The Curse - PREMIERE

“The Curse” is a work that, although created in the realities of the Galician countryside, remains a surprisingly current text. It tells of the collective anxiety, fanaticism and violence that occurs where the community looks for the culprit for the crisis that transcends it.

“The Curse” was created in 1899 and is one of the most interesting works of Stanisław Wyspiański's early work.

A tragedy is happening in the village - the June drought destroys all crops and does not allow new crops to be grown. Desperate peasants raise prayers to God, but notice that they are not being heard. They begin to suspect that it is the sinful actions of their pastor that is the reason why God has sent a plague on their fields. So they turn to a rural hermit, who tells them to put up a sacrificial pile to appease the forces of nature. This is where misunderstandings begin, as a result of which tragedy occurs.

The text of “The Curse” is a perfectly written score, and the designation of the inhabitants of the village by the slogan “choir” has made our interpretation of Wyspiański's drama unambiguously close to the opera. There are more vocal parts here than dialogue lyrics, although there are some.

On stage we will see a dramatic picture - describing the tragedy of the individual, the struggle of the individual against the whole, the clash of nature with civilization, and the battle of the depraved church hierarchy with a people who believe in the premonitions, nature and traditions of the ancestors.