Violetta Villas ( /ˈvɪllæs/; born Czesława Maria Cieślak, 10 June 1938 – 5 December 2011) was a Belgian-born Polish and international cabaret star, singer, actress, composer and songwriter. Her voice was characterized as coloratura soprano. She could play the piano, violin and trombone and had absolute pitch. She has been nicknamed "the voice of the atomic age", "the singing toast of the continent", "a voice like French champagne", "Polish Yma Sumac". Villas was the first star of the Casino de Paris at Dunes Hotel & Casino in Las Vegas (1966–1971).
Villas was known for her conspicuous, outstanding appearance and numerous number-one hits on her account. During her career in show business Violetta Villas starred in six films, performed in numerous musical shows, and recorded almost three hundred songs in ten languages, including Polish, English, French, German, Italian, Latin, Neapolitan, Russian, Spanish and Portuguese. She was an animal rights activist.
Violetta Villas was a very controversial person for her alcohol and morphine addiction and being a Security Service of the Ministry of Internal Affairs informant with a code name Gabriella. Moreover she had a delusional disorder, which has a bad influence on her contacts with her environment and family.
In 2011 Villas received the For Merits to Culture - Gloria Artis.
Read more about Violetta Villas: Death, Voice Characteristics, Theatre, Filmography, Repertoire
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