Halka

Opera in four acts
Libretto: Włodzimierz Wolski
World premiere of the four-act version: 1 January 1858, Teatr Wielki, Warsaw 
Premiere of this production: 15 December 2019, Theater an der Wien
A co-production with the Theater an der Wien
In the original Polish with English surtitles

The Haunted Manor and Halka are the cornerstones of Polish operatic art and that is all! While the former can be troublesome from a staging point of view, due to its socio-national context (the three partitioners, the struggle for independence), as well as to how strongly the piece is embedded in a specific historical time (the failure of the January Uprising), the latter seems more relatable from today’s perspective. Moniuszko’s musical fantasy on highlander music has such power that in the minds of the public it has permanently obscured the original. Treliński’s Halka moved to a socialist-realist hotel in Zakopane: as if unfinished, filled with bustling militiamen, numbered items lined on the floor – a gray and gloomy crime scene. In such a setting, wrecked by remorse, Janusz repeatedly wakes up from a nightmare, only to stumble into a second one – a far more terrible, living nightmare. And then a pure, heart-rending voice comes from off stage… Treliński’s cinematic imagination is perfectly complemented by Kudlička’s set design. And one thing to emphasize: the staging momentum does not overshadow Halka’s drama.

Chorus and Orchestra of the Polish National Opera
mime artists, dancers