Jan Kiepura

Jan Kiepura, the son of a baker, was born in 1902 in the gloomy mining town of Sosnowiec, now in Poland, but situated in Russia at that time. He left his native town, that - although dirty and dark - would always remain dear to his heart, for Warsaw, where he started studying law. At the same time he took singing lessons with Waclaw Brzesinsky and Tadeusz Leliwa. He soon realized that singing was his real vocation and was lucky to benefit from the support of his parents, who understood how talented he was in this field. At age 23, Jan was hired for the first time, as a replacement in the choir of the Warsaw Opera, but he sang so loud that his voice covered all the other ones, which resulted in his being fired. However, three months later, he found himself on the same stage, but in the right place this time, as the lead singer of Gounod's "Faust". This outstanding performance marked the beginning of a rapid rise: from then on, Jan Kiepura was wanted everywhere in the world. In addition,it was not long before the cinema - now talking - required his beautiful voice and his good looks. As of the early thirties he starred in a series of filmed operettas.

Jan Kiepura was born in Sosnowiec, Poland, the son of Miriam (née Neuman), a former professional singer, and Franciszek Kiepura, a baker and grocery owner. Kiepura took singing lessons by Waclaw Brzezinski in Warsaw in 1922 against his parents' wishes. During 1916-20, he attended the Junior School in Sosnowiec where he graduated from high school. In 1921 he studied law at the University of Warsaw. He learned singing from Waclaw Brzezinski and Tadeusz Leliwa. His brother was singer Wladyslaw Ladis-Kiepura.

In 1923 he performed his first concert in the Sphinx cinema in Sosnowiec. In 1924, Jan Kiepura was admitted by Emil Mlynarski to the local choir. He played the role of Góral in Moniuszko's opera Halka. He also took part in a production of Gounod's Faust Faust in the Polish city of Lwow (now in the Ukraine).

Jan Kiepura made his film debut already in 1926 with the Polish production "O czem sie nie mysli", but his real career came with the advent of films.

He appeared in half Europe and had great successes. Important milestones were his engagements at the Scala in Milan in 1928/1929 and in Paris.

Jan Kiepura lured the viewers into the cinemas with the movies "Die singende Stadt" (1930), "Das Lied einer Nacht" (1932) and "Ein Lied für Dich" (1933).

Kiepura left Europe in 1931 to begin his first tour, of South America and the United States.

Kiepura's return to Warsaw in 1934 caused a sensation in the Polish capital, and his musical shows were received with huge enthusiasm. Apart from his performances in concert halls, he also sang to a crowd gathered under the balcony of the Warsaw hotel "Bristol". He also sang while standing on his car's roof, or from a carriage's window, and also spoke to the audience. However, he was not a frequent guest in Poland.

Father of singer Jan Tadeusz Kiepura (aka John Thade; born 1944) and pianist/producer Marjan Wiktor Kiepura (born 1950).

After World War II they returned to Paris and Jan Kiepura took part in his last movies, among others "Ihre wunderbare Lüge" (1950). They came back to the USA in 1953 where they took up residence for good. A brief time later he got the American nationality.

It was on the set of "Mein Herz ruft nach dir" that he met the woman of his life, Hungarian-born Marta Eggerth, another star singer, with whom he lived until his death in 1966 and who gave him two sons. In March '38, the couple fled Austria and took refuge in the South of France. The following year, he joined the French Polish Legion and shortly after the Phoney War, he was assigned the mission to defend the cause of invaded Poland in the States. He found Marta there and after the end of the War they teamed together on Broadway where they co-starred in "The Merry Widow" and "La Polonaise".