Małgorzata Walewska
Małgorzata Walewska (born 5 July 1965) is a Polish opera singer, dramatic mezzo-soprano. Biography. Education. Born in Warsaw, Poland, Małgorzata Walewska graduated from the Fryderyk Chopin Academy of Music under the tutelage of Halina Słonicka. She is a laureate and finalist of many international competitions, such as Alfredo Kraus in Las Palmas., Luciano Pavarotti in Philadelphia, Belvedere in Vienna and Stanisław Moniuszko in Warsaw. Operatic career. During her studies, in 1991 Walewska debuted as Aza in "Manru" at the Polish National Opera. Her next engagements included Bremen Theater and the Vienna State Opera where she debuted as  Polina in "The Queen of Spades" followed by performances of "Carmen", Maddalena in "Rigoletto", Olga in "Eugene Onegin", Pierotto in "Linda di Chamounix". There, for the first time, she worked with such great artists as Luciano Pavarotti and Plácido Domingo. The following years brought her engagements at the Semperoper in Dresden, where she performed the part of Ms. Quickly in "Falstaff", and Ulrica in "Un ballo in maschera" (1999), and at the Deutsche Oper Berlin, again as Ms. Quickly, as Amneris in "Aida", and for the first time as Azucena in "Il trovatore". In 2006 Walewska debuted at the Metropolitan  Opera in New York as Dalila in "Samson et Dalila", where José Cura was her stage partner. At the Metropolitan Opera Walewska also sung the parts of Santuzza and Amneris. In 2006 she also sung the role of Eboli in "Don Carlos " on the stage of the New National Theater in Tokyo. In 2007 she came back to the Deutsche Oper Berlin to sing the title role in "Cassandra", and again in 2011 to sing Dalila. Other important debuts on international stages were Azucena at the Royal Opera House in Covent Graden (2009), Amme in "Die Frau ohne Schatten" at  the Palacio de Bellas Artes in Mexico City (2012) and Dalila at the Grand Théâtre de Genève (2012), where the orchestra was conducted by Michel Plasson. In 2015 she added the part of Kundry in Richard Wagner's "Parsifal" at the Poznań Grand Theatre and sung the role of Countess in "The Queen of Spades" at the Opéra national du Rhin in Strassburg. In 2016 Walewska had her role debut as the Widow in Władysław Żeleński's opera "Goplana" at the Polish National Opera. The production won an Award for Rediscovered Work at the 2017 International Opera Awards. In June  2018, the artist performed the part of Mistress Quickly at the Cologne Opera. Concert career. Małgorzata Walewska has a very rich concert repertoire. She often gives recitals with the accompaniment of piano or harp. Her program includes songs of Polish and international composers such as G. Fauré, F. Schubert, S. Moniuszko, K. Szymanowski, F. Chopin, or P. Tchaikovsky, as well as song cycles such as "Les nuits d'été" by H. Berlioz or "Wesendonck Lieder" by R. Wagner. Since 2013 she sings French song repertoire, such as for example songs of R. Hahn, to the accompaniment of a harp played by  Małgorzata Zalewska. Recordings and awards. Małgorzata Walewska recorded numerous CDs, starting with pieces which belong to her usual repertoire (e.g. "Voce di donna" published by Sony Classical), through Christmas Carols ("Christmas Time - Traditional Polish Christmas Carols" published by DUX), Crossover arrangements ("Walewska and Friends" issued by DUX, or "Mezzo" by Sony Music Poland CD), arias of G.F. Händel's, and religious and organ pieces ("Farny" issued by DUX). On the list of the American magazine"Time" in 1999, she was included among the ten most famous Poles as ""one of the stars that illuminate the way for Poland in the next  millennium"". In a ranking "Pearls of the Polish Economy 2008" she was awarded with "Honorary Pearl" in the culture category, for promoting Polish culture in the world. In October 2016, Małgorzata Walewska has received a "Gloria Artis" medal of the highest class in recognition of her tremendous contribution to Polish culture. It is the most prestigious decoration bestowed by the Polish Ministry of Culture and National Heritage. In the 2017/2018 season Małgorzata Walewska has recorded W. Kilar's "Missa pro pace" with Podlaska Philharmonic Orchestra under the baton of Mirosław Jacek Błaszczyk as well as the part of Jochebed, the  mother of Moses in A. Rubinstein's religious opera "Moses" with Polish Sinfonia Iuventus Orchestra under the baton of Michail Jurowski. Other engagements. Since 2014 she is one of the Juries in a popular TV show "Twoja twarz brzmi znajomo" (polish version of "Your Face Sounds Familiar"). In 2015, Małgorzata Walewska was nominated Artistic Director of the Ada Sari International Vocal Artistry Festival and Competition held in Nowy Sącz, Poland. Private life. Małgorzata Walewska currently lives in Warsaw in Poland. She has one daughter, Alicja Kokosińska, who is a promising young set designer.