UNIVERSA – OPEN OPERA
Music and libretto: Jan A. P. Kaczmarek
Based on texts by: Martianus Capella, Michał Rusinek
The University has commissioned a composer of international renown, Jan A. P. Kaczmarek, Academy Award winner, to create this symphonic piece, the premiere of which will honour the occasion of the 650th Jubilee of the Jagiellonian University. It is a masterpiece of ambitious musical format, at the same time directed towards general audience thanks to its form – a modern concert-opera-morality play – which is a combination of high and mass culture. According to the composer himself, the word “open” is a direct reference to the form of the piece.
The visual part of the spectacle is based on the motif of seven liberal arts (Grammar, Rhetoric, Dialectic, Arithmetic, Geometry, Astronomy and Music), in the context of which main protagonists are portrayed by distinguished opera soloists:
Iwona Sobotka as Queen Jadwiga, the restorer of the University, Queen Saint of Poland, representing morality and idealism – she will bring her ideals to the modern world, becoming an inspiration for future generations;
Małgorzata Walewska as Nicolaus Copernicus, one of the most famous Polish scholars, a revolutionary discoverer, who will make yet another discovery – the centrepiece around which everything revolves is not the Sun, but the “moral core;”
Szymon Komasa as Albert Einstein, who represents the idea that thought and perception are limitless, and the environment in which they thrive is the university. Einstein will also pose important questions about the relations between academic research and ethics.
The borders of time and space are crossed in the opera: seemingly unrelated characters from different periods of time and various locations will engage in an intellectual-moral dialogue, the leitmotif of which will be the seven liberal arts.
Julia Pietrucha – talented and popular actress, the latest discovery of the Transatlantyk Festival Poznań – will make an appearance as the personification of the seven liberal arts and a guide in the unconventional reality of the piece. Her role is a quasi-philosophical one, while at the same time she performs as a narrator presenting the main protagonists.
UNIVERSA – Open Opera combines two other realities as well: the majesty of the Academy and the spontaneity and youthfulness of students, represented by the academic youth in the Jagiellonian University Academic Choir. Their part is characterised by wordplay and exploration of human vocal abilities. The composer employs not only traditional harmonies that are traditionally associated with choirs, but also rhythmic declamation and recitation.
Jan A. P. Kaczmarek entrusted the key role in the spectacle to the orchestra. It is not limited to providing a background for the protagonists, accompanying arias and dialogues, and building the atmosphere of the piece. The orchestra is an equal partner which takes part in the dialogues, and sometimes even takes the lead role in long instrumental interludes. The piece begins with an overture for wind instruments.
This enormous effort will be led by Monika Wolińska, a distinguished conductor of the young generation. She has collaborated with numerous orchestras around the world. She is also the first Pole to have conducted in the famous Ney York Carnegie Hall.
The piece will be full of life and energy, and it will end with an inspiring and uplifting finale. It will be an homage to the idea that reason always prevails over force – Plus ratio quam vis.
The premiere will take place on 10 May 2014 on the Main Market Square at 8.30 p.m. It will be a culmination of the main celebrations of the 650th Jubilee of the Jagiellonian University in Kraków. Kraków Festival Office is the producer of the piece.
Performers:
Julia Pietrucha
Iwona Sobotka — soprano
Małgorzata Walewska — mezzosoprano
Szymon Komasa — baritone
Sinfonietta Cracovia
Polish Radio Choir
Cracow Academic Choir of the Jagiellonian University
Monika Wolińska — conductor