59th edition of the International Festival of Contemporary Music "Warsaw Autumn" will be held from September 16-24, 2016. This year, the audience’s eyes, ears and attention will be directed to the stage, understood both literally and symbolically.

Opera will be the main theme (or perhaps the sound space) of this year’s Warsaw Autumn. The para- and operatic events will include the Warsaw premiere of The Magic Mountain, an opera by Paweł Mykietyn staged in the Nowy Theatre; the children (and family) microopera Silent Fish by Jarosław Siwiński (within the Little Warsaw Autumn programme); and the multimedia opera Aaron S by Sławomir Wojciechowski. In the latter work, the tragic character of Aaron Swartz, American programmer, columnist, political activist and hactivist becomes a symbol of protest against capitalist attempts to limit universal access to knowledge and information. At the same time, the eponymous Aaron S is an example of nonconformism in terms of timbre, language, ideas, and even instrumentation. Those listeners sensitive to new media will enjoy Olga Neuwirth’s opera Lost Highway, composed to a libretto by controversial Nobel Prize winner Elfriede Jelinek. Besides the schizophrenic Fred/Pete, music and video image are also the work’s main protagonists. The operatic thread of the festival will culminate in two works by Salvatore Sciarrino: Infinito Nero and Luci mie traditrici, each staged twice (similarly to Mykietyn’s The Magic Mountain and Fabián Panisello’s chamber opera Le malentendu after Albert Camus).

The Festival events will take place in both highly popular and lesser-known concert venues throughout Warsaw: the Warsaw Philharmonic, Witold Lutosławski Polish Radio Concert Studio, University of Music, Basen Artystyczny, Królikarnia, Centre for Contemporary Art, Zachęta, Nowy Theatre, IMKA Theatre, and other venues. Many first performances will be presented by artists both well-established and debuting in Poland, including GrauSchumacher Piano Duo, Spółdzielnia Muzyczna, SCENATET, and Berlin’s lux: NM. Featured composers will include Mark Andre, Marcin Bortnowski, Ondřej Adámek, Brigitta Muntendorf, Zofia Dowgiałło, and others. The central character of the Festival is Salvatore Sciarrino, with not only two operas but also instrumental works, including this year’s final performance, Shadow of Sound.

Source: www.warszawska-jesien.art.pl

Detailed information available at the Festival’s website and Facebook profile.