Anna S. Dębowska, in her book „Śpiewacy eksportowi. Sukces polskich artystek i artystów operowych” (Export Singers. The Success of Polish Opera Artists), explores the origins of the phenomenal popularity of Polish opera singers who have achieved international fame, even in the realm of pop culture.

Dębowska traces the careers of nine Polish artists: Aleksandra Kurzak (soprano), Ewa Płonka (soprano), Piotr Beczała (tenor), Józef Jakub Orliński (countertenor), Mariusz Kwiecień (baritone), Artur Ruciński (baritone), Andrzej Filończyk (baritone), Tomasz Konieczny (bass-baritone), and Rafał Siwek (bass). She describes their entire musical careers, all of whom entered their professional lives after 1989, and reveals some private details of the lives of her subjects. An important aspect is that the author – a music journalist for “Gazeta Wyborcza” and the editor-in-chief of “Beethoven Magazine” – personally knows the artists and has followed their careers for years.

"Each of the nine portraits included in this book is a story of a person gifted with talent, determination, hard work, a love for music, and a hunger for the stage. It is also a story of overcoming adversity and wise calculations that favor a career. And it also shows that none of these qualities would have borne such rich fruit without the necessary stroke of luck in an artist's profession."

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"The next generation is already soaring", the author writes in the prologue, turning her gaze towards the youngest vocal talents. But the new generation of musical writers has already arrived, and perhaps its most charismatic figure is Anna S. Dębowska herself.

Prof. Marcin Gmys,

Opera, in Italian, means "complete work." It sets the boundaries of life for the Italians. But it is in Poland that we now have a unique period of abundance in operatic talent. Never before has it been so good! Is the excitement about new talents – fueled by the media – a form of snobbery in our times? Certainly. But great art would never have existed without it! Let us enjoy it in opera just as we enjoy other manifestations of beauty!

Waldemar Dąbrowski, Director of the Grand Theatre – Polish National Opera