Singer

The opera was written by the composer two months before he died. The libretto, based on biography of the Roman emperor Titus, shows the dilemmas of the ruler - an internal tear between the duty resulting from the function performed and personal beliefs and feelings.

The performance was prepared by Maja Kleczewska, an appreciated and award-winning theater director who in her stagings is not afraid to pose difficult, and sometimes uncomfortable, questions about the present.

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The Clemency Of Titus

Baltic Opera House

What circumstances could push a mother to commit infanticide? The story of Medea has fascinated artists for centuries, including opera creators. The libretto of Luigi Cherubini's work, performed in Paris in 1797, condenses a story known from mythology. The beginnings of the relationship between Jason and Medea, the golden fleece and the Argonauts are only mentioned in it. We are thrown into the middle of a love conflict: Dircé, filled with anxiety, is preparing to marry Jason, who has abandoned his former lover for her. The celebration is interrupted by Medea trying to get her husband and children back. The rejected woman, deprived of all hope, plans revenge - she offers Dircé a crown and a dress soaked in poison, and she herself murders her sons.

MEDEA

Teatr Wielki - Polish National Opera

The name Rigoletto is borrowed from a parody of Victor Hugo’s play, while the opera is based on an original prose piece (for a change) penned by the author of Les Misérables. The road to operatic stages was long and bumpy: it began in 1844, it ended seven years later. Censorship kept intently weeding out the 'indecency and vulgarity' of the libretto, disregarding the logical and dramatic consequences of these interventions. If we compare the starting point with the arrival point, it would turn out that there is barely anything left of the first version – even the names were changed in order to hide the association with Hugo, whom the authorities did not regard with kindness. It had certain, shall we say, rather unobvious results: the title character has no real aria to sing, the prima donna has but one, and the acts break off, say, spontaneously. Verdi’s genius, however, trumped the authorities in the end. The opera immediately won the hearts of the audiences – and nothing has changed since the world premiere in that regard. The Warsaw staging begins with a riot of colours, textures, shapes, flashes, gilding and jewels – I had the impression that I was seeing the tinted Orthodox churches of Kremlin of absolutely incomprehensible beauty and physics, suddenly descended in human form. Well it does not matter, what exactly descended, what matters is that the singing is done in Italian. And it shakes you.



Rigoletto

The legendary story of the lovers of Verona has inspired many composers of classical music. Works that employ the motif of Romeo and Juliet can be found in the oeuvre of Hector Berlioz and Pyotr Tchaikovsky. In the 20th century Sergei Prokofiev composed a ballet based on the Shakespearian play, while Leonard Bernstein drew on it to write the musical West Side Story. In the 19th century the trope of feuding families fascinated Vincenzo Bellini. His opera I Capuleti e i Montecchi, however, did not prove as popular as yet another operatic take on teh story: Charles Gounod’s Romeo i Juliet.

Elżbieta Wróblewska

Mezzo-soprano

Events

Upcoming events

8 - 11 May, 2025

Rigoletto · Polish National Opera

16 - 18 May, 2025

Romeo And Juliet Concert Version · Polish National Opera

Past events

10 - 12 May, 2024

The Clemency Of Titus · Opera Bałtycka w Gdańsku

21 - 28 Jan, 2024

MEDEA · Polish National Opera

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