Polish alto Jadwiga Rappé died on May 16, 2025 in Warsaw, aged 73. In 1980 Rappé won first prize at the International Johann Sebastian Bach Competition in Leipzig and in 1981 the gold medal at the International Festival of Young Soloists in Bordeaux.
As a specialist in oratorios and cantatas, her repertoire ranged from Baroque music to Romantic oratorios and modern and contemporary music (including works by Tadeusz Baird, Witold Lutosławski, Andrzej Panufnik and, in particular, Krzysztof Penderecki’s Polish Requiem and Te Deum). She has worked under the baton of conductors such as Nikolaus Harnoncourt, Marek Janowski, Bernard Haitink, Colin Davis, Krzysztof Penderecki, Stanisław Skrowaczewski, Jesús López-Cobos, Mstislav Rostropowitsch, Leopold Hager, Anton Guadagno, Antoni Wit and others. She has performed in Europe, North America and Asia. Rappé was also successful as an opera singer.
Rappé taught as a professor at the Fryderyk Chopin University of Music and as part of master classes and was a jury member at singing competitions. She was also a member of the Witold Lutosławski Society.
