Maria Teresa Peszek (born September 9, 1973
) is a
Polish
Polish may refer to:
* Anything from or related to Poland, a country in Europe
* Polish language
* Poles
Poles,, ; singular masculine: ''Polak'', singular feminine: ''Polka'' or Polish people, are a West Slavic nation and ethnic group, w ...
singer, songwriter and actress. She embarked on a professional acting career in the early 1990s and went on to appear in over 40 stage plays, as well as a number of feature films and television series. In 2005, Peszek released her debut album, the commercially successful and critically acclaimed ''
Miasto mania
''Miasto mania'' is the debut studio album by Polish singer Maria Peszek, released in 2005 by Kayax. Thematically, it was a homage to Poland's capital, Warsaw, and served as a musical background to a multi-media theatre play of the same title whi ...
'', followed by ''
Maria Awaria
''Maria Awaria'' is the second studio album by Polish singer Maria Peszek, released in 2008 by Kayax. Majority of the material was composed and produced by Andrzej Smolik and most of the lyrics were written by Peszek herself. The album explored t ...
'' (2008) and ''
Jezus Maria Peszek
''Jezus Maria Peszek'' is the third studio album by Polish singer Maria Peszek, released in 2012 by Mystic Production. The singer co-wrote and co-produced the material with Michał "Fox" Król. The album's lyrics reference Peszek's atheism and ner ...
'' (2012) which both topped the
Polish albums chart
The Polish music charts are provided by ZPAV, the Polish Society of the Phonographic Industry (Polish: Związek Producentów Audio-Video).
Albums charts
In the 1970s and the 1980s, Polish music monthly ''Non Stop'' published a year-end list of th ...
and received favourable reviews. Peszek is noted for controversial lyrics and subjects of her work, often revolving around sexuality, politics, social norms and religion.
Biography
Peszek was born in
Wrocław
Wrocław (; german: Breslau, or . ; Silesian German: ''Brassel'') is a city in southwestern Poland and the largest city in the historical region of Silesia. It lies on the banks of the River Oder in the Silesian Lowlands of Central Europe, rou ...
,
Poland
Poland, officially the Republic of Poland, is a country in Central Europe. It is divided into 16 administrative provinces called voivodeships, covering an area of . Poland has a population of over 38 million and is the fifth-most populous ...
into a family of actors.
Having appeared as a child in several theatre and TV productions in the 1980s, she officially debuted in a theatrical adaptation of ''
Sanatorium Under the Sign of the Hourglass
''Sanatorium Under the Sign of the Hourglass'' is the English title of ''Sanatorium Pod Klepsydrą'', a novel by the Polish writer and painter Bruno Schulz, published in 1937.
Plot introduction
The novel takes the form of a collection of dreaml ...
'' in 1995 at the
Juliusz Słowacki Theatre
Juliusz Słowacki Theatre ( pl, Teatr im. Juliusza Słowackiego w Krakowie) is a 19th-century Eclectic theatre-opera house in the heart of Kraków, Poland, and a UNESCO World Heritage Site. Erected in 1893, it was modeled after some of the best ...
in
Kraków
Kraków (), or Cracow, is the second-largest and one of the oldest cities in Poland. Situated on the Vistula River in Lesser Poland Voivodeship, the city dates back to the seventh century. Kraków was the official capital of Poland until 1596 ...
, where she graduated from an acting school the following year.
Her debut album, ''
Miasto mania
''Miasto mania'' is the debut studio album by Polish singer Maria Peszek, released in 2005 by Kayax. Thematically, it was a homage to Poland's capital, Warsaw, and served as a musical background to a multi-media theatre play of the same title whi ...
'', was released in October 2005 by
Kayax
Kayax Production & Publishing Sp. z o.o. is an independent Polish entertainment company that operates a record label, music publisher, management and concert agency. It was founded by singer Kayah and her business partner, musician Tomasz Grewińs ...
, an independent label co-founded by Polish singer
Kayah. The material on the album drew inspiration from Poland's capital,
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 ...
, and served as a musical background to a multi-media theatre play of the same title which premiered simultaneously. It spawned the popular lead single "Moje miasto" and was a critical and commercial success, eventually reaching
platinum
Platinum is a chemical element with the symbol Pt and atomic number 78. It is a dense, malleable, ductile, highly unreactive, precious, silverish-white transition metal. Its name originates from Spanish , a diminutive of "silver".
Platinu ...
certification for selling in over 30,000 copies. In 2006, Peszek won the
Fryderyk
The Fryderyk is the annual award in Polish music. Its name refers to the original Polish spelling variant of Polish composer Frédéric Chopin's first name. Its status in the Polish public can be compared to the American Grammy and the UK's BR ...
award for the Best New Act
and released an
extended play
An extended play record, usually referred to as an EP, is a musical recording that contains more tracks than a single but fewer than an album or LP record. ''Mania siku'' which consisted of live recordings and new songs.
September 2008 saw the release of her next album, entitled ''
Maria Awaria
''Maria Awaria'' is the second studio album by Polish singer Maria Peszek, released in 2008 by Kayax. Majority of the material was composed and produced by Andrzej Smolik and most of the lyrics were written by Peszek herself. The album explored t ...
'', promoted by the songs "Ciało" and "Rosół". The album explicitly dealt with the concept of
human sexuality
Human sexuality is the way people experience and express themselves sexually. This involves biological, psychological, physical, erotic, emotional, social, or spiritual feelings and behaviors. Because it is a broad term, which has varied ...
and caused many controversies, especially in the conservative right wing media. Nonetheless, it gathered numerous flattering reviews and became her first number 1 album in the
Polish albums chart
The Polish music charts are provided by ZPAV, the Polish Society of the Phonographic Industry (Polish: Związek Producentów Audio-Video).
Albums charts
In the 1970s and the 1980s, Polish music monthly ''Non Stop'' published a year-end list of th ...
. It was certified platinum in less than a month and won the
Paszport Polityki
Paszport Polityki (Polityka's Passport) is an annual Polish cultural award presented by the weekly magazine ''Polityka'' since 1993.
It is presented in six major categories: literature, film, theatre, classical music, popular music, visual art ...
award in 2009. Peszek embarked on a long tour to support the album, which continued with breaks into late 2010. In, 2011, she contributed a theme song to a controversial Polish film ''Z miłości''.
Peszek's third studio album, ''
Jezus Maria Peszek
''Jezus Maria Peszek'' is the third studio album by Polish singer Maria Peszek, released in 2012 by Mystic Production. The singer co-wrote and co-produced the material with Michał "Fox" Król. The album's lyrics reference Peszek's atheism and ner ...
'', was released in October 2012 through
Mystic Production
Mystic Production is one of the largest Polish independent record labels. It was founded by Barbara Mikuła in 1995 in Skała near Cracow.
The company was initially releasing and distributing heavy metal music, including early albums by artist ...
, preceded by the single "Ludzie psy". Prior to recording the album, Peszek had suffered from
nervous breakdown
A mental disorder, also referred to as a mental illness or psychiatric disorder, is a behavioral or mental pattern that causes significant distress or impairment of personal functioning. Such features may be persistent, relapsing and remitti ...
which was widely discussed across Polish media and reflected in the album's lyrics. The album was a criticism towards
organized religion
Organized religion, also known as institutional religion, is religion in which belief systems and rituals are systematically arranged and formally established. Organized religion is typically characterized by an official doctrine (or dogma), a ...
,
patriotism
Patriotism is the feeling of love, devotion, and sense of attachment to one's country. This attachment can be a combination of many different feelings, language relating to one's own homeland, including ethnic, cultural, political or histor ...
and social norms which caused further controversies. It was another major success, gathering highly flattering reviews, debuting atop Polish albums chart and eventually receiving platinum certification.
Peszek toured internationally to promote the album, performing concerts in Poland, England, Ireland and Czech Republic, which resulted in the live release ''JEZUS is aLIVE'' (2014).
Her fourth album, ''
Karabin'', was released in February 2016 by
Warner Music Poland
Warner Music Poland Sp. z o.o., is a Polish subsidiary of Warner Music Group, it was founded in 1994 in Warsaw. The label's CEO is Piotr Kabaj.
The label started with a catalog of Polish national record label Polton which was bought from Starst ...
and explored such topics as freedom, hate speech and individualism. It spawned the popular lead single "Polska A B C i D" and the controversial "Modern Holocaust". Although it did not match the critical success of its predecessors, it went gold in Poland in just over a month. To promote the album, Peszek again toured in Poland, Ireland, England and Czech Republic. In October 2017, Peszek released the single "Ophelia" recorded for her brother's stage adaptation of ''
Hamlet
''The Tragedy of Hamlet, Prince of Denmark'', often shortened to ''Hamlet'' (), is a tragedy written by William Shakespeare sometime between 1599 and 1601. It is Shakespeare's longest play, with 29,551 words. Set in Denmark, the play depicts ...
''.
Peszek began working on new material during the
COVID-19 pandemic
The COVID-19 pandemic, also known as the coronavirus pandemic, is an ongoing global pandemic of coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) caused by severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV-2). The novel virus was first identif ...
. In June 2021, she released "Virunga", a song dedicated to the Polish
LGBT community
The LGBT community (also known as the LGBTQ+ community, GLBT community, gay community, or queer community) is a loosely defined grouping of lesbian, gay men, gay, bisexuality, bisexual, transgender, and other queer individuals united by a comm ...
, which she performed live at the 2021
Warsaw Equality Parade. Her fifth studio album, titled ''
Ave Maria
The Hail Mary ( la, Ave Maria) is a traditional Christian prayer addressing Mary, the mother of Jesus. The prayer is based on two biblical passages featured in the Gospel of Luke: the Angel Gabriel's visit to Mary (the Annunciation) and Mary's s ...
'', was released in September 2021 and aparat from advocating
the rights of women and
sexual minorities
A sexual minority is a group whose sexual identity, sexual orientation, orientation or practices differ from the majority of the surrounding society. Primarily used to refer to lesbian, gay, bisexual, or non-heterosexual individuals, it can al ...
, it criticised Poland's conservative politics and
child sexual abuse in the Catholic Church. The album debuted atop the Polish album sales chart. In 2022, she toured in Poland in support of the album, starred in a popular Polish
Netflix
Netflix, Inc. is an American subscription video on-demand over-the-top streaming service and production company based in Los Gatos, California. Founded in 1997 by Reed Hastings and Marc Randolph in Scotts Valley, California, it offers a fil ...
series ''Królowa'', and released the autobiographical book ''Naku*wiam zen'' in collaboration with her father,
Jan Peszek
Jan Peszek (born 13 February 1944) is a Polish theatre, film, and television actor. Although primarily involved in theatre work, he has appeared in more than sixty films since 1970. He is most well known for his work with dramaturgist Bogusław S ...
.
Personal life
She has been in a relationship with her partner, Edward, since 1992. She is an
atheist
Atheism, in the broadest sense, is an absence of belief in the existence of deities. Less broadly, atheism is a rejection of the belief that any deities exist. In an even narrower sense, atheism is specifically the position that there no ...
. Peszek has expressed support for Polish politician
Robert Biedroń
Robert Biedroń (; born 13 April 1976) is a Polish politician, former mayor of Słupsk, and LGBT activist who has been serving as a Member of the European Parliament since 2019.
Biedroń was a member of the Sejm during its 7th session (2011–2 ...
.
Discography
Studio albums
Live albums
Singles
Filmography
Feature films
* 1993: ''
Schindler's List
''Schindler's List'' is a 1993 American epic historical drama film directed and produced by Steven Spielberg and written by Steven Zaillian. It is based on the 1982 novel ''Schindler's Ark'' by Australian novelist Thomas Keneally. The film fo ...
''
* 1995: ''Spis cudzołożnic''
* 1997: ''Nocne graffiti''
* 2001: ''
The Hexer''
* 2002: ''
Julie Walking Home
''Julie Walking Home'' is a 2002 drama film directed by Agnieszka Holland. It stars Miranda Otto and William Fichtner. It won an award at the 2003 Method Fest.
Plot
Julie finds her husband Henry in bed with another woman when she returns home ear ...
''
* 2004: ''Ubu Król''
* 2008: ''0 1 0''
* 2018: ''Nina''
TV series
* 1984: ''Rozalka Olaboga'' – as Aldzia Kłos
* 2000: ''
Na dobre i na złe
''Na dobre i na złe'' (, ''For better and for worse'') is a Polish television medical drama series, broadcast on TVP2 since 7 November 1999. It is the longest-running weekly primetime drama on Polish television and one of the longest-running m ...
'' – as Anna Radwańska
* 2000–2001: ''Miasteczko'' – as Mariola Zbyś
* 2002: ''
Wiedźmin'' – as Iola
* 2003: ''
Magiczne drzewo'' – as Jacek's mother
* 2005: ''Boża podszewka II'' – as Stasia
* 2022:
Queen
Queen or QUEEN may refer to:
Monarchy
* Queen regnant, a female monarch of a Kingdom
** List of queens regnant
* Queen consort, the wife of a reigning king
* Queen dowager, the widow of a king
* Queen mother, a queen dowager who is the mother ...
- as Wiola
Books
* 2008: ''Maria Awaria. Bezwstydnik''
* 2022: ''Naku*wiam zen''
References
External links
*
Maria Peszekon
YouTube
YouTube is a global online video platform, online video sharing and social media, social media platform headquartered in San Bruno, California. It was launched on February 14, 2005, by Steve Chen, Chad Hurley, and Jawed Karim. It is owned by ...
Maria Peszekon
Discogs
Discogs (short for discographies) is a database of information about audio recordings, including commercial releases, promotional releases, and bootleg or off-label releases. While the site was originally created with a goal of becoming the la ...
{{DEFAULTSORT:Peszek, Maria
1973 births
Living people
Musicians from Wrocław
Mystic Production artists
Polish actresses
Polish lyricists
Polish songwriters
Polish voice actresses
Polish atheists
Polish LGBT rights activists
21st-century Polish singers
21st-century Polish women singers