Violetta Villas (real name Czeslawa Cieslak) was born June 10, 1938 in Liege, Belgium, to Polish emigrants. She is a Polish and international singer, also an actress. She has a remarkable 4-octave vocal range and is known for her conspicuous, outstanding appearance, and a numerous number-one hits on her account. She is also a very controversial person.
Early Life
In 1948 she returned with their parents to Poland and settled in Lewin Kodzki where she started to learn music. She continued her artistic education in Wrocaw and Szczecin. In 1959 started her classic vocal lessons by Eugenia Falkowska in Warsaw. Her 4-octave vocal range and timbre conditions were significant, just for a promising operatic career, but she had decided to progress in more contemporary forms of music, accepting touring and vocal performances on stage. Soon Villas released her debut hits on Polskie Radio and first album. She received her first noteworthy prize in Sopot Festival in 1961.
International career
In early 60's Violetta Villas toured many countries in Europe. In 1965, on the 3rd Festival International des Varié té s et Music-Halls in Rennes, France Villas received her Grand Prix International d'Interpretation. She toured USSR, Czechoslovakia, Bulgaria and Romania. In 1966, Paris she was approached by Frederick Apcar who invited her to Las Vegas. She was supposed to perform along with renown star Line Renaud, but just after few weeks outshined her. Big neon over Casino de Paris shined with her name on. She singed with Frank Sinatra, Paul Anka, and Charles Aznavour. In Carnegie Hall received standing ovation. In New York all the tickets for her concert were sold. She starred in two movies. Violetta Villas was offered a lucrative 8-year contract with Paramount Pictures but she turned that down, unfortunately.
The Queen of Music
Later in the 70's Violetta Villas had to return to Poland to her dying mother. Communist regime authorities confiscated her passport and she was forced to stay in Poland for more than a decade, however she wasn't completely banned from the media and could pursue her local career. But her life became more obscure and isolated. In 1985 she had her great come-back, just a few years after the martial law ended. All the tickets were soldout on-stake, even a few weeks before her concerts. Authorities granted her passport back, and she could return to her international career. She went on tours to USA and Australia. In Las Vegas, Violetta Villas married Ted Kowalczyk her great fan, and American millionaire of Polish descent who gave her the theatre as a wedding present, a building specially designed and built for her vocal capabilities. She was tallented and he was very wealthy, however their marriage didn't last even a year. She left him and returned to Poland, again with great acclaim. She became almost an icon on Polish Television along with Irena Santor, Jerzy Polomski and Mieczyslaw Fogg.
Isolation, destruction, controversy
Later in the 90s she began isolating herself from the public. Her fortune dissipated. S She sacrificed her life to charity and helping left-alone animals, cats and dogs. She has a mansion in Lewin Klodzki where she lives alone with hundreds of animals which she is supposed to take care of. Despite a few million sold records, she lives in total destitution without pension and royalties because she couldn't do all the bureaucratic work that is needed. She is supported only by neighbours and people of good will. Some Polish artists like Micha Wisniewski and Edyta Górniak have tried to organize charity concerts to raise money for support of her animal shelter but with little or no effect. Recently the state authorities ordered that all the animals must be taken away to the shelters because of horrendous conditions in her farm and the foul smell surrounding the area. She only was left with about 60 dogs and no cats. The rest of the animals starved to death or were eaten by each other. Violetta Villas gives small concerts only occasionally, rather in small provincial towns.
Voice characteristics
In her best years Violetta Villas was a mezzo-soprano whose voice had an extraordinary compass - the so-called register- and a very wide range of vocal color. The voice covered four octaves from the tenor middle D3 to the soprano E7. Villas' best range was from C4 to C6. In her songs she was showing a remarkable ability to naturally assimilative styles, and elliciting a multiplicity of voices. Villas was once a tenor, alto, mezzo-soprano, and soprano, a most unique attribute amongst singers of any gender, both in the classical and popular music fields.
