Rather than taking the time-honored interpretation of the music and the characters, he brought a fresh and fuller perspective that impressed the audience, impresarios, and conductors.

Jan Mieczysław Reszke was born into a prosperous family with operatic and classical music traditions in Warsaw, Congress Poland, in 1850.

[a] Both his parents were Poles; his father, Jan Reszke[4] was a Polish state official and a controller of the railroad and his mother a soprano singer, their house being a recognized musical centre.

[5][6] He initially trained as a baritone under Francesco Ciaffei at the Warsaw Conservatoire, followed by lessons with Antonio Cotogni in Italy.

In January 1874, Reszke made his debut in Venice undertaking the baritone part of Alfonso in a production of Donizetti's La favorite.

[7] In April 1874, he sang for the first time in London, performing at the Theatre Royal, Drury Lane, and on 11 October 1876 in Paris in La forza del Destino.

[10] He made his first operatic reappearance in 1879 in Madrid, it was as a tenor,[1][5] scoring a success in the title-role of Meyerbeer's Robert le diable, which he sang opposite his sister.

[7] During that period, he performed as Rodrique in Le Cid, which Jules Massenet had written for him; as Roméo in Roméo et Juliette by Gounod,[6][7] as Radamés In Verdi's Aida, the title role in Faust, Jean de Leyde in Meyerbeer's Le prophète, and Vasco de Gama in L'Africaine by the same composer.

[6] In 1887, Reszke was re-engaged by the management at London's Drury Lane, delivering among other things a notable Radamès in Verdi's Aida.

[5] The following year he was heard again in London, appearing no longer at Drury Lane but at the Royal Opera House, Covent Garden.

[12] More than three decades earlier, their father Jan Reszke was exiled to Siberia in 1863 by the Russian government for his leadership role in the January Uprising; he was there five years.

[7] By making these roles his own, he pushed aside the time-worn faute de mieux and brought a fresh understanding of the characters.

[14] Herman Klein, an English music critic, described his Raoul as "superb", his Faust was "unsurpassable" and that he was "an ideal Lohengrin".

He was adept at translating the styles of the different operatic traditions: "From the Italian one learned the legato line and the control that comes from agility, the French school gave charm and sobriety, while the German method taught energy of diction, the violence required in certain dramatic situations and a particular poetic vehemence, or exuberance…"[7] At Covent Garden, operas were performed in Italian traditionally.

[14] Music critic Camille Bellaigue stated that he "gave to every word the fullness of its meaning and to every note the perfection of sound.

Indeed, in 1891, his keenly awaited interpretation of the title role in Verdi's last tragic masterpiece, Otello, had disappointed the critics somewhat; while expertly sung, it lacked the clarion ring and elemental force that his main tenor rival, Francesco Tamagno (1850–1905), had brought to the part.

[17] Reszke's singing was admired by Queen Victoria,[16][11] and between 1889 and 1900 he was invited to take part in a number of royal galas mounted at Covent Garden and command performances held privately at Windsor Castle.

[18] She invited Jean and Édouard to Windsor Castle after the premiere of Wagner's Die Meistersinger von Nürnberg.

[3] Just a few of his American students were Maggie Teyte,[6] Oscar Seagle, Richard Bonelli, and Minnie Saltzmann Stevens,[3] Natalie Townsend,[23] E. Azalia Hackley,[24] and Esther Mundell.

[25] The already well established Austrian tenor Leo Slezak also took lessons from Reszke in 1908–1909, seeking advice on how to further improve his vocal technique.

[27] Reszke died on 3 April 1925 at his villa in Nice, having contracted bronchial influenza which brought on heart disease.

[27] Oscar Seagle, the American baritone who studied under and then taught with Reszke said of his passing: I have lost my closest and most intimate artist friend.

Jacob Millhoff, a Russian cigarette manufacturer and fan who settled in London, developed a tobacco that would not damage his voice.