TITON ET L’AURORE / JEAN-JOSEPH CASSANÉA DE MONDONVILLE – PREMIERE | INAUGURATION OF THE FESTIVAL

4 October 2025, Saturday
Time 19:00
The Royal Theatre in the Old Orangery in the Royal Łazienki Museum in Warsaw

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“If I couldn’t be Rameau, I would certainly wish to be no one other than Mondonville,” declared Pierre-Louis Daquin, the son of the famous composer Louis-Claude Daquin. He was not alone in holding the musician from Narbonne in such high esteem. In the famous Querelle des Bouffons, the heated debate that erupted in Paris in the mid-18th century, Jean-Joseph Cassanéa de Mondonville (1711–1772) played a significant role. His work Titon et l’Aurore, which premiered in January 1753, became a weapon for the faction that championed the achievements of French opera over the Italian tradition. The mythical tale of the shepherd Tithonus, happily in love with the goddess of dawn, provided fertile ground for the creation of amazing musical imagery. The recitatives, arias, as well as the vivid instrumental passages, fulfill their functions perfectly, distinguishing day from night, capturing shifting moods, and portraying the diverse personalities of the protagonists.

In the production directed by Natalia Babińska, Tithonus is portrayed as a young, brilliant astronomer – the embodiment of reason. His muse and beloved, Aurora, like a divine spark, guides him along the right path in his scientific pursuits and moral choices, supporting him in his quest to make a discovery that will alter the course of world history. Standing in the way of their happiness are Aeolus, who despises freedom, and the deceitful manipulator Pales. Only unwavering determination and an unyielding faith in the chosen path can save the lovers from vile attempts to enslave their bodies and minds, and guide humanity toward new hope.

MUSIC DIRECTOR KRZYSZTOF GARSTKA
DIRECTOR NATALIA BABIŃSKA
SET DESIGN AND COSTUMES ALEKSANDRA REDA
CHOREOGRAPHY JACEK PRZYBYŁOWICZ
LIGHTING DESIGN MACIEJ IGIELSKI
VIDEO PROJECTIONS ZUZANNA GRZEGOROWSKA
CHORUS MASTER KAROL KNAPIŃSKI
LANGUAGE CONSULTANT GERARD EDERY
ASSISTANT CONDUCTORS SŁAWOMIR JURCZAK, AGNIESZKA KOZŁOWSKA
STAGE MANAGERS WANDA KARPIŃSKA

CAST

TITON ALEKSANDER REWIŃSKI

L’AURORE MARTA BOBERSKA

PROMÉTHÉE / EOLE JĘDRZEJ SUSKA

PALÉS OLGA PASIECZNIK

L’AMOUR / UNE NYMPHE JOANNA SOJKA

DANCERS JOANNA LICHOROWICZ-GREŚ, VOVA MAKOVSKYI, VOLODYMYR RYGA, IZABELA ZAWADZKA

ASSISTANT PIOTR KĘDZIORA

BRAIN ANDRZEJ KLEPACKI

THE CHORUS OF THE POLISH ROYAL OPERA

THE PERIOD INSTRUMENTS ENSEMBLE OF THE POLISH ROYAL OPERA CAPELLA REGIA POLONA

CONDUCTOR KRZYSZTOF GARSTKA


The seats in the auditoirum

PLEASE NOTE: The entrance to the Royal Theatre is located on Agrykola street.


PATRON OF THE POLISH ROYAL OPERA

LOGOTYP TOTALIZATOR SPORTOWY 70 LAT