Violetta Villas | |
|---|---|
 Violetta Villas in 1967 | |
| Born | Czesława Cieślak (1938-06-10)10 June 1938 Heusy, Belgium |
| Died | 5 December 2011(2011-12-05) (aged 73) Lewin Kłodzki, Poland |
| Other names | Violetta Élisa Cieślak (Catholicbaptismal name) |
| Occupation(s) | singer, songwriter, composer, actress |
| Years active | 1960–2011 |
| Spouse | |
| Children | 1 (son) |
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Musical artist | |
Czesława Gospodarek (néeCieślak; 10 June 1938 – 5 December 2011), known by her stage nameVioletta Villas, was a Polish and international cabaret star, singer, actress, composer and songwriter. Her voice was characterized ascoloratura soprano,[1] which spanned over four octaves.[2] She could play the piano, violin, andtrombone and hadabsolute pitch.[3] Characterisations of her included "the voice of the atomic age",[4] "the singing toast of the continent",[5] "a voice like French champagne",[6] and the "PolishYma Sumac". Villas was the first star of theCasino de Paris atDunes Hotel & Casino inLas Vegas (1966–1970).[3]
Villas was known for her conspicuous wardrobe and number-one hits. During her show business career, Villas acted in six films, performed in numerous musical shows, and recorded almost three hundred songs in ten languages, including Polish, English, French, German, Italian, Latin, Neapolitan, Russian, Spanish and Portuguese.
In 2011, Villas received theMedal for Merit to Culture – Gloria Artis.[7][8][9]
Villas was born inHeusy,Liège province, the third of four children. She spent her childhood in Belgium. Her father, Bolesław Cieślak (4 December 1907 – 9 May 1960), was aminer andbandmaster, and her mother, Jane (26 January 1914 – 17 February 1985), was a housewife. In 1948 she came with her parents to Poland and settled inLewin Kłodzki, where she began studying music. She played the piano and violin in her youth.
In 1956 she began studying solo singing at the State Musical High School inSzczecin. She continued her artistic education inWrocław with professor Gisela Posh. In 1959 she began classical vocal lessons with professor Eugenia Falkowska inWarsaw.
In 1960, Villas made her debut onPolskie Radio at the invitation of its director of music,Władysław Szpilman.[10] Her first broadcast songs were "Gdy zakwitną czereśnie" and "Ja nie mogę tamtej drugiej znieść". She recorded her first album,Rendez-vous with Violetta Villas, in 1962. She received her first noteworthy prize at the Sopot Festival in 1961 and 1962. In 1964, 1965 and 1966 she performed atNational Festival of Polish Song in Opole.
In the early 1960s, Villas toured many countries in Europe, including Germany, Belgium, Switzerland, Spain, Russia, Czechoslovakia, Bulgaria and Romania, as well as in the United States, Canada and Israel.
In 1964 at the National Festival of Polish Song in Opole,Bruno Coquatrix invited her to France. At the 3rd Festival International des Variétés et Music-Halls inRennes, Villas received her Grand Prix International d'Interpretation (she sang including Ave Maria). In 1965, she performed at the Fontaine Theatre (show Roue de la Chance, director André Chanu). In 1966, at a personal request of Bruno Cocquatrix, Villas appeared in theGrand Music Hall de Varsovie, revue program atOlympia. The premiere was 26 July 1966. Villas sang including Ave Maria no Morro and Hiroshima Mon Amour. In Paris she was approached by Frederic Apcar, who invited her to Las Vegas.
In December 1966 Villas performed at the Casino de Paris atDunes Hotel & Casino. In her first program she sang including "Under Paris Skies", "Granada", "O Sole Mio", "Strangers in the Night" and "Libiamo ne' lieti calici". Villas sang in duets withFrank Sinatra,Paul Anka,Barbra Streisand,Charles Aznavour,Sammy Davis Jr.,Eartha Kitt, andDean Martin.[3]
Her personal stylist was Patrick Valette, a Frenchman from fashion houseDior. She performed her show with a hundred-person French ballet. She lived in a villa with private swimming pool.[3] In late '60s Villas recorded twenty songs for American television andCapitol Records. In March 1968 began a screen test forMGM film studio, where she was later signed to a movie contract.[11]
Villas was offered a lucrative eight-year contract withParamount Pictures but turned it down because of her mother's illness, which saw her return to Poland.[3] The Polish Communist authorities confiscated her passport, which confined her in Poland for over a decade. However, she was not completely banned from the media and was able to pursue her career locally. In 1985, she made a comeback, just a few years after martial law ended, in a series of sold-out performances. Authorities returned her passport, and she resumed her international career. She later toured the US and Australia.
In 1987 she went on the tour "Violetta" in the United States and Canada. The premiere was 14 September atCarnegie Hall, where she received a standing ovation. In New York her concert was sold out. Villas performed in Las Vegas, Denver, Miami, Texas, Montreal and Chicago.
Before Villas started her theatre career in Poland, she performed in international revue shows in France and United States. In 1978 she played at the Grand Theatre inŁódź in the musical showKochajmy się. In the 1970s/80s Villas was a star of the Siren Theatre inWarsaw. Villas played several roles in her theatre career, including Lygia inTrzeci program (The third programme, 1978) and the main role in the revueVioletta (1986–1988). In 1986 she returned to theatre, performing inVioletta with an orchestra and ballet.[3]
In 1992, Villas played in the musicalHello, Dolly! atKraków Operetta House. In the 1990s she performed at Warsaw Operetta House in her own programme,The Violetta Villas Show.
In 1954, when she was 16, Villas married lieutenant Gospodarek but they divorced just two years later in September 1956. Her parents had pressured her into the marriage but she did not truly love him.[12] She left her husband to study music inSzczecin. They had one child, Krzysztof Gospodarek. In 1967 she married Harry B. Malter, an American businessman and entrepreneur. They were divorced several years later.
In 1987 she met an American businessman and millionaire of Polish descent, Ted Kowalczyk, and married him on 6 January 1988 in Chicago. The wedding ceremony was held at a banquet room of the "Orbit" Restaurant, a fixture ofChicago's Polish Village. They divorced in December 1988. He gave many interviews in the media about their marriage, but she said on a TV show "I made an error, that I believed so fast."[13]
Villas struggled withalcohol[14] andmorphine addiction,[14][15] according to her estranged son. Apparently, according to a show on Polish national public television, Villas suffered fromdelusional disorder for years,[16] which strained her relationship with family and friends.[14]
From 1968 to 1973 she provided information about her show business colleagues to theSecurity Service of the Ministry of Internal Affairsinformant[14][17][18] under thecode nameGabriella.[14][19]
Villas died on 5 December 2011 inLewin Kłodzki at the age of 73.
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Movie
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1. Song festivals –Sopot,Opole,Knokke-Heist,Basel etc. (1961–1964)
2. "Roue de la chance", Theatre Fontaine in Paris (1965)
3. "Grand music hall de Varsovie",Olympia in Paris (1966)
4. "Casino de Paris",Dunes in Las Vegas (1967–1969)
5. "Villas Revue",Congress Hall in Warsaw (1968)
6. "Violetta", international concert tour started atCarnegie Hall in New York (1987–1988)
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