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Photographer’s Note

Jan Kiepura
16 May 1902 – 15 Aug 1966

The "simple boy" from Sosnowiec, as Jan Kiepura kept calling himself, became an opera as well as a movie star. One might say he had come a long way...

Born on the 16th of May 1902 in Sosnowiec, a quite small yet industrial town in Poland, Jan Kiepura was certainly not born in the ideal circumstances for becoming a star. Kiepura discovered his singing voice in his youth, thus he started singing in a school choir. He wasn't set on a singing career at the time, however. His parents wanted Jan, as well as his brother Władisław, to learn a real trade. Sent by his parents to Warsaw in 1920, Jan Kiepura applied to study law at the University of Warsaw, to which he was admitted in 1921. During his law studies he took singing lessons under Wacław Brzeziński (and under Tadeusz Leliwa).

One of the songs for which he was so famous was 'Brunetki i blondynki' (R. Stolz and M.Halicz) from the movie 'I love all women' (1935). The song was written for him and served as a display of the unparalleled richness and spontaneity in his voice.

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Additional Photos by Artur Hensoldt (arturski) Gold Star Critiquer/Gold Star Workshop Editor/Gold Note Writer [C: 145 W: 132 N: 126] (4444)
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