De Reszké, Jean (1850 - 1925)

Polish-born tenor and teacher

Jean de Reszké in the role of Romeo in Romeo and Juliet by Gounod

Jean de Reszke (Jan Mieczysław Reszke) came from a family of musicians: his brother Édouard (1853-1917) and sister Josephine (1855-1891) were also renowned opera singers.

After a brief career in Italy in the baritone register, Jean de Reszké, now under a Frenchized name, became (in the words of Rodolfo Celletti), "the last incarnation of the myth of the romantic tenor to which Mario had given birth".

In the 1880s and 1890s, he sang regularly in London, Paris, Chicago and at the Metropolitan Opera of New York, where he appeared 339 times until 1901.. Like his brother Edouard, with whom they often performed together, his repertoire included Italian, French and German operas, from Gounod 's Faust to Wagner's Siegfried , via Bizet, Massenet and Verdi.

After retiring from the stage in 1904, Jean de Reszké embarked on a second career as a teacher, dividing his time between Nice and Paris. His pupils included Claire Croiza, Bidu Sayão, Maggie Teyte and Leo Slezak.

Discover the artist's world through various documents: each image opens the door to one of his interpretations, his portraits in civilian clothes, his autographs or press articles about him from the period