Krystyna
Szostek-Radkowa

She began music lessons with her father, a well known opera singer, when she was a child. She graduated in vocal studies from the Academy of Music in her home town of Katowice with first class honours. Still as a student, she made her operatic debut at the Silesian Opera in Bytom (Jadwiga in Straszny Dwor (The Haunted Manor) by Moniuszko) and remained in that theatre for six years. She is a recipient of prizes in international competitions in Toulouse, Sofia and Vercelli. In the early 60’s she joined the Warsaw Grand Theatre, where she achieved great success with her mezzo-soprano parts in famous operas (Azucena in Il Trovatore, Amneris in Aida, Ebola in Don Carlos, Santuzza in Cavalleria Rusticana, Jadwiga and Czesnikowa in The Haunted Manor, among others). Her successes, quality of voice, great musicality, beauty and dramatic talent soon drew the attention of foreign impresarios, which resulted in a triumphant debut at the Viennese Opera (Ebola in Don Carlos). It was followed by ten years of collaboration with the Opera La Monnaie in Brussels (Ebola and Ortruda in Lohengrin, Dalila in Samson et Dalila, Amneris in Aida), numerous premieres at the Opera Theatre in Lyon (Kundry in Parsifal and Preziosilla in La Forza del Destino) and a huge success of Ulrika in Un ballo in Maschera at the Paris Opera. The artist has also made guest appearances at the operas of Madrid, Hamburg, Düsseldorf, Berlin, Lübeck, Leningrad, Kiev, Riga, Budapest, Bucharest, Moscow and Buenos Aires. She has taken part in many prestigious music festivals (Montreux, Besançon, Lyon, Linz, Lucerne, Rome, Zagreb). She also appeared at the Warsaw Autumn Festival (roles in Stravinsky’s Oedipus Rex, Requiem by Maciejewski, Five Songs by Lutoslawski, and, above all, the unique creation of Jessica in the premiere of Tomorrow by Baird). With oratorio concerts and recitals the artist has toured Europe, Africa and the Americas. With the chamber orchestra of the National Philharmonic she has travelled around the world. Her wide oratorio repertoire includes works by Monteverdi, Bach, Mozart, Mahler, Szymanowski, as well as contemporary music (one of her best roles being Mother Joan in The Devils of Loudun by Penderecki). Her part in the famous performance of The Ring of the Nibelung with an international cast in Warsaw in 1987/88 was a great artistic success. In 1993/94 the artist toured Puerto Rico, where she performed classical oratorios and Penderecki’s compositions. In January 1994 she appeared in the Warsaw Grand Theatre in a recital which was a remarkable musical event. Krystyna Szostek-Radkowa is a successful educator and full professor at the Warsaw Academy of Music.