Time 19:00
The Royal Theatre in the Old Orangery in the Royal Łazienki Museum in Warsaw
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Claudio Monteverdi has achieved incomparable mastery in depicting stories from literature and the emotional states of their heroes with the use of sound. His extraordinary eloquence and refined sensitivity are reflected in his rich vocal and instrumental body of work. Although few madrigals were actually meant to be staged, the evocative message of his musical stories inspired the artists of the Polish Royal Opera to create a new performance based on selected works by the Master. Three of them come from the 8th Book of Madrigals published in Venice in 1638- Madrigali guerrieri et amorosi… – a summary and synthesis of the creative achievements of “divine Claudio” in this genre.
Among Canti guerrieri (war songs), the most prominent is undoubtedly the famous Il combattimento di Tancredi e Clorinda, which was described by Ewa Obniska as “a work that has no match not only in [Monteverdi’s] creative output but also in the entire Baroque music literature”. The story of the duel recorded in the pages of Tasso’s poem resounds with the perfectly rendered tumult of the battle and the depth of emotions accompanying the fight and its tragic finale, when Tancredi recognizes his beloved Clorinda in the dead opponent. Although the piece captures the essence of the war style, it also touches upon the subject of love, which is the theme of the second part of Book VIII, with the captivating Lamento della Ninfa or the opera-ballet Il ballo delle ingrate. In this last piece, Monteverdi uses sound to recreate the story of the Ingrates, indifferent to the power of love described by Rinuccini.
The other compositions not coming from Book VIII that make up the musical tapestry of the performance carry no less expressive emotions, rendered with the use of original technical means and innovative solutions. After all, the consistency in searching for the most perfect musical equivalents of literary content was the realization of the composer’s artistic credo to “make the words the mistress of the harmony and not the servant”.
MUSIC DIRECTOR KRZYSZTOF GARSTKA
STAGE DIRECTOR, STAGING RYSZARD MACIEJ NYCZKA
SET DESIGN MARLENA SKONECZKO
CHOREOGRAPHY JOANNA LICHOROWICZ-GREŚ
FENCING CHOREOGRAPHY TOMASZ ABRAMSKI
LIGHTING DESIGN MACIEJ IGIELSKI
VIDEO PROJECTIONS MAREK ZAMOJSKI
ASSISTANT DIRECTORS SŁAWOMIR JURCZAK, AGNIESZKA KOZŁOWSKA
STAGE MANAGER TATIANA HEMPEL-GIERLACH
PROGRAM AND PERFORMERS
CLAUDIO MONTEVERDI
Sì dolce è’l tormento SV 332
JAKUB FOLTAK COUNTERTENOR
Quel sguardo sdegnosetto SV 247
DAGMARA BARNA SOPRANO
Il combattimento di Tancredi e Clorinda SV 153
TESTO KAROL KOZŁOWSKI
CLORINDA MARTA BOBERSKA
TANCREDI MICHAŁ JANICKI
Lamento della Ninfa SV 163
DAGMARA BARNA SOPRANO
Chiome d’oro, bel thesoro SV 143
JULITA MIROSŁAWSKA SOPRANO
JAKUB FOLTAK COUNTERTENOR
Il ballo delle ingrate SV 167
VENERE DOROTA LACHOWICZ
AMOR IWONA LUBOWICZ
PLUTONE DARIUSZ GÓRSKI
UNA DELL’ INGRATE MARTA BOBERSKA
OMBRE DELL’INFERNO JULITA MIROSŁAWSKA, JAKUB FOLTAK, SYLWESTER SMULCZYŃSKI, MICHAŁ JANICKI
QUATTRO INGRATE MARTA BOBERSKA, DOROTA LACHOWICZ, IWONA LUBOWICZ, JULITA MIROSŁAWSKA
Damigella tutta bella SV 235
JULITA MIROSŁAWSKA SOPRANO
JAKUB FOLTAK COUNTERTENOR
Zefiro torna e di soavi accenti SV 251
JULITA MIROSŁAWSKA SOPRANO
JAKUB FOLTAK COUNTERTENOR
JACEK FOLTYN, PATRYK GŁADYŚ, SŁAWOMIR GREŚ, NATALIA KIELAN, MACIEJ JAN KRAŚNIEWSKI, JOANNA LICHOROWICZ-GREŚ, MARTA ŻABKA DANCERS
THE PERIOD INSTRUMENTS ENSEMBLE OF THE POLISH ROYAL OPERA CAPELLA REGIA POLONA
KRZYSZTOF GARSTKA CONDUCTOR
