WHERE TO GO - 05.2010

It will undoubtedly be the most important event of the Year of Chopin. On the initiative of Waldemar Dąbrowski, director of the Grand Theater (Teatr Wielki) and coordinator of the celebrations of the Year of Chopin, a new ballet will be performed in Warsaw referring to the life of this great Romantic composer. The scenario was written by Antoni Libera and the musical background will cover the works by Chopin and by composers fascinated with his compositions, such as Hector Berlioz, Sergei Lyapunov, Franz Liszt and Robert Schumann. The author of the performance is excellent French ballet master Patrice Bart from the Paris Opera, one of few contemporary choreographers specializing in new forms of ballet that are very much appreciated by the public of great opera theaters. So it promises to be a truly European choreographic premiere, as the inspiration emerged in Warsaw and the ballet presents the legend of the Polish composer from the point of view of Paris, which was the city so close to Chopin. The performances of the Chopin ballet are on the 9th, the 11th, the 12th and the 22nd of May.

Another musical event on an international scale will be the 7th International Stanislaw Moniuszko Vocal Competition to be organized in the Grand Theater (Teatr Wielki) from the 19th to the 28th of May. It is, on one hand, an opportunity to select, through a competition, the greatest Polish and foreign vocal talents and, on the other hand, an opportunity to promote the works by Moniuszko and other Polish composers among young people from all over the world. The ambition of Maria Fołtyn, the founder and artistic director of the Competition, is to make Stanislaw Moniuszko – the composer so immersed in ‘Polishness” and the author of Polish national operas and family songbooks – a citizen of the world. As starting with Moniuszko, the author of Helen (Halka), we arrive at Paderewski and Penderecki, Szymanowski, Lutosławski, Bacewicz and many other contemporary Polish composers. The competition has already had some fantastic laureates who are now the highlight of Polish and world opera stages.

The National Philharmonic (Filharmonia Narodowa) in May invites to the concerts from the series of the Year of Chopin. On the 8th of May – the concert entitled Other Masters (Inni mistrzowie) conducted by Pablo Gonzalez with Peter Donohoe playing the piano. On the 11th of May, on the 200th anniversary of Robert Schumann’s birthday, a concert of music by two great peers: Chopin and Schumann. Piotr Paleczny will be playing the piano. On the 13th of May – a concert by the Sinfonia Iuventus Orchestra. The repertoire of the concert covers compositions by Frederic Chopin and Felix Mendelssohn. On the 14th and on the 15th of May – works by Ludwig van Beethoven with Thomas Zehetmair conducting and playing the violin. On the 21st and on the 22nd of May – the concert entitled For Those We Love from Requiem by Paul Hindemith. And finally – on the 28th and on the 29th of May – a concert under the honorary patronage of the Ambassador of Austria – Bruckner’s Eighth Symphony in C minor.

In the Royal Castle (Zamek Królewski) – a fantastic event, namely the exhibition entitled Treasures of the Czartoryski Museum (Skarby Muzeum Czartoryskich) on which you can see… Lady with an Ermine by Leonardo da Vinci (the only painting by the master in the Polish collection, owned by the Czartoryski Museum in Krakow). You can also see here Rembrandt’s The Landscape with Good Samaritan and many other great works.

In the May repertoire, you cannot miss the excellent exhibition in the National Museum (Muzeum Narodowe) entitled Raphael’s Ware (Ceramika Rafaela). It is the first Polish presentation of Renaissance narrative majolica (istoriato maiolica) and drawings that refer to the art by Raphael, the great master of the Italian Renaissance. The main objective and value of the exhibition is the presentation of narrative paintings on majolica reflecting influences of the Raimondi circle and „the tailors of history” – Bernard Salomon and Pierre Eskrich, excellent authors of illustrations for books. This prestigious event is primarily aimed at popularizing the paintings by Raphael, the origins of the legend of this „divine master” and his influence on decorative arts.

It is also worth going to the 7th Planete Doc Review Festival to be organized from the 7th to the 9th of May in Warsaw, with Werner Herzog as the special guest. Within the festival, there will be an interesting music event entitled Cities on Speed in Nowy Wspaniały Świat, or the Nowy Świat café located at Nowy Świat St on the corner with Świętokrzyska St.

On the 20th of May, the opening of the 55th International Book Fair (Międzynarodowe Targi Książki) in the Palace of Culture and Science (PKiN). The fair is to last for three days. The main theme – Frederic Chopin, of course.