Name: Szymanowski / Golijov / Tchaikovsky
Start: 2027-05-08T19:00:00
Location: Teatr Wielki - Polish National Opera

Matthew Barley

Yoel Gamzou

Polish National Opera

The story of Romeo and Juliet is one of the best-known cultural tropes reproduced in theatre, musical, and film. Composers discovered the power of the Verona lovers’ tragedy already in the 19th century. One of them was the prominent French composer Charles Gounod, who wrote sacred music, oratorios, songs, and fared well on the operatic scene. Romeo and Juliet is his most popular work for the stage, alongside Faust. The opera won acclaim immediately after its premiere at the1867 Paris Exposition, quickly gaining renown in Europe as well as the United States.

Romeo and Juliet

Teatr Wielki - Polish National Opera

‘Do not get used to our suffering’ implored Olena Zelenska in 2024, reminding the world about the ongoing war in Ukraine. The Mothers of Kherson is a response to the appeal. It was co-produced by the Teatr Wielki – Polish National Opera and the Metropolitan Opera in New York, two institutions that have been actively supporting the embattled nation since the beginning of Russia's full-scale invasion in 2022. One of their joint projects is the Ukrainian Freedom Orchestra led by conductor Keri-Lynn Wilson, who has also been involved in the process of developing the new opera.

Mothers of Kherson

Directed by Mariusz Treliński and designed by Boris Kudlička, this production of Madama Butterfly premiered over a quarter of a century ago, in 1999. It was an epoch-making performance. Just like Emperor Meiji modernised Japan at the turn of the 19th and 20th centuries, Treliński and Kudlička revolutionised the idiom of Polish opera. Coincidentally, the Meiji era (1868–1912) is when the story of Madame Butterfly is set – the libretto cites the year 1904. The period saw Japan’s transformation from a feudal state dominated by the Tokugawa shogunate into a modern country with a thriving economy and culture. Treliński and Kudlička’s achievement was an event of similar magnitude for Polish (and international) opera. Owing to their imaginativeness and sensitivity, the two artists paved the way for the introduction of a more accessible and universal language into contemporary opera directing. The production is not just a story about Butterfly’s love or a study of the clash between two cultures; it is a token of cultural transformation.

Madama Butterfly

This triple bill showcases neoclassical ballet at its purest. Last season, the programme embraced pieces by three generations of choreographers, George Balanchine, Toer van Schayk, and Edward Clug, who turned to the music by Beethoven, Chopin, and Bizet. Each choreography had its own unmistakable appeal and was enthusiastically received by the audience. This season, the triple bill returns with even greater emotional resonance. Symphony of Dance: An Encore opens with Balanchine’s Symphony in C to Bizet’s music. The spectacular symphony of dance by the father of neoclassical ballet is followed by Edward Clug’s more subdued piece, fittingly titled Ssss… Set to Chopin’s nocturnes, the work provides a shift in mood from nostalgic to pensive. Finally, the programme culminates with Krzysztof Pastor’s choreography to Ravel’s Bolero. The piece needs no special recommendation: it is an explosion of passion and an apotheosis of rhythm that rouses, captivates, and hypnotises.

Symphony of Dance: an encore

Maria de Buenos Aires is the New World, new music, nuevo tango, and tango operita, a new type of opera based on the magnificent  rhythm and character of the tango, a dance born on the southeast coast of Latin America. The folk Argentine tango finally saw its bard, Astor Piazzolla, a poet composer who came up with a new way of presenting this passionate dance, drawing inspiration from Stravinsky, Bartok and classical music forms, as well as jazz and electronic rock, and elevated tango to the rank of ‘art music’.

María de Buenos Aires

The new initiative of Krzysztof Pastor, Director of the Polish National Ballet seeks to bridge the gap between ballet school training and the demands of professional ballet companies. PNB’s newly created, 10-person strong junior company will work separately from the major company for a year or two to hone their artistic and technical skills and attain the qualifications needed to join PNB or another Polish ballet company as a professional dancer. The junior dancers will be offered special coaching from PNB’s experienced artists and master classes led by international ballet masters. They will present their own artistic programmes on our small stage and subsequently in other Polish theatres, as well as take part in the major company’s daily programme and shows.

Juvenalia 5

The Dresden premiere of Richard Strauss’s Salome in 1905 was a shock to the public. As the basis for the libretto, the composer used Oscar Wilde’s play, which had already been banned in a few countries. The playwright drew inspiration from a brief biblical passage about Herod’s step-daughter. Wilde not only gave her a name but made her a fully-fledged character. Salome's appeal is irresistible to the entire court, including her stepfather. There is, however, one person who remains unmoved by her charms: the prophet Jochanaan, who is being held captive by Herod. Salome does not give up. When she fails to win Jochanaan’s favour, she resolves to achieve her goal by other means. Through the Dance of the Seven Veils, she manages to persuade Herod to grant her wish: the prophet’s head, served on a platter. She triumphs, kissing Jochanaan's dead lips, yet she will have to pay the ultimate price for her victory.

Salome

Verdi’s final work is commonly perceived as a joyful comedy about a fat boozer who cynically seduces two women and gets severely punished for it. Only once you read into the Shakespearian original and carefully analyse the extraordinary richness of the opera’s musical motifs, you get to the bottom of the mysterious work, consciously written by the aged composer as a farewell to his momentous oeuvre, impressive life, and the mortal world, which he ironically summed up as the Creator’s painful joke played on humans and their endeavours.

Falstaff

This selection of songs by Richard Strauss, Gustav Mahler, and Eugeniusz Morawski-Dąbrowa paints a coherent, multifaceted portrait of turn-of-the-century music. During this era, the art song evolved from an intimate form into a powerful, psychologically charged poem.

Strauss, Mahler, Morawski-Dąbrowa

The story is simple and full of charm. A young woman named Swanhilda notices her fiancé, Franz, hanging around under Doctor Coppélius’s windows, trying to woo the inventor’s supposed daughter. In a fit of jealousy, Swanhilda discovers that Coppélia is just a mechanical doll and decides to mock the inventor and teach her sweetheart a lesson. Associated with the Paris Opera, the creators of Coppélia employed this comedic intrigue to develop what turned out to be one of the most popular ballets of the 19th century. The events unfold in a Polish town in Austrian-occupied Galicia, which is reflected in the score, with a beautiful Delibes mazurka and other familiar musical motifs. Coppélia was staged multiple times, with some versions being performed on our stage. Most recently, the ballet was presented in Warsaw 50 years ago in a version by Russia’s Asaf Messerer. This production is choreographed by Manuel Legris, the former principal dancer of the Paris Opera Ballet, who went on to lead the Vienna State Ballet and La Scala Theatre Ballet. Warsaw audiences undoubtedly remember him from his staging of Le Corsaire. Now, Legris is developing his take on Coppélia especially for the Teatr Wielki. It promises to be a treat for lovers of classical ballet and our new family performance.

Coppélia

The end and beginning of the year have a special energy in the world of music. It is a time of rituals, excitement, and programmes put together with panache. The New Year concerts at Vienna’s Musikverein attract audiences with their long-established tradition: listeners know when to clap in time to Johann Strauss I’s Radetzky March and when to let themselves be carried away by the undulating melody of Johann Strauss II’s The Blue Danube. London’s Last Night of the Proms wows with its dazzling repertoire and Edward Elgar’s ever-present Land of Hope and Glory. Season finales, on the other hand, tend to be a showcase of the entire ensemble’s prowess – a moment when institutions turn to a repertoire that is particularly spectacular and engaging.

New Year's Eve Gala

Not unlike Picasso or Klimt, Puccini painted a series of fascinating and multifaceted female portraits. His Manon, Mimi, Tosca, Cio-Cio-San, Magda, and the seemingly frigid Turandot who secretly pines for love, continue to spellbind opera audiences across the world. As time goes by, the characters do not lose any of their distinct flavour, appeal, and relevance, although their stories are set is long-gone realities. Ever since its 1900 premiere at the Teatro Costanzi in Rome, Tosca has sold-out nearly everywhere it was put on. The tragic love story involving blackmail, cruelty, different dimensions of humanity and its lack, crime, and amoral attitudes fascinates audiences that become engulfed by this deadly love tornado.

Tosca

Contrasts can be a source of the most intense emotions. Calm and anxiety, light and darkness, movement and stillness: although seemingly exclusive, they often form a fascinating whole in music. It is precisely this tension between opposites that binds this concert programme together.