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Podsumowanie
Ignacy Paderewski conquered the American public's hearts over 100 years ago, when he first sailed to America at the invitation of William Steinway, the famed piano builder. He returns once more in the musical '3 Paderewskis'.
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Following performances in Los Angeles, California and Poznań, Poland, Jenni Brandon and Oliver Mayer’s 3 Paderewskis will have its official world premiere on Wednesday, 20 November 2019 at 7:30 p.m. at The John F. Kennedy Center for the Performing Arts Terrace Theatre. Produced by the Kosciuszko Foundation and the Adam Mickiewicz Institute and directed by David Bridel, the performance is part of a celebration of the 101st anniversary of Polish independence and the centenary of Polish and American diplomatic relations and is presented in collaboration with the Embassy of Poland in Washington, DC.
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Ignacy Jan Paderewski, 1900, photo: United States Library of Congress collection
A winner of The American Prize in Composition, 2018-19, opera/theatre/film/dance division, 3 Paderewskis is a 60-minute opera in one act that uniquely explores the life and work of pianist, composer, diplomat and the first Prime Minister of the modern Polish state, Ignacy Jan Paderewski. The piece imagines three versions of the great Paderewski (one of them female) as they sift through a lifetime of memories far too vast for any one person; Ignacy the virtuoso pianist and composer, Jan the politician and statesman, and Paderewski the éminence grise and Paso Robles winemaker.
Coming together and pulling apart, they summon the ghost of Antonina, Paderewski’s beloved, long-dead first wife. In so doing, they release the spirit of a better Poland. A compassionate opera about a man whose greatness lay not only in his art and his politics but in pure passion for life, whose memory instructs our own moment of political and moral crisis.
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Ignacy Jan Paderewski playing the fortepiano, August 1936, photo: Evening Standard / Hulton Archive / Getty Images
The cast includes, in alphabetical order, Omar Crook, E. Scott Levin, Maria Dominique Lopez, Steve Pence, Ariel Pisturino, Katherine Powers, Todd Strange and Courtney Taylor. The cast will be accompanied by the L.A. based ensemble Central4 Piano Quartet with music direction by the composer, Jenni Brandon. Members of Central4 Piano Quartet include, in alphabetical order, Meredith Crawford, Timothy Durkovic, Paula Fehrenbach and Elizabeth Hedman. The production team includes Edina Hiser as costumes coordinator, Ron Barnett as rehearsal accompanist and graphic design by Omar Razo. Seira Murakami is the production stage manager.
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Ignacy Jan Paderewski with his wife at the Morges Promenade by Lake Geneva: photo: ullstein bild/Getty Images
Tickets for 3 Paderewskis are $25 (subject to change) and available at the Kennedy Center Box Office (located at 2700 F Street, NW, Washington, DC 20566), by calling (202) 467-4600 and by visiting www.Kennedy-Center.org. For all other ticket related customer service inquiries, please call the Kennedy Center Advance Sales Box Office at (202) 416-8540.
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This presentation is commissioned by the Adam Mickiewicz Institute and presented in collaboration with the Kosciuszko Foundation and the Embassy of the Republic of Poland. Co-financing is provided by the Ministry of Culture and National Heritage of the Republic of Poland as part of the multi-annual program NIEPODLEGŁA 2017-2022.
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