Tomasz Konieczny: from dreams of directing to the world's great opera stages

Tomasz Konieczny, one of Poland's most distinguished opera singers, has looked back on the start of his artistic career in several recent interviews. The bass-baritone has performed at Milan's La Scala, the Vienna State Opera and the Metropolitan Opera. He is also one of the first Polish artists to have appeared at the Bayreuth Wagner Festival.

First directing and acting

Konieczny was born in Łódź in 1972. He says that after his school-leaving exams, at the age of 18, he wanted to become a theatre director. He knew, however, that at such a young age he would not get into what were then very elite directing courses. He chose a related field instead, acting at the Łódź film school, hoping it would help him with directing in the future.

As an actor he made his debut in Andrzej Wajda's film "Pierścionek z orłem w koronie" (The Ring with the Crowned Eagle). He also worked in theatres in Warsaw.

Where the idea of singing came from

Konieczny recalls that singing was his weak spot during acting exams. He was then offered help with preparation, on condition that he also applied to the vocal department of the Academy of Music. He turned the idea down at the time but, as he puts it, a thought emerged that "maybe there is something in singing". After his acting studies he was accepted at the Academy of Music and for a time combined studying singing with working as an actor. He then went on a scholarship to study voice in Dresden.

"Terribly uncool"

Before going to Germany he thought little of opera. In a conversation with Monika Olejnik on TVN24 he said: "I thought opera was terribly uncool". The change came with the first opera performance of his life, seen at the Semperoper in Dresden. As he told Polish Radio, it was not only well sung but also well acted. Then, in his words, something "unlocked" in him.

He believes he would never have been as good an actor as he is a singer. According to Polish Radio, he began his opera career with "The Marriage of Figaro" on 12 December 1997. Today his artistic home is the Vienna State Opera. He is also artistic director of the Baltic Opera Festival and calls directing a dream he has still not fulfilled.

For opera lovers

In the TVN24 interview Konieczny also recommended two books: "Kwantechizm 2.0, czyli klatka na ludzi" by Andrzej Dragan and "Od huzarów śmierci do Eltona Johna. 100 lat Opery Leśnej w Sopocie" by Wojciech Fułek.