Teatr Wielki
Encyclopedia
The Grand Theatre in Warsaw , the Grand Theatre—National Opera is a theatre complex and opera
company located on historic Theatre Square
in Warsaw
, Poland
.
The theatre was inaugurated on February 24, 1833, with a production of Rossini
's The Barber of Seville
.
After the building's bombing and near-complete destruction in World War II
, the theatre was rebuilt, and the building reopened on November 19, 1965, after having been closed for over twenty years.
, from Polish classicist
designs by the Italian architect Antonio Corazzi
of Livorno
, to provide a new performance venue for existing opera, ballet and drama companies active in Warsaw.
The building was remodeled several times and, in the period of Poland's political eclipse from 1795 to 1918, it performed an important cultural and political role in producing many works by Polish composers and choreographers.
It was in the new theatre that Stanislaw Moniuszko
's two best-known operas received their premieres: the complete version of Halka
(1858), and The Haunted Manor
(1865). After Chopin
, Moniuszko was the greatest figure in 19th-century Polish music, for in addition to producing his own works, he was director of the Warsaw Opera from 1858 until his death in 1872.
While director of the Grand Theatre, Moniuszko composed The Countess, Verbum Nobile, The Haunted Manor and Paria, and many songs that make up 12 Polish Songbooks.
Also, under Moniuszko's direction, the wooden Summer Theatre (seating 1,065) was built close by in the Saxon Garden
. Summer performances were given annually, from the repertories of the Grand and Variety (Rozmaitości) theatres.
Józef Szczublewski writes that during this time, even though the country had been partitioned out of political existence by its neighbors, the theatre flourished: "the ballet roused the admiration of foreign visitors; there was no equal troupe of comedians to be found between Warsaw and Paris, and Modrzejewska was an inspiration to drama."
The theatre presented operas by Władysław Żeleński, Ignacy Jan Paderewski
, Karol Szymanowski
and other Polish composers, as well as ballet productions designed by such choreographers as Roman Turczynowicz, Piotr Zajlich
and Feliks Parnell. At the same time, the repertoire included major world opera and ballet classics, performed by the most prominent Polish and foreign singers and dancers. It was also here that the Italian choreographer Virgilius Calori produced Pan Twardowski
(1874), which (in the musical arrangement first of Adolf Sonnenfeld and then of Ludomir Różycki
) has for years been part of the ballet company's repertoire.
During the 1939 battle of Warsaw
, the Grand Theatre was bombed and almost completely destroyed, with only the classical façade surviving. During the Warsaw Uprising
of 1944 the Germans shot civilians in the burnt-out ruins. The plaque to the right of the main entrance commemorates the suffering and heroism of the victims of fascism.
. When the restored theatre was opened to the public on November 19, 1965, it was one of the most imposing and best-equipped state-of-the-art theatres in Europe. Polish National Opera was the largest theatre in the world.
According to Antonio Corazzi
's 1825 plans, the Grand Theatre's front façade was supposed to have featured a triumphal sculpture of Apollo, patron of the arts, driving a chariot drawn by four horses. However, the defeat of the November Uprising
caused the idea to be abandoned, and the pediment atop the main façade remained empty for nearly 200 years.
Finally, in 2002, at the initiative of the Grand Theatre's then general director, Waldemar Dąbrowski, the sculpture that had been envisioned many years earlier came to adorn the façade. The new, contemporary quadriga
was designed by professors at the Warsaw Academy of Fine Arts, the rector, Adam Myjak, and the dean of the sculpture department, Antoni Janusz Pastwa. The sculpture was unveiled by Polish President Aleksander Kwaśniewski
on May 3, 2002, to mark Constitution Day.
The Grand Theatre plans to inaugurate each new opera season with a Moniuszko Gala in honor of the composer and historic Opera Company director.
Before the building stand two statues by Jan Szczepkowski, of Wojciech Bogusławski, the father of Polish National Theatre, and of Stanisław Moniuszko
, the father of Polish National Opera.
Opera
Opera is an art form in which singers and musicians perform a dramatic work combining text and musical score, usually in a theatrical setting. Opera incorporates many of the elements of spoken theatre, such as acting, scenery, and costumes and sometimes includes dance...
company located on historic Theatre Square
Theatre Square (Warsaw)
Theatre Square is a major square in the Śródmieście district of Warsaw, Poland. It spans from the Great Theatre building to the Senatorska Street....
in Warsaw
Warsaw
Warsaw is the capital and largest city of Poland. It is located on the Vistula River, roughly from the Baltic Sea and from the Carpathian Mountains. Its population in 2010 was estimated at 1,716,855 residents with a greater metropolitan area of 2,631,902 residents, making Warsaw the 10th most...
, Poland
Poland
Poland , officially the Republic of Poland , is a country in Central Europe bordered by Germany to the west; the Czech Republic and Slovakia to the south; Ukraine, Belarus and Lithuania to the east; and the Baltic Sea and Kaliningrad Oblast, a Russian exclave, to the north...
.
The theatre was inaugurated on February 24, 1833, with a production of Rossini
Gioacchino Rossini
Gioachino Antonio Rossini was an Italian composer who wrote 39 operas as well as sacred music, chamber music, songs, and some instrumental and piano pieces...
's The Barber of Seville
The Barber of Seville
The Barber of Seville, or The Futile Precaution is an opera buffa in two acts by Gioachino Rossini with a libretto by Cesare Sterbini. The libretto was based on Pierre Beaumarchais's comedy Le Barbier de Séville , which was originally an opéra comique, or a mixture of spoken play with music...
.
After the building's bombing and near-complete destruction in World War II
World War II
World War II, or the Second World War , was a global conflict lasting from 1939 to 1945, involving most of the world's nations—including all of the great powers—eventually forming two opposing military alliances: the Allies and the Axis...
, the theatre was rebuilt, and the building reopened on November 19, 1965, after having been closed for over twenty years.
Since 1833
The Theatre was built on Theatre Square between 1825 and 1833, replacing former building of MarywilMarywil
Marywil was a large commercial centre and a palace in Warsaw, occupying roughly the place where the Grand Theatre stands today.-History:...
, from Polish classicist
Polish classicism
The Neoclassical architecture in Poland was centered in Warsaw under the reign of Stanisław August Poniatowski, while the modern concept of a single capital city was to some extent inapplicable in the decentralized Polish–Lithuanian Commonwealth. Classicism came to Poland in the 18th century as the...
designs by the Italian architect Antonio Corazzi
Antonio Corazzi
Antonio Corazzi was an Italian architect who designed a number of buildings in Warsaw, the capital of Poland.He was born in Livorno.Amongst the buildings he designed are:* Staszic Palace...
of Livorno
Livorno
Livorno , traditionally Leghorn , is a port city on the Tyrrhenian Sea on the western edge of Tuscany, Italy. It is the capital of the Province of Livorno, having a population of approximately 160,000 residents in 2009.- History :...
, to provide a new performance venue for existing opera, ballet and drama companies active in Warsaw.
The building was remodeled several times and, in the period of Poland's political eclipse from 1795 to 1918, it performed an important cultural and political role in producing many works by Polish composers and choreographers.
Evolution of Polish opera
Stanislaw Moniuszko
Stanisław Moniuszko was a Polish composer, conductor and teacher. His output includes many songs and operas, and his musical style is filled with patriotic folk themes of the peoples of the former Polish-Lithuanian Commonwealth...
's two best-known operas received their premieres: the complete version of Halka
Halka
Halka is an opera by the Polish composer Stanisław Moniuszko. The libretto was by Wlodzimierz Wolski , a young Warsaw poet with radical social views. It is part of the canon of Polish national operas.-Performance history:...
(1858), and The Haunted Manor
The Haunted Manor
The Haunted Manor is an opera in four acts composed by Polish composer Stanisław Moniuszko in 1861–1864. The libretto was written by Jan Chęciński...
(1865). After Chopin
Frédéric Chopin
Frédéric François Chopin was a Polish composer and virtuoso pianist. He is considered one of the great masters of Romantic music and has been called "the poet of the piano"....
, Moniuszko was the greatest figure in 19th-century Polish music, for in addition to producing his own works, he was director of the Warsaw Opera from 1858 until his death in 1872.
While director of the Grand Theatre, Moniuszko composed The Countess, Verbum Nobile, The Haunted Manor and Paria, and many songs that make up 12 Polish Songbooks.
Also, under Moniuszko's direction, the wooden Summer Theatre (seating 1,065) was built close by in the Saxon Garden
Saxon Garden
The Saxon Garden is a 15.5–hectare public garden in downtown Warsaw, Poland, facing Piłsudski Square. It is the oldest public park in the city...
. Summer performances were given annually, from the repertories of the Grand and Variety (Rozmaitości) theatres.
Józef Szczublewski writes that during this time, even though the country had been partitioned out of political existence by its neighbors, the theatre flourished: "the ballet roused the admiration of foreign visitors; there was no equal troupe of comedians to be found between Warsaw and Paris, and Modrzejewska was an inspiration to drama."
The theatre presented operas by Władysław Żeleński, Ignacy Jan Paderewski
Ignacy Jan Paderewski
Ignacy Jan Paderewski GBE was a Polish pianist, composer, diplomat, politician, and the second Prime Minister of the Republic of Poland.-Biography:...
, Karol Szymanowski
Karol Szymanowski
Karol Maciej Szymanowski was a Polish composer and pianist.-Life:Szymanowski was born into a wealthy land-owning Polish gentry family in Tymoszówka, then in the Russian Empire, now in Cherkasy Oblast, Ukraine. He studied music privately with his father before going to Gustav Neuhaus'...
and other Polish composers, as well as ballet productions designed by such choreographers as Roman Turczynowicz, Piotr Zajlich
Piotr Zajlich
Piotr Zajlich , pseudonym Szuwałow, was a Polish dancer and choreographer. He was a soloist of Warszawskie Teatry Rządowe , soloist and choreographer in Anna Pavlova group , managing director of Teatr Wielki in Warsaw...
and Feliks Parnell. At the same time, the repertoire included major world opera and ballet classics, performed by the most prominent Polish and foreign singers and dancers. It was also here that the Italian choreographer Virgilius Calori produced Pan Twardowski
Pan Twardowski
Pan Twardowski , in Polish folklore and literature, is a sorcerer who entered a pact with the devil, similar to the figure of Faust in German literature. Like Faust, Pan Twardowski sold his soul in exchange for special powers – such as summoning up the spirit of Polish King Sigismund...
(1874), which (in the musical arrangement first of Adolf Sonnenfeld and then of Ludomir Różycki
Ludomir Rozycki
Ludomir Różycki was a Polish composer and conductor. He was, with Mieczysław Karłowicz, Karol Szymanowski and Grzegorz Fitelberg, a member of the group of composers known as Young Poland, the intention of which was to invigorate the musical culture of their generation in their mother country.He...
) has for years been part of the ballet company's repertoire.
During the 1939 battle of Warsaw
Siege of Warsaw (1939)
The 1939 Battle of Warsaw was fought between the Polish Warsaw Army garrisoned and entrenched in the capital of Poland and the German Army...
, the Grand Theatre was bombed and almost completely destroyed, with only the classical façade surviving. During the Warsaw Uprising
Warsaw Uprising
The Warsaw Uprising was a major World War II operation by the Polish resistance Home Army , to liberate Warsaw from Nazi Germany. The rebellion was timed to coincide with the Soviet Union's Red Army approaching the eastern suburbs of the city and the retreat of German forces...
of 1944 the Germans shot civilians in the burnt-out ruins. The plaque to the right of the main entrance commemorates the suffering and heroism of the victims of fascism.
Building's restoration
Between 1945 and 1965, the company performed on other stages while the theatre building was being restored and expanded to the designs of Bohdan Pniewski, under the supervision of Arnold SzyfmanArnold Szyfman
Arnold Szyfman was a Polish theatre director and stage director. Founder of the Polish Theatre in Warsaw.-References:*...
. When the restored theatre was opened to the public on November 19, 1965, it was one of the most imposing and best-equipped state-of-the-art theatres in Europe. Polish National Opera was the largest theatre in the world.
Completion of façade
Antonio Corazzi
Antonio Corazzi was an Italian architect who designed a number of buildings in Warsaw, the capital of Poland.He was born in Livorno.Amongst the buildings he designed are:* Staszic Palace...
's 1825 plans, the Grand Theatre's front façade was supposed to have featured a triumphal sculpture of Apollo, patron of the arts, driving a chariot drawn by four horses. However, the defeat of the November Uprising
November Uprising
The November Uprising , Polish–Russian War 1830–31 also known as the Cadet Revolution, was an armed rebellion in the heartland of partitioned Poland against the Russian Empire. The uprising began on 29 November 1830 in Warsaw when the young Polish officers from the local Army of the Congress...
caused the idea to be abandoned, and the pediment atop the main façade remained empty for nearly 200 years.
Finally, in 2002, at the initiative of the Grand Theatre's then general director, Waldemar Dąbrowski, the sculpture that had been envisioned many years earlier came to adorn the façade. The new, contemporary quadriga
Quadriga
A quadriga is a car or chariot drawn by four horses abreast . It was raced in the Ancient Olympic Games and other contests. It is represented in profile as the chariot of gods and heroes on Greek vases and in bas-relief. The quadriga was adopted in ancient Roman chariot racing...
was designed by professors at the Warsaw Academy of Fine Arts, the rector, Adam Myjak, and the dean of the sculpture department, Antoni Janusz Pastwa. The sculpture was unveiled by Polish President Aleksander Kwaśniewski
Aleksander Kwasniewski
Aleksander Kwaśniewski is a Polish politician who served as the President of Poland from 1995 to 2005. He was born in Białogard, and during communist rule he was active in the Socialist Union of Polish Students and was the Minister for Sport in the communist government in the 1980s...
on May 3, 2002, to mark Constitution Day.
The Company today
For 170 years the Grand Theatre (now "the Grand Theatre and Polish National Opera") has been Poland's grandest opera and ballet institution.- Opera: The Polish National Opera at the Grand Theatre continues its 200-year tradition, producing works by Polish composers from Karol KurpińskiKarol KurpinskiKarol Kazimierz Kurpiński was a Polish composer, conductor and pedagogue.Karol began his studies under his father, Marcin Kurpiński, an organist. At the age of 12, he became organist at a church in Sarnowa near Rawicz, where his uncle Karol Wański was a parish priest...
, through Stanisław MoniuszkoStanisław MoniuszkoStanisław Moniuszko was a Polish composer, conductor and teacher. His output includes many songs and operas, and his musical style is filled with patriotic folk themes of the peoples of the former Polish-Lithuanian Commonwealth...
, to Krzysztof PendereckiKrzysztof PendereckiKrzysztof Penderecki , born November 23, 1933 in Dębica) is a Polish composer and conductor. His 1960 avant-garde Threnody to the Victims of Hiroshima for string orchestra brought him to international attention, and this success was followed by acclaim for his choral St. Luke Passion. Both these...
. However, classic operas are also well represented: the company's repertoire includes the best operas by the major figures of opera, past and present.
- Ballet: The Warsaw Ballet Company has worked with major international figures in the world of ballet as well as with many Polish choreographers, such as Leon Woizikovsky, Stanisław Miszczyk, Witold Gruca and Emil Wesołowski.
The Grand Theatre plans to inaugurate each new opera season with a Moniuszko Gala in honor of the composer and historic Opera Company director.
Facilities at the National Opera
The National Opera features two auditoriums and a museum:- The Stanisław Moniuszko Auditorium , which seats 1,841, is the primary venue for opera, ballet and theatre performances, which run annually from September through June/July.
- The Emil Młynarski Auditorium seats 248.
- The National Museum, accommodated in former main-floor ballrooms, is the country’s sole theatre museum.
Before the building stand two statues by Jan Szczepkowski, of Wojciech Bogusławski, the father of Polish National Theatre, and of Stanisław Moniuszko
Stanisław Moniuszko
Stanisław Moniuszko was a Polish composer, conductor and teacher. His output includes many songs and operas, and his musical style is filled with patriotic folk themes of the peoples of the former Polish-Lithuanian Commonwealth...
, the father of Polish National Opera.
See also
- MarywilMarywilMarywil was a large commercial centre and a palace in Warsaw, occupying roughly the place where the Grand Theatre stands today.-History:...
- Wojciech Bogusławski
- Stanisław MoniuszkoStanisław MoniuszkoStanisław Moniuszko was a Polish composer, conductor and teacher. His output includes many songs and operas, and his musical style is filled with patriotic folk themes of the peoples of the former Polish-Lithuanian Commonwealth...
- List of opera houses