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ABOUT CULTURE - 03.2009
„Lord of the Dance” in Warsaw
The dance group „Lord of the Dance” will perform in Warsaw on the 26th, 27th, and 28th of March, 2009, at the Congressional Hall (Sala Kongresowa). This group, led by Michael Flatley, has been the most acclaimed and highly praised dance spectacle of all time. Since its premiere in 1996, it has enjoyed record-breaking popularity around the world and has become the most profitable show in the history of entertainment. It includes perfect dancers, incredible choreography and phenomenal music by Ronan Hardiman. The work of the outstanding artist Michael Flatley has inspired admiration and standing ovations throughout the world. „Lord of the Dance” is an excellent example of the artistry of Irish dancing, which presents one of the most famous Irish legends -- a tale of a battle between good and evil, interwoven with a love story -- in the universal language of dance.
The memory of Jerzy Grotowski
UNESCO has announced that 2009 is the year of Jerzy Grotowski, who is an outstanding, world famous director and reformer of the cinema. This year, ten years have passed since his death; it is also the 50th anniversary of when he began directing Teatr 13 Rzędów (Theater of Thirteen Rows) in Opole, which originated the now-legendary Teatr Laboratorium in Wrocław. This UNESCO project will not just have a memorial character -- it is supposed to be a chance to promote Polish theater internationally, and for important artistic encounters. Festivals, conferences, installations, exhibitions, and the promotion of newly-released books have also been planned in the United States. Denmark, Germany, the Czech Republic, Austria, Great Britain, and in France, Italy and Cuba. The Polish Sejm also celebrated the memory of Jerzy Grotowski by stating that „this artist became one of the recognizable precursors of the crossing points between theater and anthropology.” In the photo: the monument to Jerzy Grotowski in Opole.
The Jazz Era at the Congressional Hall
The latest edition of concerts (after those by Omar Sosa and Dionne Warwick) under the banner of the Jazz Era will begin on the 12th of March with an appearance by David Krakauer, an American artist of fashionable klezmer jazz and a clarinet virtuoso who is excellent at combining traditional Jewish music with jazz, and someone who does not shun interesting interpretations of scores by Sidney Becht and Thelonius Monk, as well as avantgarde themes by John Cage and John Zorn. Krakauer is also an exceptional performer of classical music.
Beautiful and talented
The charming actress and singer Alicja Bachleda Curuś, who has acted alongside famous names like Colin Farell, Jürgen Prochnow and Kevin Kline, will soon play a role with Gerard Depardieu. The French actor will take on the role of the Polish king Jan III Sobieski. Alicja Bachledza-Curuś has been given the role of a Polish gentlewoman who falls in love with an Austrian soldier. Alicja Bachleda Curuś was born in 1983 in the Mexican city of Tampico, which awarded her honorary citizenship in 2008. She finished school in Cracow. She had her debut in the film „Pan Tadeusz” by Andrzej Wajda, in the role of Zosia -- a character that every Pole knows very well from required reading at school. Day, the actress has a career in the United States.
Witkacy in London
The Festival of Witkacy, the Polish writer and painter (his real name was Stanisław Ignacy Witkiewicz, 1885-1939), will take place in the fall at the London Westminster University. The motif of the festival will be four „W’s, as its artistic director and initiator, Kevin Hayes, explains. The first „W” symbolizes Witkacy himself, and the other ones stand for Warsaw, Westminster, and Washington. Hayes, who is an actor and a teacher, has been connected to Poland for many years. He studied the works of Witkacy in Cracow. During the festival, which has been acknowledged by the ministers in Gordon Brown’s administration, there will be exhibitions, seminars, theater workshops, and discussions.
A film about Irena Sendler
Americans will see the film first, on the 18th of April; the Polish premiere is planned for the end of September or the beginning of October. It is about Irena Sendler, who saved 2,500 Jewish children in Warsaw during World War II. The film is titled „Miss Irena’s Children” and it will be broadcasted on television in many countries around the world. In Poland, it will be titled „Historia Ireny Sendler” (The Story of Irena Sendler) and will be shown at cinemas. The film was realized for the American television station CBS. The story about this heroic Polish lady begins from the moment the ghetto for the Jewish population was formed in Warsaw. Irena Sendler was played by the New Zealand actress Anna Pacquin, who is known for her roles in „Amistad” and „The Piano”. Polish actors also appear in the film. In the photo, one of the scenes from the film „Miss Irena’s Children”.
Polish voices are taking New York by storm
The Polish singer Piotr Beczała has been acclaimed for his role in the opera „Lucia di Lammermoor” on the stage of the Metropolitan Opera in New York City. The performance was broadcasted to television stations around the world, from Mexico to Poland. Beczała, a tenor, sings with a wonderfully toned, lyrical voice. Critics have noted his exquisite voice, as well as his exceptional appearance and height. He is a classic romantic lead, who is able to break hearts -- of the female members of his audiences, in particular. The directors of the famous Met are already planning further cooperation with this Polish artist. However, he is not the only Pole on that grand stage, right now. For three seasons now, baritone singer Krzysztof Kwiecień has been enjoying a great artistic career there. There is also Aleksandra Kurzak, who achieved great success in Mozart’s „The Abduction from the Seraglio”. In the photo: Piotr Beczała in „Lucia di Lammermoor,” on the stage of the Metropolitan Opera.
The dance group „Lord of the Dance” will perform in Warsaw on the 26th, 27th, and 28th of March, 2009, at the Congressional Hall (Sala Kongresowa). This group, led by Michael Flatley, has been the most acclaimed and highly praised dance spectacle of all time. Since its premiere in 1996, it has enjoyed record-breaking popularity around the world and has become the most profitable show in the history of entertainment. It includes perfect dancers, incredible choreography and phenomenal music by Ronan Hardiman. The work of the outstanding artist Michael Flatley has inspired admiration and standing ovations throughout the world. „Lord of the Dance” is an excellent example of the artistry of Irish dancing, which presents one of the most famous Irish legends -- a tale of a battle between good and evil, interwoven with a love story -- in the universal language of dance.
The memory of Jerzy Grotowski
UNESCO has announced that 2009 is the year of Jerzy Grotowski, who is an outstanding, world famous director and reformer of the cinema. This year, ten years have passed since his death; it is also the 50th anniversary of when he began directing Teatr 13 Rzędów (Theater of Thirteen Rows) in Opole, which originated the now-legendary Teatr Laboratorium in Wrocław. This UNESCO project will not just have a memorial character -- it is supposed to be a chance to promote Polish theater internationally, and for important artistic encounters. Festivals, conferences, installations, exhibitions, and the promotion of newly-released books have also been planned in the United States. Denmark, Germany, the Czech Republic, Austria, Great Britain, and in France, Italy and Cuba. The Polish Sejm also celebrated the memory of Jerzy Grotowski by stating that „this artist became one of the recognizable precursors of the crossing points between theater and anthropology.” In the photo: the monument to Jerzy Grotowski in Opole.
The Jazz Era at the Congressional Hall
The latest edition of concerts (after those by Omar Sosa and Dionne Warwick) under the banner of the Jazz Era will begin on the 12th of March with an appearance by David Krakauer, an American artist of fashionable klezmer jazz and a clarinet virtuoso who is excellent at combining traditional Jewish music with jazz, and someone who does not shun interesting interpretations of scores by Sidney Becht and Thelonius Monk, as well as avantgarde themes by John Cage and John Zorn. Krakauer is also an exceptional performer of classical music.
Beautiful and talented
The charming actress and singer Alicja Bachleda Curuś, who has acted alongside famous names like Colin Farell, Jürgen Prochnow and Kevin Kline, will soon play a role with Gerard Depardieu. The French actor will take on the role of the Polish king Jan III Sobieski. Alicja Bachledza-Curuś has been given the role of a Polish gentlewoman who falls in love with an Austrian soldier. Alicja Bachleda Curuś was born in 1983 in the Mexican city of Tampico, which awarded her honorary citizenship in 2008. She finished school in Cracow. She had her debut in the film „Pan Tadeusz” by Andrzej Wajda, in the role of Zosia -- a character that every Pole knows very well from required reading at school. Day, the actress has a career in the United States.
Witkacy in London
The Festival of Witkacy, the Polish writer and painter (his real name was Stanisław Ignacy Witkiewicz, 1885-1939), will take place in the fall at the London Westminster University. The motif of the festival will be four „W’s, as its artistic director and initiator, Kevin Hayes, explains. The first „W” symbolizes Witkacy himself, and the other ones stand for Warsaw, Westminster, and Washington. Hayes, who is an actor and a teacher, has been connected to Poland for many years. He studied the works of Witkacy in Cracow. During the festival, which has been acknowledged by the ministers in Gordon Brown’s administration, there will be exhibitions, seminars, theater workshops, and discussions.
A film about Irena Sendler
Americans will see the film first, on the 18th of April; the Polish premiere is planned for the end of September or the beginning of October. It is about Irena Sendler, who saved 2,500 Jewish children in Warsaw during World War II. The film is titled „Miss Irena’s Children” and it will be broadcasted on television in many countries around the world. In Poland, it will be titled „Historia Ireny Sendler” (The Story of Irena Sendler) and will be shown at cinemas. The film was realized for the American television station CBS. The story about this heroic Polish lady begins from the moment the ghetto for the Jewish population was formed in Warsaw. Irena Sendler was played by the New Zealand actress Anna Pacquin, who is known for her roles in „Amistad” and „The Piano”. Polish actors also appear in the film. In the photo, one of the scenes from the film „Miss Irena’s Children”.
Polish voices are taking New York by storm
The Polish singer Piotr Beczała has been acclaimed for his role in the opera „Lucia di Lammermoor” on the stage of the Metropolitan Opera in New York City. The performance was broadcasted to television stations around the world, from Mexico to Poland. Beczała, a tenor, sings with a wonderfully toned, lyrical voice. Critics have noted his exquisite voice, as well as his exceptional appearance and height. He is a classic romantic lead, who is able to break hearts -- of the female members of his audiences, in particular. The directors of the famous Met are already planning further cooperation with this Polish artist. However, he is not the only Pole on that grand stage, right now. For three seasons now, baritone singer Krzysztof Kwiecień has been enjoying a great artistic career there. There is also Aleksandra Kurzak, who achieved great success in Mozart’s „The Abduction from the Seraglio”. In the photo: Piotr Beczała in „Lucia di Lammermoor,” on the stage of the Metropolitan Opera.
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Information published at 1 March 2009