Halka

Stanisław Moniuszko

Performances

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

Ever since the premiere of the Warsaw version of Halka in 1858, the opera has been nothing short of an icon. The story of a Highland girl’s star-crossed love for a nobleman’s son is one of the greatest artefacts of Polish (pop) culture. The piece owns its enormous popularity to its skillful mix of dramatic appeal and sensitivity to vital social issues, primarily class stratification and exclusion. The tragic end of the love story is a consequence of misplaced feelings: Halka and Janusz are separated by a deep class divide.

The year 2019, Stanisław Moniuszko’s bicentenary, was a great opportunity to celebrate his work at home and showcase it across Europe. Thanks to the efforts of Piotr Beczała and others, the Polish National Opera and the Theater an der Wien co-produced Mariusz Treliński’s new staging of Halka, which became a highlight of the jubilee celebrations.  

The director presents the story from the standpoint of Janusz, whose guilty conscience haunts him years after the tragic events. The shift of perspective adds depth to the character: he is a villain who falls prey to his own wrongdoings. The story of Halka also gains another dimension as we start to wonder how much of it is the product of the hurting ex-lover's imagination.

Halka was written against the backdrop of a bloody peasant uprising known as Galician Slaughter (1846) and zeroes in on the class differences between the title heroine and Janusz. Mariusz Treliński proves that the issue of exclusion is still a relevant topic today. He sets his production in Communist Poland to showcase sharp social divides based not on birth but on occupation. Instead of clashes between the nobility and peasants, the production explores tensions between the local elite and exploited hotel staff. We are transported to a luxurious hotel in the mountain resort of Zakopane, where Janusz is about to marry Zosia, the daughter of a local potentate who terrorises the whole community. For the groom it is a perfect chance to marry into a wealthy family but he is up to no good – he gets involved in an affair with a maid. Halka interprets his interest as a sign of true affection not just a womaniser’s tactics. She spurns the love of Jontek, a waiter of her own social rank who does not, however, offer any prospects for the future. That is how the vicious circle of rejection is formed before leading to the tragic finale.

Treliński’s innovativeness goes beyond modernising of the opera. He weaves a psychologically dense tale that plays out like film noir. What we see is not a kitschy folklore picture that often comes to mind when thinking about the opera, but a gloomy, monochromatic world governed by privilege and injustice despite its righteous slogans of equality. Treliński’s production shows Halka in a new light, allowing us to see the Moniuszko masterpiece as a work with romantic as well as verismo traits.

Cast

2024-05-08 | 19:00

Credits

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

Synopsis

  • ACT 1

    9 a.m. Mario Cavaradossi, a painter, is working in a historical chapel, renovating a fresco depicting Mary Magdalene. He does not know that Cesare Angelotti, an escaped prisoner, is hiding in the church. The sacristan helps the painter get set up, then leaves. Thinking he is alone, Angelotti steps out and bumps into Cavaradossi, who promises to help him. Just then, however, the painter’s jealous lover, famous singer Floria Tosca, arrives. Cavaradossi hides the fugitive. Seeing the painter’s confusion, Tosca suspects him of cheating on her. Cavaradossi convinces her of his love and sends her away, then he and Angelotti leave the church. 


    11 a.m. The sacristan brings news of the alleged victory of the regime’s troops over the revolutionary forces. Orders are given to prepare for the Te Deum and a special evening concert at which Tosca is to sing. Suddenly Scarpia, Rome’s police prefect, arrives with his men. He searches the church for the runaway; among many traces of Angelotti’s presence he nds a fan belonging to Countess Attavanti, Angelotti’s sister, who most likely helped her brother hide. 


    11:30 a.m. Tosca returns, looking for Cavaradossi, but instead meets Scarpia, who is clearly trying to win her favour and suggests that Cavaradossi is having an affair with Countess Attavanti. This reduces Tosca to rage and despair. When the jealous Tosca runs from the church to have it out with her lover at his villa, Scarpia orders that she be followed. The first act ends with Scarpia’s aria in which he expresses his desire. 

     

  • ACT 2


    8 p.m.     The police headquarters, Palazzo Farnese. Scarpia is thinking about Tosca. Spoletta arrives and gives Scarpia a report on the search at Cavaradossi’s villa: he failed to find the fugitive, but he arrested the painter. In another part of the build- ing, Tosca’s concert begins, broad- cast on television. Cavaradossi is led in – asked about having helped Angelotti, he denies it and points out the lack of any evidence. 


    9 p.pm. Tosca enters. Cavaradossi is led away for further questioning and torture. Blackmailing Tosca with her lover’s suffering, Scarpia tries to get her to tell him where the prison- er is hiding. Under great pressure, Tosca breaks down and betrays the secret: Cavaradossi hid Angelotti in a well in the garden. Sciarrone, one of Scarpia’s thugs, brings news of the defeat suffered by the regime’s forces. Cavaradossi jeers at Scarpia, rejoicing at his defeat. He is sentenced to death. 


    midnight Tosca is alone with Scarpia, who confesses that he has long been watching her and that she is the object of his desire. The shocked Tosca begs him to release Cavaradossi. But the price is high; the singer ultimately agrees to an arrangement in which, in exchange for Cavaradossi’s life and a pass allowing him to leave Rome, she will give herself to Scarpia. At the culminating point, Tosca kills Scarpia, takes the safe conduct he signed and flees. 

     

     

  • ACT 3


    3 a.m.     Sant’Angelo Castle – the prison where Cavaradossi awaits his execution. The condemned man refuses to meet with a priest, but wants to write a final letter to Tosca. Tosca rushes in. She tells him about killing Scarpia and about an idea that could save her lover’s life: she instructs him how to fall after the ring squad execution which, according to Scarpia’s final order, is to be a hoax. 


    4 a.m. Cavaradossi is taken to the execution site. Tosca watches the preparations for the execution and then the fake death by ring squad. But when she runs, filled with hope, to her beloved, she discovers that Scarpia tricked her and Mario is dead. The police rush in, having discovered Scarpia’s murder. Tosca breaks away from the guards and commits suicide. 

     

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