With its invasion of Ukraine, on 24 February 2022, the Russian Federation has escalated the war that has been going on in that country since 2014 to unimaginable levels of atrocity. I wish to express my solidarity with the people of Ukraine who are heroically spilling blood to defend their homeland.
War is a pointless return to barbarity, the only difference being that the killing is not done with spears and stones but by trained armies equipped with the latest technology, who in the process destroy material and cultural heritage built up over the generations. Like all my friends, co-workers, and fellow Poles, I am profoundly shocked by this tragedy. People with whom we have worked on international opera productions have suddenly found themselves on opposite sides of the barricade. The deluded superpower politics and arrogance of the Russian authorities have turned two nations with so many close ties against each other. This is pure evil, and history will judge it as such.
At times like these, opera is silent. The management and creative team at Teatr Wielki - Opera Narodowa have therefore decided to call off the forthcoming premiere of Boris Godunov. Let our silence speak of our solidarity with the people of Ukraine.
Mariusz Treliński
Artistic Director of the Polish National Opera, Teatr Wielki, stage director
***
The text projected on the curtain reads 'We are with you' in Polish and Ukrainian.
