New artistic season in TWON - six new premieres and many special events

In the artistic season 2022/23 Polish  Opera House will host six premieres, including two new opera productions by Mariusz Treliński, "The Power of Destiny" by Giuseppe Verdi and "Peter Grimes" by Benjamin Britten, and ballet productions: "Giselle" and "Beethoven and the Dutch School". The first premiere of the 2022/2023 season will take place on October 7. The "Chorus Opera" performance consists of staged group scenes from operas. The program of the performance will include choral parts from works by, among others Bizet, Moniuszko, Puccini, Verdi, Szymanowski and Wagner.

The evening will begin with the famous "O Fortuna" choir from Carl Orff's cantata "Carmina Burana". Italian music will also sound. The artists will perform choral pieces from the operas of Giacomo Puccini and Giuseppe Verdi. "Magnus Dominus" from Krzysztof Penderecki's "Seven Gates of Jerusalem" will be performed by three mixed choirs. The Choir of the Polish Opera House and soloists will perform with the accompaniment of the TW-ON Orchestra under the baton of maestro Patrick Fournillier. A new version of the famous ballet "Giselle" with music by Adolphe-Charles Adam returns to the stage of the National Opera, to the libretto by Théophile Gautier and Jules-Henri Vernoy de Saint-Georges, choreographed by Jean Coralli and Jules Perrot. Maina Gielgud is responsible for the performance of the ballet. The main character of Giselle is a girl in love with the seductive Loys, not suspecting that he is Prince Albrecht disguised as a peasant. His exposure causes such a shock to her that the woman goes mad and dies. "However, she returns as a willid, joining the ghosts of dead, hurt girls, but the strength of her love for the prince saves him from their vengeance with her dance. This touching role, combining idyllic charm and deep drama, has seen many wonderful creations of the most famous ballerinas world . Costumes and sets for the previous productions of this ballet on the stage of the Polish Opera House were made by Andrzej Kreutz Majewski. Therefore, the Polish National Ballet decided to use once again the painting vision of the great Polish set designer, implementing "Giselle" in its recreated plastic staging. The opera announced that "this ambitious undertaking will also be a tribute to the world-famous Polish artist, who in the years 1966-2005 was the chief set designer of the Grand Theater". The premiere of the show will take place on November 25.

The third and first opera premiere of the season is "Power of Destiny" by Giuseppe Verdi, directed by Mariusz Treliński. In the performance, the premiere of which is scheduled for January 13, she will sing, among others Tomasz Konieczny. The performance with Verdi's music is being co-produced with the Metropolitan Opera in New York. It will be the third performance directed by Mariusz Treliński for the famous MET, after the diptych "Jolanta" by Piotr Tchaikovsky, "Bluebeard's Castle" by Béla Bartók and "Tristan and Iselda" by Richard Wagner. Patrick Fournillier will conduct the Polish premiere. Treliński told that “The power of destiny” is a story about parricide and its consequences for children deprived of a paternal figure - Carl, Leonora and Alvaro. The murder of the father - seems accidental - determines the fate of the heroes. Treliński emphasized that some people in “Force of destiny” look for metaphysical or religious contexts". "I am closer to materialistic thinking. I believe that all kinds of conditions are within us. In fact, our character, experience and cultural context determine our behavior" - explained the director. He pointed out that in Verdi's operas the character of a strong, dominant father is repeated. "Today we read this figure as a representative of patriarchy, that is, systemic male domination" - he added. He said that "removing the patriarchal figure does not immediately lead to happiness and liberation. The events of the opera run for 30 years and show the attempts to fill the void left by the father." "The initial love promise between Alvaro and Leonora is not fulfilled, he joins the army, she goes to the convent, both of these places are again patriarchal in nature," he added. "This is a story about people who cannot free themselves from the trauma they soaked up in their youth, this is the title destiny for me. The heroes marked by a toxic relationship try to escape its effects, but paradoxically they constantly rebuild it and repeat this relationship," he said. Boris Kudlička is the author of the set design for the performance.

"Maria de Buenos Aires" is a tango opera by Astor Piazzolla with a libretto by Horacio Ferrer. At the Teatr Wielki - Polish National Opera, it will be staged by Wojciech Faruga. "This is the story of a woman overwhelmed by her dreams, both a goddess and a street urchin, who wanders between light and shadow, good and evil. The title character is for the composer the embodiment of his beloved city. cursed, she tears herself out of the social lowlands, seemingly gaining freedom, but nevertheless enslaved by the choices she was forced to make in the name of this freedom. he loses his life as a result of contact with the dark underworld. However, he does not disappear, because he continues to shadow the streets of the metropolis. This one-of-a-kind mystery takes place in the pulsating and dynamic climate of dark streets in the rhythm of life and death tango. The premiere of the show will take place on March 16.

Another new production directed by Mariusz Treliński is "Peter Grimes" by Benjamin Britten. It was first performed at Sadler's Wells in London on June 7, 1945. The directors who then undertook the production of this show were, among others John Cranko and Willy Decker. "The title character is a man who lives off fishing, strict and secretive, and at odds with the local community, which accuses him of brutality towards young helpers and blames him for the death of one of them" - reported TW-ON. The premiere will take place on June 23. The title role will be performed by Peter Wedd, a tenor whose audience at the Teatr Wielki had the opportunity to hear in Richard Wagner's "Lohengrin" in the 2014/15 season. The musical direction will be taken by Michał Klauza.

The Dutch School is a formation of 20th century choreographers gathered in an influential artistic center, which is the Het Nationale Ballet in Amsterdam, founded in 1961 by Sonia Gaskell. The Dutch school includes: Rudi van Dantzig, Hans van Manen, Toer van Schayk, but also the current head of this group, Ted Brandsen, and Krzysztof Pastor, director of the Polish National Ballet. "The musical inspiration for the triptych is provided by the works of the composer, who was also of Flemish origin, although he was born in Germany - Ludwig van Bethoven" - reports the Opera. The premiere of the show will take place on May 18.