Wincenty Rapacki (22 January 1840 in Lipno – 12 January 1924 in

Warsaw Warsaw, officially the Capital City of Warsaw, is the capital and List of cities and towns in Poland, largest city of Poland. The metropolis stands on the Vistula, River Vistula in east-central Poland. Its population is officially estimated at ...

) was a Polish actor and theatre director.

Biography

He lost his mother at an early age, and his father remarried. His step-family treated him poorly, so he spent much of his time away from home. This led to a fascination with travelling troupes, and his decision to become an actor. After leaving home, he finished his education in

Płock Płock (pronounced ), officially the Ducal Capital City of Płock, is a city in central Poland, on the Vistula river, in the Masovian Voivodeship. According to the data provided by Central Statistical Office (Poland), GUS on 31 December 2021, the ...

then, when he was eighteen, enrolled at the drama school in Warsaw. Unable to find employment there, he went to

Druskieniki Druskininkai (; also see #Name, other names) is a spa town, spa city on the Nemunas River in southern Lithuania, close to the borders of Belarus and Poland. The city of Druskininkai is known for being a Destination spa, spa resort since the 19th ...

where, in 1861, he made his début in ''Stare dzieje'' (Old History), a comedy by Józef Kraszewski. The 1864/65 season found him in

Lwów Lviv ( or ; ; ; see #Names and symbols, below for other names) is the largest city in western Ukraine, as well as the List of cities in Ukraine, fifth-largest city in Ukraine, with a population of It serves as the administrative centre of ...

, and from 1865 to 1870 he was in

Kraków , officially the Royal Capital City of Kraków, is the List of cities and towns in Poland, second-largest and one of the oldest cities in Poland. Situated on the Vistula River in Lesser Poland Voivodeship, the city has a population of 804,237 ...

. He became a voracious reader, and developed friendships among the intellectuals there, including Kraszewski,

Alexander Fredro Aleksander Fredro (20 June 1793 – 15 July 1876) was a Polish poet, playwright and author active during Polish Romanticism in the period of partitions by neighboring empires. His works including plays written in the octosyllabic verse (''Zemst ...

Michał Bałucki Michał Bałucki, pseudonym ''Elpidon'' (29 September 1837 – 17 October 1901), was a Polish playwright and poet. Biography Bałucki was born on 29 September 1837 in Kraków. He studied at Saint's Ann gymnasium in Kraków, and then at the Jag ...

, Karol Estreicher, and

Jan Matejko Jan Alojzy Matejko (; also known as Jan Mateyko; 24 June 1838 – 1 November 1893) was a Polish painter, a leading 19th-century exponent of history painting, known for depicting nodal events from Polish history. His works include large scale ...

, who painted his portrait. He also worked in Vienna and Paris; which exposed him to current trends in Western European theatre. In 1869, he performed 11 roles over the course of 37 days at the

National Theatre, Warsaw The National Theatre () in Warsaw, Poland, was founded in 1765, during the Polish Enlightenment, by that country's List of Polish monarchs, monarch, Stanisław August Poniatowski. The theatre shares the Grand Theatre, Warsaw, Grand Theatre compl ...

; receiving high praise from the critics. In 1870, he found a permanent position there. During the 1875/76 season, he worked as a director. He also served as an acting teacher. After 1893, he was a lecturer in the

diction Diction ( (nom. ), "a saying, expression, word"), in its original meaning, is a writer's or speaker's distinctive vocabulary choices and style of expression in a piece of writing such as a poem or story.Crannell (1997) ''Glossary'', p. 406 In its c ...

and

declamation Declamation (from the Latin: ''declamatio'') is an artistic form of public speaking. It is a dramatic oration designed to express through articulation, emphasis and gesture the full sense of the text being conveyed. History In Ancient Rome, decl ...

class at the . Sometime in the early 1860s, he married the actress and singer, . They had six children. Following her death in 1891, he married Amelia Gordon-Świejkowska (1868-1902). They had two sons. His children with Józefina included: * , an actress; mother of the actor

Jerzy Leszczyński The name Jerzy Leszczyński may refer to: * Jerzy Leszczyński (actor) – Polish actor * Jerzy Leszczyński (politician) – Polish politician {{disambiguation ...

. * , an actor, singer, and author of several

libretti A libretto (From the Italian word , ) is the text used in, or intended for, an extended musical work such as an opera, operetta, masque, oratorio, cantata or musical. The term ''libretto'' is also sometimes used to refer to the text of major l ...

; father of the actress Halina Rapacka, a

Nazi collaborator In World War II, many governments, organizations and individuals Collaborationism, collaborated with the Axis powers, "out of conviction, desperation, or under coercion". Nationalists sometimes welcomed German or Italian troops they believed wou ...

. * Józef, a landscape painter and

watercolorist Watercolor (American English) or watercolour (Commonwealth English; see American and British English spelling differences#-our, -or, spelling differences), also ''aquarelle'' (; from Italian diminutive of Latin 'water'), is a painting metho ...

. From 1919 until his death, he performed at the Warsaw Variety Theatre. In 1921, he became the first actor to be awarded the

Order of Polonia Restituta The Order of Polonia Restituta (, ) is a Polish state decoration, state Order (decoration), order established 4 February 1921. It is conferred on both military and civilians as well as on alien (law), foreigners for outstanding achievements in ...

.''Monitor Polski''
1921, #298 item 353 That same year, he had a small part in ' (Miracle on the Vistula), an epic film by

Richard Boleslawski Richard Boleslawski (born Bolesław Ryszard Srzednicki; February 4, 1889 – January 17, 1937) was a Polish theatre and film director, actor and teacher of acting. Biography Richard Boleslawski was born Bolesław Ryszard Srzednicki on February ...

. In addition to acting, he wrote novels and plays, made translations, and adapted works for the stage; including ''

Les Misérables ''Les Misérables'' (, ) is a 19th-century French literature, French Epic (genre), epic historical fiction, historical novel by Victor Hugo, first published on 31 March 1862, that is considered one of the greatest novels of the 19th century. '' ...

'', by

Victor Hugo Victor-Marie Hugo, vicomte Hugo (; 26 February 1802 – 22 May 1885) was a French Romanticism, Romantic author, poet, essayist, playwright, journalist, human rights activist and politician. His most famous works are the novels ''The Hunchbac ...

. He was a regular contributor to several magazines such as ', the ''

Kurier Warszawski The ''Kurier Warszawski'' (or ''Warsaw Courier'') was a daily newspaper printed in Warsaw, Poland Poland, officially the Republic of Poland, is a country in Central Europe. It extends from the Baltic Sea in the north to the Sudetes and Carp ...

'', and '' Tygodnik Ilustrowany''. His extensive diaries were never published during his lifetime, and most were destroyed during the

Warsaw Uprising The Warsaw Uprising (; ), sometimes referred to as the August Uprising (), or the Battle of Warsaw, was a major World War II operation by the Polish resistance movement in World War II, Polish underground resistance to liberate Warsaw from ...

. The surviving fragments were published in 1965.

References

External links

@ the Lipno city website * {{DEFAULTSORT:Rapacki, Wincenty 1840 births 1924 deaths Male actors from the Russian Empire People from Congress Poland Polish male actors Polish male stage actors Polish directors Polish male writers People from Lipno, Lipno County Male actors from Kuyavian-Pomeranian Voivodeship

Biography

References

Further reading

External links