Teatr Wielki
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The Teatr Wielki (now known as Teatr Wielki - Polish National Opera) is an opera company and theatre complex located on historic Teatralny (Theatre) Square in Warsaw, Poland.
Rossini's Il barbiere di Siviglia was the first opera to inaugurate the theatre on 24 February 1833. Since the bombings and almost complete destruction of the Second World War, the theatre has been rebuilt, and the present one reopened on 19 November 1965 after being closed for over twenty years.
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[edit] Performance venues and facilities at the present-day Polish National Opera
There are two auditoriums and the Museum:
- The Stanisław Moniuszko Auditorium , which seats 1,841, is the primary venue for opera, ballet and theatre performances which run annually from October to June.
- The Emil Młynarski Auditorium which seats 248.
- The National Museum, created from former ballrooms on the main floor, is the country’s only Theatre Museum.
In front of the building there are two statues by Jan Szczepkowski, one of Wojciech Bogusławski, the father of Polish National Theatre, and of Stanisław Moniuszko, the father of Polish National Opera.
[edit] Opera in Warsaw prior to the Teatr Wielki
Opera was brought to Poland by Prince Ladislaus IV Vasa within twenty years of the first opera presentations in Florence. In 1628 he invited the first Italian opera company to Warsaw. Upon ascending the Polish throne in 1632, he then constructed a theatre in his castle, and regular opera performances were produced there by an Italian company directed by Marco Scacchi.
From 1774 on, opera, theatre and ballet performances were held in the Radziwill Mansion (today the home of the Polish Head of State). The first Polish opera was produced there on 11 July 1778 by a company of Polish artists. It was Maciej Kamieński's Poverty Made Happy with Wojciech Boguslawski's libretto based on a comedy by Franciszek Bohomolec. In 1779-1833 performances took place in a new theatre building on Krasiński Square, later called the National Theatre. Known as the father of Polish National Theatre, Boguslawski, was a renowned actor, singer, director, playwright and entrepreneur of considerable talent. Also, at the National Theatre from 1785 a troupe of His Majesty's Dancers (headed by the ballet masters François Gabriel Le Doux from Paris and Daniel Curz from Venice) began its activity.
[edit] The Teatr Wielki since 1833
The Theatre was constructed on Teatralny Square (Theatre Square) between 1825 and 1833 from Polish classicist designs by the Italian architect Antonio Corazzi of Livorno to provide a new performance venue for the existing national opera, ballet and drama companies active in Warsaw. The building was remodeled several times and, in the period of cultural and political disturbances between 1795 and 1918, it performed an important cultural and political role by producing many works by Polish composers and choreographers.
[edit] The evolution of Polish National opera
In the new theatre Stanislaw Moniuszko's two best-known operas were produced for the first time. They were the complete version of Halka (1858) and The Haunted Manor (1865). After Chopin, Moniuszko was the greatest figure in 19th-century Polish music, for in addition to performances of his compositions, he became Director of the Warsaw Opera from 1858 until his death in 1872. While he was the director of the Teatr Wielki, Moniuszko wrote The Countess, Verbum Nobile, The Haunted Manor and Paria, and many songs that made up 12 Home Songbooks.
Also, under Moniuszko's direction, the wooden Summer Theatre (which seated 1,065) was built close by in the Saski Garden. Summer performances from the repertory of the Wielki and Rozmaitości theatres were given each year. Józef Szczublewski writes that during this time, even though the country was partitioned, the theatre flourished: "the ballet roused the admiration of foreign visitors; there was no such troupe of comedians to be found all the way to Paris, and Modrzejewska was the inspiration of drama".
The theatre presented operas by Władysław Żeleński, Ignacy Jan Paderewski, Karol Szymanowski and other Polish composers, as well as ballet productions designed by such choreographers as Roman Turczynowicz, Piotr Zajlich and Feliks Parnell. At the same time, the repertoire included major world opera and ballet classics, performed by the most prominent Polish and foreign singers and dancers. It was also here that the Italian choreographer Virgilius Calori produced Pan Twardowski (1874) which (in the musical arrangement of first Adolf Sonnenfeld and then Ludomir Różycki) has for years been in the repertoire of the ballet company.
During the battle of Warsaw in 1939 the Teatr Wielki was bombed and almost completely ruined with only the classical façade surviving.
[edit] Restoration, 1945 to 1965
Between 1945-1965 the company performed on other stages while the theatre building was being restored and expanded according to designs by Bohdan Pniewski, under the supervision of Arnold Szyfman. The restored theatre was opened to the public on 19 November 1965. At that time it was one of the most imposing and best-equipped theatres in Europe, provided with state-of-the-art installations and equipment.
[edit] Completion of the Theatre’s façade
According to Antonio Corazzi's plans in 1825, the façade of the Teatr Wielki was supposed to have featured a triumphal sculpture of Apollo, patron of the arts, driving a chariot drawn by four horses along its front. However, the defeat of the November Uprising caused the idea to be abandoned and the pedestal at the top of the main façade of the Teatr Wielki remained empty for nearly 200 years.
Finally, when the time came to fill the gap in the architectural image of Teatralny Square, at the initiative of the Teatr Wielki's then general director, Waldemar Dąbrowski, the sculpture envisaged many years ago finally adorns the Teatr's façade. The new, contemporary quadriga was designed by professors from the Warsaw Academy of Fine Arts, the rector, Adam Myjak, and the dean of the Sculpture Department, Antoni Janusz Pastwa. The sculpture was unveiled by Polish President Aleksander Kwaśniewski on 3 May 2002 to mark Constitution Day.
[edit] The Company today
For 170 years Teatr Wielki (today called the Teatr Wielki - Polish National Opera) has been Poland's grandest opera and ballet institution.
- Opera: The Polish National Opera in the Teatr Wielki continues its 200-year tradition and produces works by Polish composers from Karol Kurpiński, through Stanisław Moniuszko to Krzysztof Penderecki. However, classic operas are also well represented: the company has in its repertoire the best operas by the major figures of opera past and present.
- Ballet: The Warsaw Ballet Company has worked with major international figures in the world of ballet as well as many Polish choreographers, such as Leon Woizikovsky, Stanisław Miszczyk, Witold Gruca, and Emil Wesołowski.
The Teatr Wielki plans to inaugurate each new opera season with a Moniuszko Gala in honor of the composer and Opera Company Director.
[edit] References
Szczublewski, Józef, “Teatr Wielki in Warsaw 1833-1993”. Warsaw: 1993
