COLLAR

Moniuszko finished composing Halka in the middle of 1847 and tried to exhibit it in Warsaw. However, he performed the first two-act version in Vilnius in 1848. It was only 11 years later, on January 1, 1858, that the Warsaw premiere of the four-act version of this most outstanding Polish romantic opera took place, which was received with great enthusiasm.

This is the fourth production of Halka in the history of the Bydgoszcz Opera, this time prepared by representatives of the young generation of theater creators. Only the musical direction of the performance and the choir rests on men's shoulders. Opera Moniuszki inaugurated the 20th Bydgoszcz Opera Festival in 2013, received applause from the premiere audience.

Director Natalia Babińska:

There is no justice in the world. The strong take advantage of the weaker, the smarter the stupid, the richer the poor. It has been, is and will be that we get what we agree to. Here are the rules of the game. But... The petticoat is an exception to the rule. A stubborn highlander reaches for her dreams and crosses borders. She fights for what is greatest and most important to her: for Love, great, burning, winging and destructive at the same time. She is ready to destroy the world with powerlessness, that she can not achieve what she desires. It reaches the darkest corners of the human soul, like the mythical Medea. And at this tragic moment of the fall, Halka is touched by the divine hand, which raises the girl to the highest level of nobility, self-resignation in the name of the purest love. The skirt thus opens the door to a better world. So, however, there is justice, not in the human dimension, but in the divine dimension.