 1976 International Vocal Competition in Toulouse, achieving the highest (third) prize. The same year, he was engaged as a soloist at the Teatr Wielki (Grand Theatre) in Łódź, making his debut in the role of Kecal in Smetana's '' The Bartered Bride'', and went on to perform leading roles. From 1994 to 1997, he was the theatre's general and artistic director. During his era, he led a live worldwide television broadcast of Moniuszko's ''

The Haunted Manor ''The Haunted Manor'' ( pl, Straszny dwór) is an opera in four acts composed by Polish composer Stanisław Moniuszko in 1861–1864. The libretto was written by . Despite being a romance and a comedy, it has strong Polish patriotic undertones ...

''. The theatre was one of the few profitable theatrical institutions in Poland during his tenure. In 1998 a new theatre, the Summer Theatre, opened in the spa town Ciechocinek, where he initiated a festival of opera and

operetta Operetta is a form of theatre and a genre of light opera. It includes spoken dialogue, songs, and dances. It is lighter than opera in terms of its music, orchestral size, length of the work, and at face value, subject matter. Apart from its s ...

, managing it for more than 20 years. He also founded the Polish Chamber Opera. Kowalski appeared on radio and television in shows such as ''Good evening, this is Lodz'' and ''Kazimierz Kowalski invites you''. From 2000, he presented a series on Polish Radio about notable Polish artists. He ran a series on Radio Łódź titled ''Henryk Debich's Archive''. Kowalski managed the Grand Theatre again from 2005 to November 2008. The theatre's obituary noted: Kowalski died on 1 August 2021, two days after his 70th birthday. He had planned to celebrate his career of 50 years in October 2021.

Operatic roles

Operatic roles at the Grand Theatre included:

References

External links

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Kazimierz Kowalski
(in Polish)
Kazimierz Kowalski
(in Polish) filmpolski.pl {{DEFAULTSORT:Kowalski, Kazimierz 1951 births 2021 deaths People from Łódź 20th-century Polish male opera singers Polish radio presenters Polish television presenters Recipients of the Cross of Merit (Poland) Recipients of the Bronze Medal for Merit to Culture – Gloria Artis Operatic basses