Tenor, soloist of Polish musical stages. For more than 30 years, he was closely associated with Opera Nova in Bydgoszcz.

Janusz Ratajczak’s artistic development dates back to the early 1980s. He began his musical career in the De Profundis choir. Even before starting his studies, in 1983, he won the Stanisław Moniuszko National Competition in Kudowa-Zdrój. The first prize he received there proved decisive for the further course of his professional career. He studied vocal performance and acting from 1983 to 1989 at the Academy of Music in Bydgoszcz in prof. Irena Maculewicz-Żejmo’s class. . In his fifth year of studies, he made his debut as Franek in Moniuszko’s Flis, staged by the Bydgoszcz Opera. From 1st September 1988, he was a soloist with that company. In 2000, he earned a doctoral degree. The next stage of his academic career was the postdoctoral degree (habilitated doctorate), at the Academy of Music in Łódź in 2009. The culmination of his academic achievements came with his appointment as titular professor by the President of the Republic of Poland in July 2013.

His repertoire included more than 60 stage roles. Among the most notable were: Don José (Carmen by Georges Bizet — a role for which he received the Golden Mask Award), Cavaradossi (Tosca by Giacomo Puccini), Manrico (Il trovatore by Giuseppe Verdi), Faust (Mefistofele by Arrigo Boito), Turiddu (Cavalleria rusticana by Pietro Mascagni), Tassilo (Countess Maritza by Emmerich Kálmán), Eisenstein (Die Fledermaus by Johann Strauss), Sou-Chong (The Land of Smiles by Franz Lehár), the Duke of Urbino (A Night in Venice by Johann Strauss), and Barinkay (The Gypsy Baron by Johann Strauss).

He performed on all the major opera stages in Poland. He also appeared in many European countries, including Denmark, the Benelux countries, Austria, Italy, France, Germany, Switzerland, as well as Malta and Sicily. One of the artist’s major achievements was the first-ever DVD recording of Paderewski’s opera Manru, in which he performed the title role. In 2013, that DVD production was honoured in Paris with the Golden Orpheus Award for Best Audiovisual Initiative. Another great distinction in Janusz Ratajczak’s career was his participation in the world premiere of Aleksander Tansman’s opera The Golden Fleece at the Grand Theatre in Łódź in December 2016. As part of the celebrations marking the centenary of Stanisław Moniuszko’s birth, Janusz Ratajczak also took part, together with Opera Krakowska, in the recording of the opera Beata, in which he sang the role of Hans.

Since 1991, Janusz Ratajczak was also active as a teacher. From 2009, he taught solo singing at the Academy of Music in Łódź. In 2016, his overall artistic work was honoured with the Bronze Medal for Merit to Culture – Gloria Artis.

He died tragically on 23 March 2026.

• Stefan in „The Haunted Manor” by Moniuszko
• Leński in „Eugene Onegin” by Czajkowski
• Fred in „My Fair Lady” by Loewe
• Rinuccio in „Gianni Schicchi” by Puccini
• Ismael in „Nabucco” by Verdi
• Alfred in „Traviata” by Verdi
• Hoffmann in „The Tales of Hoffmann” by Offenbach
• Don José in „Carmen” by Bizet (he won the Golden Mask for this performance, 2000)
• Camille in „The Merry Widow” by Lehar
• Faust in „Mefistofele” by Boito
• Manrico in „Troubadour” by Verdi
• Tassil in „Countess Maritza”
• Cavaradossi in ,,Tosca” by Puccini
• Eisenstein and Alfred in ,,The Revenge of the Bat” by Strauss
• Turiddu in „Cavalleria rusticana” by Mascagni
• The title role in „Manru” by Paderewski
• Pinkerton in "Madama Butterfly" by Puccini
• Barinkay in „Der Zigeunerbaron” by Strauss
• Jontek in "Halka" by Moniuszko
• Prince Sou-Chong in „Das Land des Lächelns” (The Land of Smiles) by Franz Lehár