Violetta Villas facts for kids
Quick facts for kids
Violetta Villas
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Violetta Villas in 1967
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Czesława Cieślak
10 June 1938 Heusy, Belgium
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| Died | 5 December 2011 (aged 73) Lewin Kłodzki, Poland
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| Other names | Violetta Élisa Cieślak (Catholic baptismal name) |
| Occupation | singer, songwriter, composer, actress |
| Years active | 1960–2011 |
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| Children | 1 (son) |
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Violetta Villas (born Czesława Cieślak) was a famous Polish singer, actress, and songwriter. She was known around the world for her amazing voice and stage performances. Violetta had a very special voice called a 'coloratura soprano,' which meant she could sing very high notes and had a huge vocal range – over four octaves! She was also a talented musician, playing the piano, violin, and trombone. She even had 'absolute pitch,' meaning she could identify any musical note just by hearing it.
People called her many things, like 'the voice of the atomic age' or 'a voice like French champagne,' because her singing was so powerful and unique. She was even the first big star to perform at the famous Casino de Paris in Las Vegas from 1966 to 1970.
Violetta was also famous for her fancy clothes and many hit songs. During her career, she acted in six films and performed in many musical shows. She recorded almost 300 songs in ten different languages, including Polish, English, French, and Spanish. She also cared deeply about animals and was an animal rights activist. In 2011, Violetta Villas received the Medal for Merit to Culture – Gloria Artis, a special award for her contributions to culture.
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Violetta Villas' Early Life and Music Training
Violetta Villas was born in Heusy, Belgium, on June 10, 1938. She was the third of four children. She spent her early childhood in Belgium. Her father, Bolesław Cieślak, was a miner and a band leader. Her mother, Jane, was a homemaker. In 1948, when Violetta was ten, her family moved to Poland. They settled in a town called Lewin Kłodzki. This is where she started her music studies. She learned to play the piano and violin when she was young.
In 1956, Violetta began studying singing at a music high school in Szczecin, Poland. She continued her music education in Wrocław with a professor named Gisela Posh. In 1959, she moved to Warsaw to take classical vocal lessons with Professor Eugenia Falkowska.
Violetta Villas' Music Career (1960-1970)
Starting Her Career in Poland
In 1960, Violetta Villas made her first appearance on Polskie Radio, which is Polish Radio. The music director, Władysław Szpilman, invited her to perform. Her first songs on the radio were "Gdy zakwitną czereśnie" and "Ja nie mogę tamtej drugiej znieść." In 1962, she recorded her first album, Rendez-vous with Violetta Villas. She won her first important awards at the Sopot Festival in 1961 and 1962. She also performed at the National Festival of Polish Song in Opole in 1964, 1965, and 1966.
Touring the World
In the early 1960s, Violetta Villas traveled and performed in many countries. She toured in Europe, including Germany, Belgium, Switzerland, and Russia. She also performed in the United States, Canada, and Israel.
In 1964, a famous French show producer, Bruno Coquatrix, invited her to France. She won a big award, the Grand Prix International d'Interpretation, at a festival in Rennes, France. She sang "Ave Maria" there. In 1965, she performed at the Fontaine Theatre in Paris. In 1966, Bruno Coquatrix asked her to be in a show called Grand Music Hall de Varsovie at the famous Olympia theater in Paris. She sang songs like "Ave Maria no Morro" and "Hiroshima Mon Amour." While in Paris, she was invited to perform in Las Vegas.
Becoming a Star in Las Vegas
In December 1966, Violetta Villas began performing at the Casino de Paris in the Dunes Hotel & Casino in Las Vegas. In her first show, she sang popular songs like "Under Paris Skies," "Granada," and "Strangers in the Night." She even sang duets with very famous singers like Frank Sinatra, Barbra Streisand, and Dean Martin.
Her personal fashion designer was Patrick Valette from the famous Dior fashion house. She performed her show with a large French ballet group. She lived in a beautiful villa with her own swimming pool. In the late 1960s, Violetta recorded many songs for American television and Capitol Records. In 1968, she started screen tests for MGM film studio and later signed a movie contract with them.
Later Career and Life (1971-2011)
Returning to Poland
Violetta Villas was offered a big eight-year movie contract with Paramount Pictures. However, she decided to turn it down because her mother was ill. She returned to Poland to be with her family. The Polish government at the time took away her passport. This meant she could not leave Poland for more than ten years. Even so, she was still able to perform and continue her music career within Poland.
Comeback and Final Years
In 1985, Violetta made a big comeback. She performed in many sold-out shows after a period of martial law ended in Poland. The authorities gave her passport back, and she started her international career again. She toured the United States and Australia.
In 1987, she went on a tour called "Violetta" in the United States and Canada. The first show was on September 14 at Carnegie Hall in New York, where she received a standing ovation. Her concert in New York was completely sold out. Violetta performed in many cities, including Las Vegas, Denver, Miami, and Chicago.
Violetta Villas passed away on December 5, 2011, in Lewin Kłodzki, Poland. She was 73 years old.
Violetta Villas in Theatre and Film
Before her theatre career in Poland, Violetta Villas performed in big shows in France and the United States. In 1978, she acted in a musical show called Kochajmy się at the Grand Theatre in Łódź. In the 1970s and 80s, she was a star at the Siren Theatre in Warsaw.
Violetta played several roles in her theatre career. She was Lygia in Trzeci program (The third programme) in 1978. She also played the main role in a show called Violetta from 1986 to 1988. In 1992, she performed in the musical Hello, Dolly! at the Cracow Operetta House. In the 1990s, she had her own show, The Violetta Villas Show, at the Warsaw Operetta House.
Violetta Villas also appeared in several films and television shows. Movies
- 1969 How to commit marriage
- 1969 Heaven with a gun
- 1969 Paint your wagon
- 1970 Dzięcioł (The Woodpecker)
- 1983 Dream about Violetta
- 1989 Violetta Villas
Television
- 1963 Revue of the Polskie Nagrania
- 1964 Dancing Joe
- 1965 Roue de la chance
- 1966 Professor Tutka's club
- 1970 Violetta Villas sings
- 1975 The wedding
- 1977 Sentiments
- 1978 Good evening, it's Łódź!
- 1985 Summer Studio
- 1985 Beautiful and excellent
- 1988 Violetta
- 1993 Violetta Villas show – live at Warsaw Operetta
- 1995 Only to You
- 1996 Concert on a barge
- 1999 Violetta V. – live
Violetta Villas' Personal Life
In 1954, when she was 16, Violetta married Piotr Gospodarek. However, they divorced just two years later in 1956. Her parents had encouraged the marriage, but she did not truly love him. She left her husband to study music. They had one son, Krzysztof Gospodarek. In 1967, she married Harry B. Malter, an American businessman. They also divorced after a few years.
In 1987, she met Ted Kowalczyk, an American businessman of Polish descent. They married on January 6, 1988, in Chicago. The wedding was held at a restaurant. However, they divorced in December 1988. Ted Kowalczyk spoke to the media about their marriage. Violetta later said on a TV show, "I made an error, that I believed so fast."
Violetta Villas' Music Recordings
Violetta Villas recorded many albums and singles throughout her career.
Studio Albums
- 1962 Rendez-vous with Violetta Villas
- 1966 Violetta Villas
- 1967 Violetta Villas (reissue)
- 1968 For you my darling
- 1968 About Love...
- 1977 There is no love without jealousy
- 1985 Las Vegas
- 1986 Violetta Villas (reissue)
- 1992 The most beautiful Christmas carols
- 1996 Daddy 2 guest star
- 1997 Christmas carols
- 1997 Villas sings Christmas carols
- 2001 When Jesus Christus was born...
- 2001 Violetta Villas (reissue)
- 2001 There is no love without jealousy (reissue)
- 2001 For you my darling (reissue)
- 2003 Valentine hits
- 2004 Christmas carols from heart
- 2008 To comfort the heart and warmth the soul
- 2009 The most beautiful Christmas carols (reissue)
Live Albums
- 1994 Dolly
- 1994 I am what I am (reissue)
- 1998 Dolly (reissue)
- 2006 I am what I am (reissue)
Singles
- 1961 "I don't believe you"
- 1961 "Such a frost"
- 1961 "I don't make it"
- 1961 "For you my darling"
- 1961 "Red Marianna"
- 1961 "Secret"
- 1962 "Get married, Johny!"
- 1962 "Cuckoo clock"
- 1962 "It speak maracas"
- 1962 "Look straight into my eyes"
- 1962 "When Allah goes"
- 1962 "Ali alo"
- 1963 "Fan"
- 1964 "To you, mother"
- 1964 "Joseph"
- 1964 "The love begins with a smile"
- 1964 "There is a time for love"
- 1964 "Is not"
- 1966 "To you, mother"
- 1978 "For mum"
- 1986 "Mundial '86"
- 1987 "The pine from my dream"
- 1987 "Take me from Barcelona"
- 1987 "Everywhere you go"
- 1987 "The wild woman"
Flexi Discs
- 1962 Do you like to dance?
- 1964 There is a time for love
- 1964 Forty chesnut-trees
- 1964 Recalling Masuria
- 1965 Mamma
- 1965 I will travel to you
- 1965 To you, mother
- 1968 It's raining in Zakopane
- 1970 I returned to you
- 1972 There is no love without jealousy
- 1974 To you, mother
Compilation Albums
- 1980 Old hits
- 1987 The greatest hits
- 1992 For you my darling
- 1992 The best of
- 1995 Violetta Villas – gold hits
- 1996 Gold hits
- 1996 Only to you
- 1997 I am what I am
- 1998 Platinum collection
- 2000 Gold hits
- 2003 To you, mother
- 2003 Magic memories
- 2009 From the Polish Radio archive
- 2010 40 Violetta Villas songs
- and 46 Various Artists-type compilations
See also
In Spanish: Violetta Villas para niños
