Żeleński’s piece, directed by Janusz Wiśniewski has won an International Opera Award, informally known as the ‘Opera Oscars’, in the Rediscovered Work category. Its competitors were: La Donna Serpente by Alfred Casella (Teatro Regio di Torino), Le Nozze in Sogno by Pietro Antonio Cesti (Innsbrucker Festwochen der Alten Musik), Olivo e Pasquale by Gaetano Dionizetti (Dionizetti Opera Festival, Bergamo), La Cena Delle Beffe by Umberto Giordano (Teatro alla Scala) and Die Perlen der Cleopatra by Oscar Straus (Komische Oper).
The International Opera Awards were founded in 2012 by Harry Hyman, an opera lover. The awards are given in 16 different categories by a jury which includes notable music critics and art patrons, such as John Allison (Daily Telegraph), Hugh Canning (Sunday Times), Neil Fisher (The Times), Francisco Jose Folch (El Mercurio), Deborah Jones (The Australian), Nicholas Payne (Opera Europa Director), Joanna C. Lee (Opera China), Christina Scheppelmann (Grand Teatre del Liceu). The official award ceremony was held on 7th May 2017 at the London Coliseum.
Goplana, conducted by Grzegorz Nowak, premiered 21st October 2016 on the stage of The Grand Theatre – Polish National Opera in Warsaw, which made it the first premiere of the season. It was the first time in over 70 years, that the opera was performed, to rave reviews by critics and the public. It was available for viewing on www.operaplatform.eu and the VOD platform of the Teatr Wielki – Polish National Opera.
In 2015, Polish opera singer Aleksandra Kurzak won the Audience Award. The following year, Mariusz Treliński was among the nominees for Best Director, while the Teatr Wielki – Polish National Opera was up for Best Opera Company. The Best DVD Recording also had a Polish nomination: the rendition of King Roger, directed by Kasper Holten at the Royal Opera House in London, co-produced by the Adam Mickiewicz Institute.
Source: International Opera Awards; originally written in Polish by Filip Lech, translated by WF, 8 May 2017