Time 12:00
The Royal Theatre in the Old Orangery in the Royal Łazienki Museum in Warsaw
FREE ADMISSION
Stanisław Moniuszko dedicated his entire life to the development of Polish musical culture – first in Vilnius, where he began publishing the Home Songbook, and later in Warsaw, where he combined composing with his duties as a conductor at the Grand Theatre and as a teacher at the Music Institute. His legacy played a particularly important role in strengthening Polish national identity, which is why it fits so well with the solemn atmosphere of the May celebrations. On Flag Day, the artists of the Polish Royal Opera will perform excerpts from the operas of the musical bard, in which the familiar intertwines with the universal, exemplifying the power and richness of Polish native heritage.
The concert opens with the dramatic overture to the opera Halka. It is almost unbelievable that this remarkable work, which in 1858 captured the hearts of Warsaw audiences, had previously rested on the shelf of the theater library for a decade. A lighter operatic genre is represented by Straszny dwór, whose charming arias and ensemble scenes alternately entertain and move the listener, evoking images of the former glory of the pre-partition Polish-Lithuanian Commonwealth. It is no coincidence that this work – sparkling with patriotic allusions and musical references to native folklore – was removed from the playbill by the Russian censors after only three performances. Also featured in the program is Stanisław’s aria in the rhythm of the polonaise from the comic one-act opera Verbum nobile, as well as the aria of the titular character Rokiczana from the unfinished opera about King Casimir III the Great. The genre of the song, to which Moniuszko attached such great importance, is represented by the march-like War Song and the famous Prząśniczka, shimmering with folk charm. Among Moniuszko’s works, we will hear one piece by another composer: wishing to reference the history of the opera genre in Poland, the Orchestra of the Polish Royal Opera will perform the charming Sinfonia from one of the first operas in the Polish language – Misery Contented by Maciej Kamieński.
Marta Dziewanowska-Pachowska
PROGRAM
Stanisław Moniuszko – Ouverture to the opera Halka
Stanisław Moniuszko – Zakaż, niech ożywcze słonko – aria (Stanisław) from the opera Verbum nobile
Stanisław Moniuszko – Ten zegar stary – aria (Skołuba) from the opera The Haunted Manor
Stanisław Moniuszko – Gdzie postawić to naczynie – duet (Hanna and Damazy) from the opera The Haunted Manor
Stanisław Moniuszko – Jak będę królową – Rokiczana’s song from the opera Rokiczana
Stanisław Moniuszko – Kto tu? Kto? Pan brat – duet (Stefan and Zbigniew) from the opera The Haunted Manor
Stanisław Moniuszko – A jednak… ni boleści, ni rozkoszy… – quartet from the opera The Haunted Manor
Maciej Kamieński – Sinfonia from the opera Misery Contented
Stanisław Moniuszko – Biegnie słuchać w lasy, w knieje – dumka (Jadwiga) from the opera The Haunted Manor
Stanisław Moniuszko – War Song
Stanisław Moniuszko – Prząśniczka
Stanisław Moniuszko – Kto z mych dziewek – aria (Miecznik) from the opera The Haunted Manor
PERFORMERS
GABRIELA KAMIŃSKA SOPRANO
MONIKA LEDZION MEZZOSOPRANO
MATEUSZ ZAJDEL TENOR
WITOLD ŻOŁĄDKIEWICZ BARITONE
WOJTEK GIERLACH BASS
THE ORCHESTRA OF THE POLISH ROYAL OPERA
KAROL SZWECH CONDUCTOR
Duration: approx. 1 h
