opera

RIGOLETTO - an opera born of creative necessity   From the audience's perspective, I choose "La Traviata," but as a composer, "Rigoletto."   Already at its Venice premiere, Verdi discovered that the audience had embraced "Rigoletto." Although there was some surprise at the composer's new style, the grim fate of the court jester and his daughter Gilda touched the hearts of the spectators and their musical sensibilities. The ...

The grand opera without a happy ending...   An elderly music enthusiast drew my attention to Samson, telling me about Voltaire's libretto; he even sketched out a preliminary scenario for my use. Thus Saint-Saëns wrote in a letter to Henri Collet, revealing at the same time his desire to reference the tradition of oratorio in Samson and Delilah. Hence, the work, not being an "action opera," in its construction contains more purely ...

This is yet another of our operatic productions for young audiences (following, among others, Britten’s "The Little Sweep" and Humperdinck’s "Hansel and Gretel"). Collodi’s well-known fairy tale, set to music by Jonathan Dove, has found a vivid vocal and instrumental reflection of its storyline, while the characterisation of individual roles and dramatic situations has gained clarity and appeal precisely thanks to music that is immediately ...

THE HAUNTED MANOR is not only the most perfect work of Moniuszko from a musical standpoint, but also stands at the forefront of all Polish opera creations of the 19th century. The excellent construction of ensemble scenes, subtle yet colorful instrumentation, remarkable melodic invention, and captivating atmosphere of Polishness are indisputable qualities of this work.   Moniuszko completed his fifth opera shortly after the ...

"The Man from the Manufactory" is a tale delving into the turbulent events in the history of the multicultural metropolis of Łódź. The first act portrays episodes from the life of the 19th-century industrialist Izrael Poznański, known as the Cotton King, and reaches into a significant event, the general strike of workers against factory owners in 1892 (known as the Łódź insurrection). The action of the second act takes place about ...

Tosca is considered a flagship example of verismo opera, a genre in which Puccini was one of the leading representatives. It is undeniably a story full of shocking realism, drawn from real life, but also – if not above all – a moving tale of tragic love. Tosca is one of Puccini’s most famous works and one of the most frequently performed operas on stages around the world. The popularity of this title is no coincidence. The opera stands out ...

Although the immediate inspiration for the libretto of Turandot was Carlo Gozzi’s play, one cannot overlook the influence of Friedrich Schiller’s romantic translation, which introduced the story of the Chinese princess to Western culture. Today, however, it is thanks to Giacomo Puccini’s opera that this tale has permanently entered the theatrical repertoire. Although the composer’s death prevented him from finishing the opera himself, ...