Ignacy Dygas

Dygas studied at the University of Warsaw. He first took singing lessons with the baritone Józef Szczepkowski, who thought he was a baritone, too; then with Witold Aleksandrowicz, who correctly categorized him as a tenor.

In January 1905, he made his debut as baritone as Valentin at the Teatr Wielki in Warsaw. In May of the same year, he made a second debut as Jontek (using the name Ignacy Gorczyński). He stayed at the Warsaw opera until 1907.

From 1907 to 1913, Dygas toured Italy (using the name Ignacio Digas); he first took further voice lessons in Milan with Vincenzo Lombardi, then he sang in Napoli (San Carlo), Palermo (Massimo), Genova (Carlo Felice), Roma (Costanzi), Milano (Lirico), and Bologna (Comunale). His most important roles at that time were Lohengrin and Pollione.

He also sang in Spain (Madrid) and South America (Rio de Janeiro, Buenos Aires, and Montevideo).

Some of his appearances in those years include:

Andrea Chénier

February 1911, Palermo – Teatro Massimo with Maria Llacer, Ernesto Badini

Lohengrin

February 1908, Torino – Teatro Regio with Linda Farneti, Tina Alasia, Antonio Magini Coletti, Mansueto Gaudio
August 1908, Faenza – Teatro Masini with Amina Matini, Tina Alasia, Bartolomeo Dadone, Oreste Carozzi, Sebastiano Cirotto
December 1908, Parma – Teatro Regio with Maria Antonietta Isaia, Marie Grassé. Marino Aineto, Luigi Ferroni, Nazzareno Franchi
November 1909, Madrid – Teatro Reale with Adele D'Albert, Elisa Petri, Francesco Cigada/Emilio Cabello, Angelo Riccieri
February 1910, Roma – Teatro Costanzi with Linda Farneti/Maria Antonietta Isaia, Luisa Garibaldi, Domenico Viglione Borghese/Virgilio Romano, Carlo Walter/Sebastiano Cirotto, Virgilio Mentasti/Roberto Janni
May 1910, Buenos Aires – Teatro Colón with Solomija Krushelnytska, Luisa Garibaldi, Riccardo Stracciari, Nazzareno De Angelis
23 August 1910, Montevideo – Teatro Solís with Solomija Krushelnytska, Luisa Garibaldi, Riccardo Stracciari, Nazzareno De Angelis, Ernesto Badini
February 1912, Mantova – Teatro Sociale with Camilla Pasini/Bianca Lenzi, Maria Curellich, Ciro Scafa, Alfredo Brondi, Alessandro Antonoff
November 1913, Bologna – Teatro Comunale with María Llacer/Maria Mokrzycka, Elisa Petri/Virginia Guerrini/Władisława Chotkowska, Francesco Maria Bonini/Francesco Cigada/Amerigo Passuello/Ciro Scafa, Giulio Cirino, Enrico Molinari/Ercole Filippini

Die Götterdämmerung

20 August 1910 Montevideo – Teatro Solís with Solomija Krushelnytska, Luisa Garibaldi, Enrico Nani, Nazzareno De Angelis, José Mardones

Un ballo in maschera

25/30 August 1901 Montevideo – Teatro Solís with Solomija Krushelnytska, Riccardo Stracciari, Luisa Garibaldi, L. Garavaglia

Norma

February 1909, Parma – Teatro Regio with Giannina Russ, Luisa Garibaldi, Luigi Ferroni
February 1909, Torino – Teatro Regio with Giannina Russ, Luisa Garibaldi, Vito Dammacco
October 1909, Milano – Teatro Dal Verme with Giannina Russ/Emma Hoffmann, Luisa Garibaldi, Angelo Masini Pieralli
March 1910, Roma – Teatro Costanzi with Giannina Russ, Luisa Garibaldi, Carlo Walter
June 1910, Buenos Aires – Teatro Colón with Giannina Russ, Luisa Garibaldi, Nazzareno De Angelis
28 August 1910 Montevideo – Teatro Solís with Giannina Russ, Luisa Garibaldi, Nazzareno De Angelis
? 1910, Napoli – Teatro San Carlo with Giannina Russ, Luisa Garibaldi, Berardo Berardi
February 1911, Palermo – Teatro Massimo with Giannina Russ/Emma Hoffmann, Luisa Garibaldi/Zelmira Battaggi, Angelo Ricceri/Alfredo Venturini

Tannhäuser

November 1909, Madrid – Teatro Real with Helena Ruszkowska, Flora Perini, Riccardo Stracciari, Angelo Riccieri, Vittorio Brombara

ANNO	CITTA	TEATRO	TITOLO
1908	FAENZA	MASINI	LOHENGRIN
1908	PARMA	REGIO	LOHENGRIN
1908	TORINO	REGIO	ARIANE di J. Massenet
1908	TORINO	REGIO	LOHENGRIN
1909	GENOVA	CARLO FELICE	IL PRINCIPE ZILAH di F. Alfano
1909	MADRID	REAL	LOHENGRIN
1909	MADRID	REAL	TANNHÄUSER
1909	MILANO	DAL VERME	NORMA
1909	MILANO	DAL VERME	TOSCA-NORMA-AIDA-GERMANIA-IL PRINCIPE ZILAH di F. Alfano
1909	PARMA	REGIO	NORMA
1909	TORINO	REGIO/	NORMA
1910	NAPOLI	SAN CARLO/	NORMA
1910	ROMA	COSTANZI/	LOHENGRIN
1910	ROMA	COSTANZI/	NORMA
1911	PALERMO	MASSIMO	AIDA
1911	PALERMO	MASSIMO	ANDREA CHÉNIER
1911	PALERMO	MASSIMO	NORMA
1911	PALERMO	MASSIMO	GÖTTERDÄMMERUNG
1913	WARSZAWA	WIELKI/	BALLO IN MASCHERA

1910–14, he sang again in Poland. (In 1913, he was director of the Warsaw opera.)

1913/14, he was a soloist at the National House in Saint Petersburg; 1914–16, he was at the Zimin in Moscow; and 1916/17, he was at the Bolshoj. The reference states that he sang German at the Mariinskij, but this is very probably wrong as he is not listed in the Mariinskij chronology..

He also sang in Saratov (1915) and other Russian cities. In 1917, Dygas started to sing again in Warsaw. In 1918, he organized an opera company touring Poland. 1919 to 1924, he was a soloist at the Wielki.

In 1924, he went to live and sing in the USA (Chicago, New York, Detroit).

He toured Romania (1927) Yugoslavia (1928), and Czechoslovakia. In 1937, he returned to Warsaw singing Éléazar. This was his official farewell. Until his 1947 death, he appeared occasionally on stage.

His repertory included: Wacław (Maria by Roman Statkowski, 1 March 1906 in Warsaw with Helena Ruszkowska, Józef Chodakowski), Andras Zilah (Il principe Zilah by Alfano on 3 February 1909 in Genova at the Teatro Carlo Felice with Bennett Challis, Margot Kaftal, Giuseppe Segura-Tallien and Ettore Panizza), Lionardo (sic!) da Vinci (Meduza by Ludomir Różycki on 26 October 1912 in Warsaw with Jadwiga Lachowska, Melanie Wohl-Lewicka), Ole Nielsen (Ole iz Nordlanda by Ippolitov-Ivanov in 1916), Casanova (Casanova by Ludomir Różycki on 8 June 1921 in Warsaw with Adelina Czapska), Stary król/The aged king (Hagith by Karol Szymanowski, world premiere on 13 May 1922 in Warsaw with Stanisław Grusczyński, Maria Mokrzycka), Giani (Beatrix Cenci by Ludomir Różycki, world premiere on 30 November 1927 in Warsaw with Adelina Czapska, Eugeniusz Mossakowski, Wanda Wermińska), Boleslav Chaplinskij (Pan Voevoda by Rimskij-Korsakov in 1905 in Warsaw), German, Jontek, Éléazar, José, Radames, Cavaradossi, Canio, Herodes, Tannhäuser, Tristan, Siegmund, Parsifal, Andrej Khovanskij, Raoul, Masaniello, Néron, Samson, Pinkerton, Stolzing, Stefan, Siegfried, ...

He recorded for Gramophone, Edison, Kalliope, Pathé, Syrena, Odeon, Favorite and Victor.

1929 to 1931, he was chairman of the union of Polish artists. He taught singing in Lublin and Warsaw. Among his students was Bogdan Paprocki.

Reference: A. M. Pruzhanskij: Otechestvennie pevtsy (Domestic singers) 1750–1917, part 1, Moscow 1991

Ignacy Dygas sings

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