Krzysztof Penderecki’s “The Black Mask” opens at the Polish National Opera

The libretto of Krzysztof Penderecki’s third major work for the stage – “The Black Mask” (completed in 1986) – was based on n a one-act play by Silesian-born German Nobel laureate, Gerhart Hauptmann from 1928. “I wrote The Black Mask to conctradict my recent works and thus close the period of fascination with late Romanticism,” said the composer to emphasize he focused on creating a completely new musical idiom, based on innovative harmonic solutions.

The new version (the opera had its world premiere in 1986 during the Salzburg Festival) is directed by David Pountney, known to the audience of the Polish National Opera from staging such operas as “The Haunted Manor” or “The Passenger.” Bassem Akiki is Music Director.

The show stars: Wojciech Parchem (Silvanus Schuller), Natalia Rubiś (Benigna), Katarzyna Drelich (Arabella), Elżbieta Wróblewska (Rosa Sacchi), Szymon Rona (Jedidja Potter), Wojtek Gierlach (François Tortebat), Adriana Ferfecka (Daga), Krzysztof Szumański (Löwel Perl), Bartosz Kieszkowski (Robert Dedo), Dariusz Machej (Pleban Wendt), Mateusz Zajdel (Hadank), Remigiusz Łukomski (Count Ebbo Hüttenwächter), Magdalena Pluta (Countess Laura Hüttenwächter, Black Death – voice), Piotr Maciejowski (Schedel), Filip Rutkowski (Dr Knoblochzer), Pier Ewudu (Johnson) and the Chorus and Orchestra of the Polish National Opera, dancers, acrobats, extras.

Opening November 22, 2024, on stage November 24, 27, 29.

The plot is set in the winter of 1662, during Carnival festivities held amidst growing uncertainty and fear. The focal point of the story is the mysterious figure of a man in a black mask, arousing fear and unclear associations – perhaps the symbol of the plague that haunted the town, or of the ghosts of the past.