Julia Malik rediscovers “The First Wrinkle,” a forgotten opera by Teodor Leszetycki
Although he gained fame primarily as a pianist and the teacher of Ignacy Jan Paderewski, he left behind an impressive body of work as a composer. Among his numerous piano compositions, there is a brilliant, one-act comic opera. On May 9, the Kraków Opera will show ”The First Wrinkle” by Teodor Leszetycki, thus marking its Polish premiere.
Teodor Leszetycki was born in 1830 in Łańcut. His family moved to Vienna when he was still a young boy. He studied under Carl Czerny, among others, and from an early age was directed toward a career as a pianist. He performed throughout Europe. In 1864, he joined the faculty of the conservatory in St. Petersburg, founded by Anton Rubinstein. Leszetycki was not only a pianist but also a composer and mentor to future piano virtuosos. Over the years of his teaching career, he trained many outstanding musicians. Among his students, alongside Paderewski, were Henryk Melcer-Szczawiński, Antonina Szukiewicz, Artur Schnabel, Mieczysław Horoszowski, Paul Wittgenstein, Osip Gabrilowitsch, and even Clara Clemens, the daughter of Mark Twain. Paderewski spoke of Leszetycki with great esteem: “As a teacher, I have never known anyone better. He is a giant before whom others are mere dwarfs.”
”The First Wrinkle” is the only opera composed by Leszetycki. Its world premiere took place in Prague in 1867. It is a one-act piece, in the style of commedia dell’arte, marked by brilliant and lighthearted humor. It was written in German for four solo voices, with a libretto by Salomon Hermann von Mosenthal. For the Kraków production, the libretto has been translated into Polish.
The person behind the initiative to stage Leszetycki’s opera is Julia Malik, Kraków-based singer and cellist. As she explains, she first encountered this undiscovered gem of Polish opera by chance: I first learned about who Leszetycki really was from Hubert Rutkowski, a piano professor in Hamburg and the president of the Leszetycki Music Society. That was around 2010.
Since then, Malik has traveled extensively across Europe to deepen her knowledge of the composer. She eventually found the original piano score of ”The First Wrinkle” at the National Library in Vienna.
Finding the sheet music was quite a challenge, but locating the dialogues was even harder,” Malik recalls. “I only found them in the archives of the Prague Opera. I am grateful to the director of the Kraków Opera, Piotr Sułkowski, and to Katarzyna Mateja from the development department for taking an interest in this project.
What is “The First Wrinkle” about, and what kind of music can the audience expect? It’s a lighthearted comedy about love and the passing of time,” explains Julia Malik, who will also perform the lead role of the Marquise. The opera disappeared from theater repertoires in the 19th century, very unjustly in my opinion. After its premiere in Vienna, it received very good reviews. The music is Galician in spirit, full of Viennese salon charm and Slavic soul. Its composition is very interesting. It features very long ensemble sections, almost without recitatives, with spoken texts somewhat like in an operetta. The duets and trios last anywhere from several to dozens of minutes.
Malik emphasizes that the Kraków Opera has not only undertaken the task of staging the premiere but also reconstructed the orchestral parts from the piano reduction.
Audiences will hear ”The First Wrinkle” in its Polish version, translated by Dorota Sawka.
Malik convinced veteran Polish opera and operetta director Włodzimierz Nurkowski to direct the production. As the soloist reveals, the director will draw on classic commedia dell’arte traditions with a subtle nod to the works of Federico Fellini.
The musical director is Joachim Kołpanowicz.
The production has been created in cooperation with the Academy of Fine Arts (student Julia Słupek designed the poster) and the Krzysztof Penderecki Academy of Music in Kraków. Students will not only perform on stage but also play in the orchestra.
Before the premiere, Prof. Hubert Rutkowski will give a lecture and introduce the audience to the life and work of the forgotten composer.
Who? What? Where? When?
”The First Wrinkle”
May 9, 10, 11, 2025
Kraków Opera