“KING ROGER” INSTEAD OF “TERRIBLE COURT”

It is more than an opera — it is a mystical story about the search for the divine in human nature.

Ladies and gentlemen, we kindly inform you that there has been a change in the repertoire of the Moniuszko Festival — instead of Stanisław Moniuszko's “Scary Manor” we will present Karol Szymanowski's “King Roger”. People who bought tickets for “The Terrible Manor” can exchange tickets for “King Roger” or make a refund. Detailed information on the procedure for exchanging and returning tickets can be found HERE.

“King Roger” was not only recognized by Szymanowski himself as an outstanding work and to this day it is considered one of the most important operas of the beginning of the 20th century. A work with poetic symbolism, a special type of expression and unusual sound coloring. The premiere of “King Roger” took place in June 1926 at the Teatr Wielki in Warsaw. Since then, the work has hosted on opera stages almost all over the world.

“King Roger” is a work with a wide intellectual and artistic spectrum, which is a reflection of Karol Szymanowski's journey to the south of Europe, especially to Sicily, and his interest in ancient and Arab culture. The composer was extremely absorbed by the exoticism of the Orient and the Dionysian myth, also in the context of reading the works of Friedrich Nietzsche, and it was these elements that he combined in his opera.

King Roger lacks a clear dramatic action, all three acts are static, differing only by the scenery and the type of mood (act I — the so-called Byzantine, act II — oriental, act III — Hellenic). Sparing dramaturgy is a pretext for expressing the inner feelings, attitudes and conflicts of the characters. Szymanowski's music masterfully reflects the moods and emotions of the key figures of the work, creating an impression of unreality with long and slow vocal parts and a variety of delicate sounds of the orchestra.

It is more than an opera — it is a mystical story about the search for the divine in human nature. We will plunge into the story of the delusion of the temporal and learn about the duality of human nature. The richness of the musical landscape, the deep sensuality, the interweaving of the threads of many cultures in a delightful way convey the longing of man for God and inspire ever new interpretations.

Just after the April premiere, it was written: The orchestra and choirs sounded great — it must be said that the Poznań Opera Orchestra is one of the best in Poland (Dorota Szwarcman, blog What in the soul plays); the premiere of King Roger's Theatr Wielki introduced a very good production to the repertoire. Its most important advantages are the musical layer and Cicheński's capture of the ambiguity of this opera. It does not give clear answers, but rather stimulates reflections and associations (Paweł Binek, kultura.poznan.pl). We invite you to a musical journey that fascinates with its richness of sound and draws you without rest into the story about the dark corners of the human soul.

During the performance, we kindly ask you to turn off your mobile phones completely or switch them to airplane mode - these devices may interfere with its course. Thank you for your understanding.

We kindly inform you that light effects will be used during the performance, which may cause discomfort in people with hypersensitivity to light stimuli. Before the start of the performance, incense will be burned in the audience.

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