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4When Łódź built the Grand Theater half a century ago, it was the largest opera house in Poland after Warsaw and one of the most modern in Europe. It was built somewhat in spite of the central authorities, the then Prime Minister Józef Cyrankiewicz claimed that such a building in this city was an exaggeration. Local bosses, however, spared no money, even for gigantic mirrors in the foyer, so that, in line with the party's recommendations, women in Łódź could see themselves in elegant dresses. Fears that the audience will be empty did not come true. The first premieres in 1967 aroused such interest that special trains from Warsaw were launched for viewers wishing to watch the performances. Over the next decades, there were periods of ups and downs, as everywhere else. However, it was not easy to make an opera in Łódź, most of the artistic directors stayed there for no more than three years. However, there were many productions that went down in the history of Polish theater. The current artistic director, Wojciech Rodek, and the managing director, Paweł Gabara, are also only in their second season, so the average managerial experience is not overstated. The last decade was not easy for the Teatr Wielki, which underwent a not entirely successful thorough renovation. Artistically, it was a time of turmoil, and sometimes even conflict. The new management duo adheres to traditional, which does not mean conventional theater, but with great musical care. The jubilee "Halka" was also prepared in this style. Half a century earlier, the newly opened Grand Theater in Łódź welcomed the audience with this work by Moniuszko. When you view photos from Halka from 1967 in the album "The Promised Opera" on the occasion of the anniversary, one gets the impression that not much has changed in the theater. The premiere of 2017 was realized by Jarosław Kilian, who adheres to tradition, not looking at the changing theater fashions. We watch a kontuszowo-highlander performance as if in the last decade, numerous productions looking for a contemporary interpretative key for Halka have not happened. And yet we live in a different world, as evidenced by the fact that it is increasingly difficult to find a specialist who would be able to show men's robes and dresses of noblewomen on stage. What Weronika Karwowska proposed in Łódź as the wedding clothes of Zofia and Janusz seems more like a joke from an old custom. The costume in this performance is important, because Jarosław Kilian sparingly uses set design ideas, focusing on the artistic composition of individual images. It was supposed to be colorful and spectacular, but the most impressive moment is when Halka, whose child is dying, wants to set fire to the church, where her beloved Janusz marries another. The stage is empty, only Halka - Dorota Wójcik, brings out the light from the darkness. And she sings movingly, naturally and beautifully. This is enough to create a living theater. The second advantage of the show is Dominik Sutowicz, the best Jontek in several years, who appeared on our stages. Vocally free, and at the same time perfectly interpreting the text, thanks to which Jontek, which wanders sadly in other performances, finally took on life. Wojciech Rodek led the orchestra carefully, although the music lacked some dramatic nerve. The dances were composed by Emil Wesołowski, probably the last choreographer who knows how to lead the mazurka.
"Halka" is a special piece for opera lovers. From its first premiere in Łódź, 140 years ago, and especially from the premiere by Jerzy Zegalski on January 19, 1967, for the inauguration of the Teatr Wielki, it appears on the stage quite regularly The fans of this work have their favorite productions, to the list of which should be added "Halka", the newest, directed on January 19, 2017 by Jarosław Kilian, which is the brace crowning the 50th anniversary of its activity. For fifty years, Łódź viewers could celebrate the successes of this institution of great merit for Polish opera, and for its anniversary, return to another staging of the famous work from Moniuszko, in which Jarosław Kilian combined tradition with modernity. In the four acts of the opera, the viewers watch the tragedy of Halka, a young country girl, who was first happily seduced and then carelessly abandoned by a certain, most likely parochial nobleman Janusz. Halka, under the influence of successive strong experiences and love emotions, lost her mind, becoming at the same time an object of sympathy and a laughing stock for the neighbors from the village. Her good spirit is Jontek, a childhood friend, once in love with a girl and perhaps because of this fact extremely taken over by her sad fate. Jontek tries to look after Halka, who still loves Mr. Janusz and sincerely, deeply but at the same time overwhelmingly absurdly, believes that her lover will return to her and to the fruit of their madness - a recently conceived child. The authors of subsequent stagings of this opera focused on selected aspects, mainly, however, on class struggles and exposing a rather universal element of the libretto: social injustice. In the production prepared for the 50th anniversary of the Teatr Wielki, Jarosław Kilian used the story of an abandoned girl as a universal drama that could take place anywhere, in any community, between two young people with only slightly marked differences in social status, i.e. in any sociologically any entourage. Although the libretto of "Halka" contains elements related to Polish tradition and culture, such as Masuria or highlanders' dance, universalization reigns in the staging currently presented on the stage in Łódź. Only Stolnik's kontusz brings to mind Polish noble traditions. The costumes worn by the highlander women are beautiful and modest, they point to the plebeian origin of women, but do not clearly characterize them as inhabitants of the mountains. Podhale could have been surprised, but I believe it was right for Weronika Karwowska to adopt such an idea for stylization of heroes.As a result, the Łódź theater did not get another typical and literal realization. The universalization also touched the set, against which the story of the consequences of girlish naivety is played out. Although the opera's libretto contains information that Halka is a highlander, that she lives in the mountains, it was not clearly presented on stage. The pines did not rustle in front of the audience, but instead, the audience saw broken tree trunks, the remains of mountain winds and avalanches, which provided a suitable background for the emotions of the characters. Symbolic trunks, a stylized gate protecting access to Janusz's manor and a wooden church were supplemented with visualisations that emphasized the emotions prevailing in a given scene. Heavy clouds gathered over the manor reflected the madness engulfing Halka. Her death, depicted as a quiet departure into the light, softened the turbulence of the last moments of the woman's life. In "Halka" Kiljana is not the most important Polish elements, but those pointing to the fact that Moniuszko's opera quite unambiguously fits into the character of the European opera tradition. Thanks to this, the "center of gravity" inscribed in the work has shifted towards understanding the tragedy that touched Halka. For the contemporary, especially the young viewer, it is not an easy task. I must admit that the title character is not one of my favorites. Being an extremely naive character, she arouses us in I am rather annoyed than compassionate. I am probably not alone in my feelings, so today's performers of this role do not have an easy task to convince viewers that Halka is a more controversial figure than the author himself would have liked. Dorota Wójcik, known to fans of the Łódź opera. Her Halka is a proud peasant woman, focused on the image of perfect love, striving confidently and consistently to her goal, ignoring Jontek's advice. Dorota Wójcik, with her acting and singing talents, perfectly conveyed the emotions accompanying the mad woman. Her worthy partner was Dominik Sutowicz, who played the role of Jontek. Thanks to his interpretation and the presented vocal conditions on the stage of the Łódź opera, the viewers saw a man torn by honest anger, whose aria "The rustle of fir trees on the mountain top" was by far the strongest point of the entire production. Her worthy partner was Dominik Sutowicz, who played the role of Jontek. Thanks to his interpretation and the presented vocal conditions on the stage of the Łódź opera, the viewers saw a man torn by honest anger, whose aria "The rustle of fir trees on the mountain top" was by far the strongest point of the entire production. Her worthy partner was Dominik Sutowicz, who played the role of Jontek. Thanks to his interpretation and the presented vocal conditions on the stage of the Łódź opera, the viewers saw a man torn by honest anger, whose aria "The rustle of fir trees on the mountain top" was by far the strongest point of the entire production. I would also like to draw your attention to the choral parts. They sounded dynamic and, when necessary, gentle and lyrical. Under the direction of Dawid Jarząb, the choir played its role in a very interesting way, successfully contributing to the beauty of the musical side of the performance. One must not forget about the well-deserved ovations for the ballet and its choreographic achievements in highland dances and other arrangements proposed by master Emil Wesołowski. Stanisław Moniuszko's "Halka" remains a work considered to be the most famous Polish opera. However, it should not be forgotten that it can contain elements indicating its strong connection with the tradition of other romantic, European operas. The theme of seduction and abandonment contained in her libretto is almost universal and it appears in many works, both earlier than "Halka" and written after it was written. For the 50th anniversary of the Grand Theater in Łódź, Jarosław Kilian prepared an interesting production dedicated to the contemporary audience. Thanks to the director's sense, he managed to present to the audience a sad, but not detached from reality, story. His jubilee "Halka", prepared at least to match Jerzy Zegalski's "Halka", inaugurated the next half-century of the Grand Theater in Łódź.
In the letter scene of Yevgeny Onegin, Tatyana asks ‘who are you? My guardian angel or a wily tempter?’. This line appears to be a starting point for Mariusz Treliński’s 2002 staging of the work, revived tonight at Warsaw’s Teatr Wielki – Opera Narodowa. Our first image of the evening is a ghoulish figure, perambulating around the apron at the front of the stage. He reappears frequently, interacting with Tatyana during the letter scene or at other times being sighted at the back of the stage. Later, he appears mourning Lensky after the duel or dancing briefly with Tatyana during her name day party. This idea of reflection on younger days is a most pertinent one and feels true to a vision of the work founded on the reflection that comes with loss and those ever-present questions of what might have been. Treliński puts a lot of the weight of the show on the shoulders of his singers, particularly in the first few scenes. His stage pictures at the Larin estate are sparse, a claustrophobic environment where there’s limited interaction with outsiders – the sparseness goes as far as cutting the opening peasants’ chorus. It did feel to an extent that the evening took a while to take wing. Anna Nechaeva’s letter scene was beautifully vocalized, but felt somewhat anonymous dramatically and interpretatively, perhaps as a result of her focusing on interaction with the ghostly figure; partly also due to Andriy Yurkevych’s rather earthbound conducting. Where the evening really started to take wing was in Tatyana’s name day party. Treliński set up a visually fascinating scene that seemed to hover between the real and the imagined. Was Krzysztof Szmyt’s foppish Triquet with his flying fairy sidekick real? Were the dancers with deer heads? Or were they just a figment of Tatyana’s imagination? Similarly, the rigid succession of figures who walked through the polonaise – were they a succession of Onegin’s former lovers or figures of a society that thrived on conformity. While Treliński might not give us all the answers, he certainly provokes reflection, as well as giving us much to reflect upon. The other reason the evening seemed to take wing after the name day celebrations was due to Andrzej Lampert’s electrifying Lensky. He appeared to single-handedly change the direction of the evening. His ‘kuda, kuda?’ was mesmerizing, sung with precisely the sense of wistfulness and longing it requires. His tenor is in fine shape, robust and easily produced, always sung off the text. He held the stage, producing a spell so enchanting that when he received his well-deserved ovation at the end of his aria, it felt that something magical had been broken. Anna Nechaeva is the owner of a striking soprano of good weight and an exciting metallic edge. The sound itself is fabulous at full volume, filling the house in thrilling waves of ecstatic sound, particularly in a final scene, sung from the stage-front apron, that soared gloriously. At the same time, I must admit that I left with the impression that Nechaeva isn’t quite ‘finished’ as an interpreter, the letter scene, in particular, somewhat anonymous. The voice also has a tendency to sit slightly under the note. It is, without doubt, a splendid instrument but not quite the finished article. Stanisław Kuflyuk replaced the originally-cast Mariusz Kwiecień in the title role. He seemed very much at home in this staging, his slightly cold, detached manner ideally matched to Treliński’s concept. The voice is in good shape – big and resonant with a warm, healthy core and an easy line. In the remainder of the cast, Sergii Magera sang Gremin with a big, booming bass. Liliana Istratii sang Olga with impeccable textual awareness and an easy, sunny mezzo. Joanna Motulewicz made an impression as Larina with a silky, fruity mezzo, while Anna Lubańska’s Filippyevna was full of character. The house chorus sang with firm, youthful tone and immaculate tuning, which made it all the more regrettable that they were denied their opening chorus. The house orchestra played decently for Yurkevych, the odd, passing moment of sour string intonation notwithstanding. Yurkevych favoured tempi that were languorous and thoughtful, often to the detriment of forward momentum. For instance, as Tatyana and Onegin reminisced about their lives in the final scene, the tempo seemed to ground to a halt. There were also a few moments along the way where it felt the singers wanted to keep things moving. Still, the winds were full of personality and while the brass didn’t always attack their entries unanimously, they were on good behaviour all night. This was a more than respectable Onegin. We were given a thoughtful and intelligent staging, one that mined deep into the work to explore its themes of loss, memory and non-conformity in a world were few are different. If there were perhaps one too many visual insights to fully take in on a first viewing, it still made for a fascinating evening in the theatre. Respectably sung and played – and even more than that in the case of Lampert’s Lensky – the evening was rapturously received by the Warsaw public who gave it a standing ovation.
