Irena Renata Anders (12 May 1920 – 29 November 2010), born Iryna Renata Jarosiewicz (Yarosevych), was a Polish-Ukrainian stage actress and singer. During

World War II World War II or the Second World War (1 September 1939 – 2 September 1945) was a World war, global conflict between two coalitions: the Allies of World War II, Allies and the Axis powers. World War II by country, Nearly all of the wo ...

she performed with

Henryk Wars Henry Vars (born Henryk Warszawski; December 29, 1902 September 1, 1977) was a Polish-American composer, arranger and conductor whose compositions spanned popular, jazz and classical genres. He is regarded as the most important musical theatre, p ...

' troupe and later with the ''Polska Parada'' (Polish Parade) band, entertaining the

Polish Armed Forces in the West The Polish Armed Forces in the West () refers to the Polish Armed Forces, Polish military formations formed to fight alongside the Allies of World War II, Western Allies against Nazi Germany and its Axis powers, allies during World War II. Poli ...

(commanded by General

Władysław Anders Władysław Albert Anders (11 August 1892 – 12 May 1970) was a Polish military officer and politician, and prominent member of the Polish government-in-exile in London. Born in Krośniewice-Błonie, then part of the Russian Empire, he serv ...

, her future husband). She was one of the first singers to perform the anthem, ''Czerwone maki na Monte Cassino'' ( The Red Poppies on Monte Cassino).A. Tycner, J. Stróżyk
Była pierwszą damą emigracji
. Rzeczpospolita. 29 November 2010

Life and career

She was born as Iryna Yarosevych into a Ukrainian family in

Bruntál Bruntál (; ) is a town in the Moravian-Silesian Region of the Czech Republic. It has about 15,000 inhabitants. The historic town centre is well preserved and is protected as an Cultural monument (Czech Republic)#Monument zones, urban monument zon ...

Czechoslovakia Czechoslovakia ( ; Czech language, Czech and , ''Česko-Slovensko'') was a landlocked country in Central Europe, created in 1918, when it declared its independence from Austria-Hungary. In 1938, after the Munich Agreement, the Sudetenland beca ...

(present-day

Czech Republic The Czech Republic, also known as Czechia, and historically known as Bohemia, is a landlocked country in Central Europe. The country is bordered by Austria to the south, Germany to the west, Poland to the northeast, and Slovakia to the south ...

), where her father was a chaplain for Greek-Catholic soldiers. Her mother Olena Yarosevych (née Nyzhankivska) came from a Ukrainian family which counted theater artists and musicians as their members, was the native sister of composer Ostap Nyzhankivsky and opera singer Oleksandr Nyzhankivsky. Shortly after her birth, her family migrated eastward to what was then designated the

Ukrainian People's Republic The Ukrainian People's Republic (UPR) was a short-lived state in Eastern Europe. Prior to its proclamation, the Central Council of Ukraine was elected in March 1917 Ukraine after the Russian Revolution, as a result of the February Revolution, ...

, and her father became chaplain of the

Ukrainian Sich Riflemen Legion of Ukrainian Sich Riflemen (; ) was a Ukrainian unit within the Austro-Hungarian Army during the First World War. Scope The unit was formed in August 1914 on the initiative of the Supreme Ukrainian Council. It was composed of members o ...

and later was a priest in the villages Sapohiv and Bryn, which shortly became part of Poland. In 1926 the family moved to Lwów (today

Lviv Lviv ( or ; ; ; see #Names and symbols, below for other names) is the largest city in western Ukraine, as well as the List of cities in Ukraine, fifth-largest city in Ukraine, with a population of It serves as the administrative centre of ...

), where Iryna went to a

Greek Catholic Greek Catholic Church or Byzantine-Catholic Church may refer to: * The Catholic Church in Greece * The Eastern Catholic Churches The Eastern Catholic Churches or Oriental Catholic Churches, also known as the Eastern-Rite Catholic Churches, Ea ...

gymnasium and Ukrainian trading school. From 1929 to 1939 she also studied in the Lysenko Lviv Musical Institute, in her cousin

Nestor Nyzhankivsky Nestor Nyzhankivsky (''Nestor Ostapovych Nyzhankivsky'') (); August 31, 1893 – April 10, 1940) was a Ukrainian composer, pianist and music critic. Received his doctoral degree in history from the University of Vienna and graduated from the Pra ...

's fortepiano class, and later in the vocal class of Mariya Sokil and Lidiya Ulukhanova. She used the stage name Renata Bogdańska. After World War II, she migrated to the United Kingdom. She starred in several movies. In 2003, a documentary film was made about her. On 12 May 2007, the Polish president,

Lech Kaczyński Lech Aleksander Kaczyński (; 18 June 194910 April 2010) was a Polish politician who served as the city mayor of Warsaw from 2002 until 2005, and as President of Poland from 2005 until his death in 2010 in an air crash. The aircraft carrying ...

awarded Anders the Commander's Cross of the Order of Polonia Restituta, "for outstanding contribution to the independence of the Polish Republic, for Polish community and social activities" . She died at age 90 from a heart attack on 29 November 2010, in London.

Family

Her parents were the Greek Catholic priest Mykola Yarosevych (1873–1957) and his wife Olena Yarosevych (née Nyzhankivska; 1878–1957). Her father before

World War I World War I or the First World War (28 July 1914 – 11 November 1918), also known as the Great War, was a World war, global conflict between two coalitions: the Allies of World War I, Allies (or Entente) and the Central Powers. Fighting to ...

had Russophile views, for which, after the war broke out, the Austrian government sent him to Talerhof Concentration Camp. After the war he became Ukrainophile. On her mother's side she came from a family of Ukrainian nobles of patriotic and musical traditions. Her mother's brothers were Ukrainian composer, singer and politician Ostap Nyzhankivsky (1863–1919), and Ukrainian composer and opera singer Oleksandr Nyzhankivsky. Her cousins were Ukrainian composer and pianist Nestor Nizhankivsky, and Ukrainian composer and music author of

March of Ukrainian Nationalists The March of Ukrainian Nationalists is a Ukrainian patriotic song that was originally the official anthem of the Organisation of Ukrainian Nationalists and the Ukrainian Insurgent Army. The song is also known by its first line "We were born in ...

Omelian Nyzhankivsky (1863–1919). In her youth she participated in Ukrainian Scouts Organisation, as did her brother Anatol (1909–1982), who was in the same group as

Roman Shukhevych Roman-Taras Osypovych Shukhevych (, also known by his pseudonym, Tur and Taras Chuprynka; 30 June 1907 – 5 March 1950) was a Ukrainian nationalism, Ukrainian nationalist and a military leader of the nationalist Ukrainian Insurgent Army (UPA) ...

. Brother Stepan (1923–1944) was killed in the

Ukrainian Insurgent Army The Ukrainian Insurgent Army (, abbreviated UPA) was a Ukrainian nationalist partisan formation founded by the Organisation of Ukrainian Nationalists (OUN) on 14 October 1942. The UPA launched guerrilla warfare against Nazi Germany, the S ...

. In 1948, she married the decorated Polish General and

hero,

.Irena Anders celebrates her 90th birthday, Embassy of the Republic of Poland in London
They had a daughter, Anna Maria Anders, (born 1950).

Selected discography

Gramophone (78 rpm) records

* Ludzie mówią / Słońce nad Paryżem (Polonia, Cat. 180 Op. 233A/234A) * Uśmiech Wilna / Wróć (Polonia, Cat. 181 Op. 235/236 Fs. 723/724) * Czarny kot / Nad jeziorem (Polonia, Cat. 207 Op. 287/290) * Dlaczegoś spójrzałeś na mnie / Siano (Polonia, Cat. 208 Op. 288/289) * Dziękuję ci / Serce i wino (Polonia, Cat. 209 Op. 291/293) * Umówiłem się z nią na dziewiątą /

Que sera, sera "Que Será, Será (Whatever Will Be, Will Be)" is a song written by Jay Livingston and Ray Evans and first published in 1955. Doris Day introduced it in the Alfred Hitchcock film '' The Man Who Knew Too Much'' (1956), singing it as a cue to their ...

(Polonia, Cat. 210 Op. 292/294) * Pod dachami Paryża / Bezsenna noc (Polonia, Cat. 211 Op. 295/297) * Violetera / Walc księżycowy (Polonia, Cat. 212 Op. 296/298)

LPs

* ''Renata Bogdańska śpiewa kujawiaki Ref-Rena i inne piosenki'' (Renata Bogdanska sings

kujawiak The kujawiak is a Polish folk dance from the region of Kuyavia (Kujawy) in central Poland.Don Michael Randel. ''The Harvard Dictionary of Music''. Harvard University Press. 2003. p. 449. It is one of the five national dances of Poland, the other ...

s by Ref-Ren and other songs): Melodia Records Co. (Chicago) LPM-1010 (mono) or SLPM-1010 (stereo) * ''Do słuchu i tańca'' (For listening and dance): Melodia Records Co. (Chicago) LPM-1012 (mono) or SLPM-1012 (stereo) * ''Renata Bogdańska śpiewa piosenki romantyczne'' (Renata Bogdanska sings romantic songs): Melodia Records Co. (Chicago) SLPM-1022 * ''Renata Bogdańska śpiewa piosenki sentymentalne'' (Renata Bogdanska sings sentimental songs): Melodia Records Co. (Chicago) SLPM-1024 * ''Moja córka i inne przeboje'' (My daughter and other hits): Melodia Records Co. (Chicago) LPM-1028

CDs

* (2010) ''Nagrania Orbis Polonia Londyn: Renata Bogdańska'' (Recordings of Orbis Polonia, London: Renata Bogdanska), Teddy Records TR CD 1014

External links

Irena Anders «Золотий Фонд української естради»

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Anders, Irena 1920 births 2010 deaths People from Bruntál Polish expatriates in the United Kingdom Ukrainian expatriates in Czechoslovakia Polish folk singers Polish women folk singers Polish film actresses Commanders of the Order of Polonia Restituta Lviv Conservatory alumni Polish stage actresses 20th-century Polish actresses