The world premiere of Rafał Janiak's opera The Man from Manufaktura will be held on 2 February 2019 on the stage of the Łódź Grand Theatre. Janiak is the Grand Prix and Audience Award winner in the International Opera Composition Competition announed by the Grand Theatre in Łódź along with the Manufaktura Centre and judged by a jury chaired by prof. Krzysztof Penderecki.
The contest was decided on 10 October 2017. The Grand Prix winner, Rafał Janiak, despite of his young age (1986), is already a critically acclaimed composer. Being a man of many talents, he was also entrusted with the task of conducting the orchestra. The artwork is inspired by the history of Łódź. It is based on the libretto written by Małgorzata Sikorska-Miszczuk, playwright and screenwriter whose works have been translated into many languages and staged in Poland and abroad.
The opera is directed by Waldemar Zawodziński, a prominent figure of the Jaracza Theatre in Lodz, where he held the post of director, art director and head of the Theatre. The one responsible for costumes is Maria Balcerak, a multiple award winner for Best Costume Design. Janina Niesobska – The Golden Masks Award Winner, associated with numerous polish Theatres is a choreographer of the performance. The originator and coordinator of the competition is Krzysztof Korwin-Piotrowski, screenwriter and director of many documentaries about famous Poles.
The newest opera is a work about turbulent events in the history of the multicultural Łódź metropolis: a workers' strike against manufacturers in 1892 (the so-called Łódź rebellion), the shutdown of the Poltex factory in 1991 and a vision of the future of this place, now known in Europe as Manufaktura. This is a story about love for Łódź. About the elements. About money. About good fighting evil.
The premiere of an outdoor version of the Man of Manufaktura will be presented on 18 May 2019 in the revitalized post-industrial space of the Manufaktura square.
More information at: http://www.operalodz.com/