World premiere: 20 October 2010 Warsaw Chamber Opera

Director: Jorge Lavelli
Musical direction: Ruben Silva
Scenography: Marlena Skoneczko
Artistic collaboration: Dominique Poulange

Cast:
Felix (baritone): Andrzej Klimczak
Polieukt (contra-alto): Jan Jakub Monowid
Sewer (bass-baritone): Artur Janda
Neark (tenor): Aleksander Kunach
Paulina (soprano): Marta Wyłomańska
Stratonisa (alto): Dorota Lachowicz
Albin (bass): Dariusz Górski
Fabian (tenor): Mateusz Zajdel

Mimes: Monika Gut, Justyna Piwnicka, Jerzy Klonowski, Andrzej Pankowski

Choir: Warsaw Chamber Opera Soloists Ensemble
Orchestra: Warsaw Sinfonietta conducted by Ruben Silva

Libretto: Alicja Choińska and Jorge Lavelli after Pierre Corneille’s drama “Polyeucte”

The voice is the most important in this opera. Solo parts of the main characters, are carrying inside the whole emotional musical content. The orchestra sustains solo parts, merely sometimes giving an impulse for mood change.

The expression of individual parts was for me the most exiting task, while composing. The search of “the new” wa s focused on discovering a different interpretation of the words or situations. “Polieukt” is first of all an opera, in which the dialog between characters is dominant. The form of the piece, which is respective to the classic form of the drama, the unity of place and time of action, in a natural way forces to the intensification of events, and strenghtens the tension between heroes. This is why aria, as a form of personal expression of the characters occurs rarely.

In the original version of Corneille’s “Polyeucte” the death of the hero in the name of Christian God, leads to conversion of his closest friends. This is how the play ends. However in the opera, the conclusion is different: the message contains tolerancy, freedom, freedom of choises and living life without fear.

Zygmunt Krauze