November premieres in Poznań, Warsaw, Kraków, Bytom and Gdańsk
Krauze meets Gombrowicz
The Grand Theater in Poznań holds the world premiere of “The Wedding” (November 22, 2024) – an operatic adaptation of one of the essential dramas by Witold Gombrowicz. Directly after the Poznań premiere, the performance celebrating the 120th anniversary of the writer’s birth and the 55th anniversary of his death, will be shown at the Polish National Opera (December 1, 2024). This will be the first operatic staging of “The Wedding” in Poland, with the music composed by Zygmunt Krauze, renowned Polish composer of the turn of the century. Krzysztof Cicheński – the author of the libretto directs the performance. The Musical Director is Katarzyna Tomali-Jedynak, whose repertoire includes many contemporary productions. Featuring: Michał Partyka, Jan Jakub Monowid, Piotr Kalina, Łukasz Konieczny, Gosha Kowalinska and Monika Mych-Nowicka.
Claustrophobic world inevitably heading for destruction
Krzysztof Penderecki has the ability to build fascinating worlds in his operas. His third work for the stage “The Black Mask” will be shown by the Polish National Opera. The show premiered in 1986 in Salzburg. The libretto, written by the German Nobel Prize winner Harry Kupfer, is based on the play by Gerhart Hauptmann. The action takes place in Silesia after the Thirty Years’ War and recounts the fate of the nobleman Silvanus and his wife Benigna through stories about hidden secrets and blackmail, murders, religious conflicts and the plague. Four performances are lined up: the opening on November 22 and subsequent shows on: November 24, 27 and 29. Due to violent content, the production is intended for adults only. Full list of cast and creatives available here.
The dramatic fate of Queen Bona
“Bona Sforza“, a two-act, classic opera by Zygmunt Krauze with libretto by Vincenzo de Vivo, has been produced by the Krakow Opera. It will show three stages of the life of the Polish-Italian queen, a woman who had to cope with a difficult reality and sacrifice her dreams in the name of higher goals. Bona Sforza d’Aragona, Duchess of Bari and Rosano, Queen of Poland and Grand Duchess of Lithuania, after the death of her husband, King Sigismund the Old, quarreled with her son Sigismund Augustus, left first for Masovia, and then for her hometown of Bari in southern Italy where she was poisoned by one of her courtiers and where her will was forged. The title role will be sung by three soloists in three language versions: Polish, Italian and Latin. The show, directed by Michał Znaniecki, will premiere on November 9, with more performances on stage November 12 and April 26 and 27, 2025. Full list of cast and creatives available here.
Verdi unknown
Giuseppe Verdi’s masterpiece, based on Friedrich Schiller’s drama “Intrigue and Love”, is completely unknown in Poland. “Luisa Miller” was performed in our country only once, in 2001, and then in a concert version at the Baltic Opera in Gdańsk. It will be shown by the Silesian Opera in Bytom. The premiere of this 3-act opera is scheduled for November 16, with subsequent performances on November 17, 19, 22, 23, 24, 26 and 30 and December 1, 2024. Featuring: Gabriela Legun, Izabela Matuła, Anna Wiśniewska-Schoppa (Luiza Miller), Anna Borucka, Renata Dobosz (Federica), Andrzej Lampert, Łukasz Załęski (Rudolf), Andrzej Dobber, Stanislav Kuflyuk, Adam Woźniak (Miller), Grzegorz Szostak, Aleksander Teliga, Zbigniew Wunsch (Walter) and Bogdan Kurowski, Zbigniew Wunsch (Wurm). Musical Director is Marco Guidarini. Full list of cast and creatives available here.
Tearjerker in Gdańsk
Giacomo Puccini’s operatic masterpiece “La bohème” will be shown at the Baltic Opera in Gdańsk. The composer wrote one of the most moving opera stories in 1896. Giuseppe Giacosa’s libretto tells the story of four poor artists: Schaunard, Rodolfo, Colline and Marcello. Rodolfo falls in love with Mimì, but the girl’s illness stands in the way of their happiness. Director Romuald Wicza-Pokojski moves the plot to contemporary reality, setting the story in a modern metropolis. The premiere will take place on November 23, with eight more performances on stage through December 22, 2024. Full list of cast and creatives available here.