Before Giacomo Puccini began composing La Bohème , which became one of the most frequently performed operas in the world, he was planning an opera about the life of Buddha. At the same time, he was drawn to the eroticism of La She-Wolf , set in Sicily. He was dissuaded from this latter project by Wagner's stepdaughter, Liszt's granddaughter, who was horrified by the story's intense brutality. With the help of the seasoned librettists Luigi Illica and Giovanni Giacosa, Puccini embarked on a free adaptation of Scenes from the Life of the Bohemians , a celebrated book by Henry Murger that unvarnishedly depicts the miserable existence of the Parisian "artistic proletariat." The book captivated me immediately. I felt like part of a family: freshness, youth, passion, gaiety, tears shed in silence, a love that gives joy and demands suffering. There are people, feelings, and heart. But above all, there is poetry, divine Poetry ," Puccini enthused, finding in Murger many familiar experiences. After the success of Manon Lescaut (1892), he was able to buy a villa in Torre del Lago, but he still remembered the hungry and cold student years he had spent in Milan.

La bohème

Teatr Wielki - Polish National Opera

Since the premiere of the Warsaw version of Halka in 1858, Stanisław Moniuszko's opera has enjoyed cult status. The story of a highlander's unhappy love for a young master remains one of the most important artifacts of Polish (pop) culture. The opera's extraordinary success stems from its skillful blend of spectacular spectacle with important social themes, primarily class exclusion. After all, the tragic ending of the love story is linked to misplaced love – Halka and Janusz are separated by a gulf of social class differences.

Halka

The director's motto for this striking production is a phrase taken from Nirvana frontman Curt Cobain's farewell letter: "It's better to burn out than to fade away." Giuseppe Verdi's La Traviata , in Mariusz Treliński's staging, is a spectacle about a star who burns out in its own light. In the director's interpretation, Verdi's masterpiece becomes a portrait of the artistic community.

Tomasz Jan Wygoda

Events

Upcoming events

23 - 31 May, 2026

La Traviata · Polish National Opera

Past events

16 - 25 Jan, 2026

La bohème · Polish National Opera

Nov 28 - Dec 7, 2025

Halka · Polish National Opera

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