The jubilee season of the Grand Theatre in Poznań will open with the 3rd Moniuszko Festival. From September 27 to November 8, 2025, Poznań will resonate not only with the works of Stanisław Moniuszko, but also with those of his student, Zygmunt Noskowski, and Karol Szymanowski.
The third edition of the festival will open with a concert performance of the opera Wyrok (The Verdict) by Zygmunt Noskowski, composed based on the drama Xenia by Aureli Urbański. This will be the first presentation of the work on the stage under the Pegasus (the Grand Theatre). In the role of Angelos, Szymon Mechliński—one of the most versatile baritones of the young generation and a tireless researcher of the artistic legacy of 19th- and 20th-century Polish composers—will perform. Piotr Buszewski, who has successfully appeared at New York’s Metropolitan Opera, London’s Royal Opera House, and the Hamburg Staatsoper, will sing the role of Kosta. The soloists, choir, and orchestra of the Grand Theatre in Poznań will be conducted by Marta Kluczyńska.
The main event of the festival will be the premiere of Stanisław Moniuszko’s opera The Countess (Hrabina). Director Karolina Sofulak encapsulated her staging concept with the slogan: "The Dream of an Independent Pol(s)ka". Her interpretation of The Countess explores different concepts of what Poland is and draws the audience into a delicately woven network linking past and present: the struggle to define the country in 1860 remains just as relevant today.
The festival will also offer a chance to indulge in the richness of vocal chamber music. The most beautiful songs by Moniuszko, his students, and those who carried on his artistic vision will be performed by the excellent mezzo-soprano Zuzanna Nalewajek and pianist Michał Biel.
The musical project "najnajNOSKOWSKI" takes inspiration from Zygmunt Noskowski’s Songbook for Children, adapted to the perceptual abilities and developmental needs of the youngest music lovers.
As part of the festival’s musical encounters, there will also be a guest project titled "Oj, Halino!", one of the "Speaking Concerts" series, presented by the Grand Theatre Orchestra in Poznań under the baton of Marcin Sompoliński.
The final chord of the 3rd Moniuszko Festival will be a concert performance of one of the most important operas of the 20th century – King Roger by Karol Szymanowski. The title role will be sung by Szymon Mechliński, well-known to the Poznań audience. Ruslana Koval will appear as Roxana, and Andrzej Lampert as the Shepherd. The soloists, choir, and orchestra of the Grand Theatre in Poznań will be conducted by Maestro Jacek Kaspszyk.
The premiere of The Countess, the concert performances of Wyrok and King Roger, the children’s project najnajNOSKOWSKI, the recital by Zuzanna Nalewajek and Michał Biel, and the interdisciplinary Speaking Concert – it will be innovative, it will be classical, for the youngest and for those curious about concert versions of operas, both well-known and rarely presented on stage. Showcasing the diversity of musical expression by Polish composers is one of the festival's core missions.
Media patronage: Polish Music Information Centre POLMIC
Detailed programme: https://opera.poznan.pl/pl/repertuar
