Photo provided by organizer
A new production of Halka, one of the unquestioned masterpieces of Stanislaw Moniuszki, premieres this week in Warsaw
Natalia Korczakowska, an award-winning director of the young generation of artists who are boldly changing the face of Polish theatre, guarantees an innovative approach to the drama of passion sketched by Moniuszko's expert hand. The presence of maestro Marc Minkowski on the podium, one of the most famous contemporary conductors of France's younger generation, means that audiences can expect a genuine expedition into the unknown.
Will Halka in Minkowski's interpretation open a new chapter in the performance history of Stanisław Moniuszko's music? Knowing this conductor's extraordinarily creative performances of Baroque, classical as well as Romantic music, we are entitled to expect it will.
In this rendition, the story of unrequited love, betrayal, and social injustice is presented by the young director Natalia Korczakowska supported by the French master conductor Marc Minkowski. The performance includes soloist Mariusz Kwiecien who regularly performs with the New York Metropolitan Opera.
The performance is enjoying a revival on the Polish theatre scene, with a staging in Kraków directed by Waldemar Zawodziński earlier this month and 2012 plans for a showing at the Wrocław Opera House. In Warsaw, Natalia Korczakowska directs this 18th century tale of romantic betrayal and a woman's fight for justice after she falls pregnant with a gentleman's child and is then abandoned. Korczakowska's puts the focus on the inherent dramatic conflict and implied modern social divisions in the story line.
Korczakowska explains,
The success of this opera comes from the fact that people encounter two categories of humans: those who are better and those who are worse. I would like to show, to find that modern division.
The master French conductor of Polish descent, Marc Minkowski, joins the National Opera's Orchestra and Choir for the performance that comes just in time for the holidays. The performance features New York Metropolitan Opera soloist Mariusz Kwiecien.
Libretto by Włodzimierz Wolski.
In the original Polish.
Conductor: MARC MINKOWSKI
Director: NATALIA KORCZAKOWSKA
Set Designer: ANNA MET
Costumes: MAREK ADAMSKI
Cast
Halka: WIOLETA CHODOWICZ
Janusz: ARTUR RUCIŃSKI
Jontek: RAFAŁ BARTMIŃSKI
Stolnik: PIOTR NOWACKI
Zosia: MAŁGORZATA PAŃKO
Dudziarz: CZESŁAW GAŁKA
Chłop: ADAM ZDUNIKOWSKI
Performances
27, 29/12/2011; 3, 5, 7, 25/1/2012
Organizer: Teatr Wielki - Polish National Opera
This event is part of the Attention Culture! Cultural Programme of the 2011 Polish EU Presidency.
Source: National Opera in Warsaw