“Norwid's Theatrum Mundi”

Polish National Opera 

in partnership with Polish National Theatre

premiere: 24.09.2021

The year 2021 sees the bicentenary of the birth of Cyprian Kamil Norwid. To pay tribute to the great Romantic poet, the Polish National Opera will hold Norwid’s Theatrum Mundi, a show with popular songs that use Norwid’s texts from the repertoire of Czesław Niemen (Italiam! Italiam!, Marionetki, Moja piosnka, Bema pamięci żałobny rapsod), Wanda Warska (W Weronie), Stan Borys (Coraz to z ciebie jako z drzazgi smolnej), Krzysztof Cugowski (Noc nad Norwidem), and Natalia Sikora (Ty mnie do pieśni pokornej nie wołaj). Arranged anew for voice solo, chorus and symphony orchestra, the pieces will be performed by such stars of Polish opera as Małgorzata Walewska, and Tomasz Konieczny. Joining them onstage will be actors of the National Theatre will present fragments of Norwid’s prose, including Białe kwiaty and Czarne kwiaty, his plays, letters, and poems (Coś ty Atenom zrobił Sokratesie, Fortepian Szopena).

‘We want to juxtapose the lyrical dimension of the concert with a dramaturgy of fragments of his texts recited by actors. This way we want to create a polyphonic narrative involving words and music. The inclination for dialogue, or even polyphony, in poetic writing, so characteristic for drama, is also a permanent feature of Norwid’s work. It is also what makes it so contemporary. We wish to take advantage of the dramatic, or theatrical, quality of the poet’s writing to establish a dialogue between the musical and the verbal dimension of the event, strengthening its stage effect,’ write director Ewa Rucińska and Waldemar Dąbrowski, general director of the Polish National Opera, who developed the artistic concept of the concert.

PERFORMERS
Małgorzata Walewska
Olga Pasichnyk
Szymon Mechliński
Maciej Kwaśnikowski
Łukasz Goliński
and actors of the National Theatre:
Danuta Stenka
Jan Englert
Jerzy Radziwiłowicz
Piotr Kramer

Janusz Olejniczak – piano

Chorus and Orchestra of the Polish National Opera

CREATIVES
Conductor: Rafał Kłoczko
Concept and script: Ewa Rucińska, Waldemar Dąbrowski
Director: Ewa Rucińska
Set, costumes and multimedia design: Małgorzata Szabłowska
Lighting: Paulina Góral-Stykowska
Animations and illustrations: Pictureworks
Chorus master: Mirosław Janowski