New production of Zbigniew Rudziński’s “Mannequins” premieres at the Opera in Wrocław
“Mannequins”, a chamber opera composed by Zbigniew Rudziński, returns to the repertoire of the Opera in Wrocław after 40 years. The piece was created based on selected short stories by Bruno Schulz published in “Cinnamon Shops” in 1933. Directed by Kamila Siwińska, the production will premiere on March 1, with two more performances on March 2 and 3, 2024.
For Trajan Muryń, the musical director and conductor of the show, “Mannequins” mark an important point on the musical map of Poland. Thanks to “Mannequins”, we can follow the direction in which the Polish opera was heading at the time. The prominent creatives included, among others, Zygmunt Krauze. The composition is also a combination of other remarkable pieces such as the famous “Can-Can” by Offenbach – Muryń says.
Kamila Siwińska is responsible for the set design, while Martyna Cierpisz designed the costumes. The cast include the soloists of the Wrocław opera: Tomasz Rudnicki, Liliana Jędrzejczak, Aleksandra Malisz, Barbara Bagińska, Eliza Kruszczyńska. Jędrzej Tomczyk and Aleksander Zuchowicz.
“Mannequins”, which had its premiere in 1981, belonged to the series of operas based around works of contemporary Polish writers, created specifically for the Opera in Wrocław.
For his work, the composer and teacher Zbigniew Rudziński (1935 – 2019) received numerous awards, including: an award at the Composition Competition for Sonata for 2 string quartets, piano and timpani (1960) and an award at the Neue Musiktheater-Werkstatt in Berlin for the opera “Mannequins” (1981).
