An American in Paris
New Year’s Eve Gala

The concept for the 2025 New Year's Eve Gala was developed by Maestro Patrick Fournillier and is based on a fictional music story. Its hero is an American man living in New York City, fascinated by the musical world of Manhattan and its surroundings: jazz, Broadway, and musicals.

The first part of the evening transports the audience into the world of American music: the energetic and rhythmic works of George Gershwin, Leonard Bernstein, and Leroy Anderson.

After the interval, the character embarks on a symbolic journey across the Atlantic to Paris. The second part of the gala unveils the world of French cabaret and operetta: a light, theatrical repertoire rarely presented on opera stages. The entire programme presents a fresh, elegant New Year's Eve proposal, combining two musical cultures into a coherent narrative, thus cheerfully ushering us into the year 2026.

PROGRAMME
LEONARD BERNSTEIN
Overture to Candide

GEORGE GERSHWIN
The aria Summertime from Porgy and Bess

LEONARD BERNSTEIN
The aria I Am Easily Assimilated (Old Lady's Tango) from Candide

Tony's aria Maria from West Side Story

GEORGE GERSHWIN (arr. MICHELE MANGANI)
Blues from An American in Paris

LEONARD BERNSTEIN
Maria and Tony's duet Tonight, Tonight from West Side Story

LEROY ANDERSON
The Syncopated Clock

Jazz Pizzicato

The Typewriter

LEONARD BERNSTEIN
Cunegond 's aria Glitter and Be Gay from Candide

INTERMISSION

JACQUES OFFENBACH
Overture to The Beautiful Helen

The male chorus Drig, drig, maitre Luther from The Tales of Hoffmann

Hoffmann's aria Il était une fois à la cour d'Eisenach from The Tales of Hoffmann

The aria Ah quel dîner je viens de faire from La Périchole

The suite La Gaîté Parisienne

Olympia's aria Les oiseaux dans la charmille from The Tales of Hoffmann

Stella's aria Que m’importe un titre éclatant from La Fille du tambour-major

Giulietta and Nicklausse's duet Belle nuit (Barcarolle) from The Tales of Hoffmann

Aleksandra Olczyk – soprano
Oreste Cosimo – tenor
Valentina Pluzhnikova – mezzo-soprano

Chorus and Orchstra of the Polish National Opera under Patrick Fournillier

Hosted by Katarzyna Sanocka and Andrzej Sułek