"Operetta" by Gombrowicz back on stage at the Warsaw Chamber Opera

MICHAŁ DOBRZYŃSKI
OPERETTA
BASED ON WITOLD GOMBROWICZ'S PLAY

"Operetta" based on Witold Gombrowicz's play returns to the stage of the Warsaw Chamber Opera after last year's success. Michał Dobrzyński's opera directed by Jerzy Lach will be seen on February 5 and 6. This is so far the only operatic realization of the famous writer's work in Poland.

The operatic version of the work written by Gombrowicz over 15 years allows the creators to show the true drama of contemporary man's enslavement. The combination of grotesque and absurdity makes the initially light-hearted smile imperceptibly turn into a smile of pain. The operatic performance, using operetta language, expresses the destructive nature of modernity. According to the creators' intention, it is a parody of a parody, from which emerges a distorted image of the present. The juxtaposition of subdued minimalist scenography with sumptuous costumes directs the audience's attention to characters trapped in limitations and trying to break free from them. "The world of the drama is organized through the opposition of operetta, understood as frivolity, pretentiousness, intellectual emptiness
and a history full of pathos, horror, and pain, referring to nudity as a slender hope of man" - says Jerzy Lach, the director of the performance.

The author of the opera based on Gombrowicz's play is Michał Dobrzyński - a young generation composer, one of those selected by Krzysztof Penderecki and Henryk Mikołaj Górecki for the prestigious program "Young Composers in Homage to Fryderyk Chopin". His works have been performed at many national and international festivals, including the International Festival of Contemporary Music "Warsaw Autumn", the International Festival "Sacrum non Profanum", and "Compositori a confronto" in Italy. Jerzy Rudzki is responsible for the scenography - a theatrical scenographer and costume designer, the author of scenography and costumes for over seventy performances of the Television Theatre and about two hundred plays, musicals, ballets, and fairy tales for children in drama and musical theaters. The choreography was prepared by Jarosław Staniek - the author of nearly two hundred choreographies for theatrical and operatic performances. He has realized as a choreographer or director the biggest classical musical titles in Poland and Europe, including "West Side Story", "Jesus Christ Superstar", "Hair", "Grease", and "Chicago".
The performance will feature artists with significant achievements who have appeared on opera stages in the country and abroad - Karol Bartosiński (countertenor), Artur Janda (bass-baritone), Jan Jakub Monowid (countertenor), Piotr Pieron (bass), Anna Radziejewska (mezzo-soprano), Tomasz Rak (baritone), and Barbara Zamek (soprano).

Premiere: April 9, 2015, 7:00 PM
Upcoming performances: February 5, 6, 7:00 PM
Warsaw Chamber Opera Theatre / 76b Solidarności Avenue, Warsaw
www.operakameralna.pl

OPERETTA (creators and cast)

Music: Michał Dobrzyński
Libretto: Michał Dobrzyński - based on W. Gombrowicz's play
Direction: Jerzy Lach
Musical direction: Przemysław Fiugajski
Scenography: Jerzy Rudzki
Stage movement: Jarosław Staniek

Performers:
Albertynka - Barbara Zamek
Fior - Jan Jakub Monowid
Szarm - Tomasz Rak
Firulet - Karol Bartosiński
Princess - Anna Radziejewska
Professor - Artur Janda
Hufnagiel - Piotr Pieron
Priest - Paweł Tucholski (acting role)

Pastry group: Magdalena Smulczyńska, Ewa Puchalska, Andrzej Marusiak
Footmen group: Jakub Andrzej Grabowski, Piotr Kazimierczak, Piotr Kędziora, Grzegorz Żołyniak
Dancers: Angelika Paradowska, Marta Suzin, Joanna Ziemczyk, Michał Góral, Jakub Jóźwiak, Szymon Osiński, Robert Sarnecki

Warsaw Chamber Opera Sinfonietta

Assistant director: Paweł Tucholski
Prompter: Renata Tokarska
Makeup: students of the Higher Art School in Warsaw

Conductor: Przemysław Fiugajski