On November 3, 2024, at 7:00 PM, the premiere of the opera HI§TORY will take place at the Royal Theatre in the Old Orangery at the Łazienki Królewskie Museum in Warsaw. The music and libretto for the opera, based on the manuscripts (including previously unpublished fragments) of the play Historia (Operetka) by Witold Gombrowicz, were created by Michał Dobrzyński. The production is directed by Maciej Wojtyszko and Jakub Krofta, with Maestro Karol Szwech conducting.
The main character of the opera is 17-year-old Witold, who confronts his own family and the illusory social ideals represented by its members, as well as the creators of great History (including Tsar Nicholas II, Emperor Wilhelm II, and Józef Piłsudski). The work intertwines personal and political threads, the small and the grand history, creating a mosaic of real and imagined events.
This work was commissioned by the Polish Royal Opera. Michał Dobrzyński adapted the libretto based on the unfinished play Historia by Witold Gombrowicz, including fragments that have never been published before. The manuscripts were made available to the composer by Rita Gombrowicz. In this work, Michał Dobrzyński returns to the literary roots of his chamber opera Operetka (2014), based on the same titled play by Gombrowicz. This production marks the first full-scale opera based on Gombrowicz's Historia (Operetka).
The main roles will be performed by Michał Sławecki, Iwona Lubowicz, Aneta Łukaszewicz, Robert Gierlach, Łukasz Hajduczenia, Witold Żołądkiewicz, Dorota Lachowicz, Joanna Freszel, Piotr Halicki, and Sylwester Smulczyński. The Vocal Ensemble of the Polish Royal Opera and the Orchestra of the Polish Royal Opera will perform under the baton of Karol Szwech.
This event is held under the honorary patronage of Małgorzata Kidawa-Błońska, Marshal of the Senate of the Republic of Poland, and Rita Gombrowicz.
The event is part of the Witold Gombrowicz Year, as announced by the Senate of the Republic of Poland.
Ticket information : https://operakrolewska.pl/repetoire/history-michal-dobrzynski-prapremiera/
