Opera Nova Bydgoszcz
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, fullname = , former names = , logo_image = , logo_caption = , image = Bdg OperaNova 8 07-2013.jpg , image_size = 300px , image_alt = Opera Nova from Mill Island , caption = Opera Nova from Mill Island in Bydgoszcz , image_map = Map BDG opera nova.jpg , map_size = 300 px , map_caption = Location in Bydgoszcz , map_alt = , address = 5 Focha Street , location =
Bydgoszcz Bydgoszcz ( , , ; german: Bromberg) is a city in northern Poland, straddling the meeting of the River Vistula with its left-bank tributary, the Brda. With a city population of 339,053 as of December 2021 and an urban agglomeration with more ...
, coordinates = , type = Opera House , genre = , broke_ground = , built = , opened = 21 October 2006 , owner =
Ministry of Culture and National Heritage Ministry of Culture and National Heritage of the Republic of Poland ( pl, Ministerstwo Kultury i Dziedzictwa Narodowego) is a governmental administration office concerned with various aspects of Polish culture. It was formed on 31 October 20 ...
&
Kuyavian-Pomeranian Voivodeship Kuyavian-Pomeranian Voivodeship, also known as Cuiavian-Pomeranian Voivodeship or simply Kujawsko-Pomorskie, or Kujawy-Pomerania Province ( pl, województwo kujawsko-pomorskie ) is one of the 16 voivodeships (provinces) into which Poland is divide ...
, operator = , surface = 21202 m2 , architect = Józef Chmiel, Andrzej Prusiewicz , capacity = 809 seats (
auditorium An auditorium is a room built to enable an audience to hear and watch performances. For movie theatres, the number of auditoria (or auditoriums) is expressed as the number of screens. Auditoria can be found in entertainment venues, community ...
) , website = http://www.operanova.bydgoszcz.pl The Opera Nova is an
opera house An opera house is a theatre building used for performances of opera. It usually includes a stage, an orchestra pit, audience seating, and backstage facilities for costumes and building sets. While some venues are constructed specifically for o ...
located in
Bydgoszcz Bydgoszcz ( , , ; german: Bromberg) is a city in northern Poland, straddling the meeting of the River Vistula with its left-bank tributary, the Brda. With a city population of 339,053 as of December 2021 and an urban agglomeration with more ...
and established in 1956, which also plays the role of a musical theater. It is one of the 10 opera houses in Poland and the only one of this size in the
Kuyavian-Pomeranian Voivodeship Kuyavian-Pomeranian Voivodeship, also known as Cuiavian-Pomeranian Voivodeship or simply Kujawsko-Pomorskie, or Kujawy-Pomerania Province ( pl, województwo kujawsko-pomorskie ) is one of the 16 voivodeships (provinces) into which Poland is divide ...
. Opera Nova also welcomes the scene of the Bydgoszcz
Buratino Buratino (Russian: Буратино) is the main character of Aleksey Nikolayevich Tolstoy's 1936 book ''The Golden Key, or the Adventures of Buratino'', which is based on the 1883 Italian novel ''The Adventures of Pinocchio'' by Carlo Collo ...
Puppet Theatre.


Location

Opera Nova building is located in a bend of the Brda river between Old Town and Downtown
Bydgoszcz Bydgoszcz ( , , ; german: Bromberg) is a city in northern Poland, straddling the meeting of the River Vistula with its left-bank tributary, the Brda. With a city population of 339,053 as of December 2021 and an urban agglomeration with more ...
. The opera House is connected with a footbridge over the Brda river to Mill Island ( pl, Wyspa Młyńska): from the surrounding terrace it overlooks Bydgoszcz Cathedral, and Mill Island's granaries and mills.


Characteristics

Opera Nova is a cultural institution co-administrated by Polish
Ministry of Culture and National Heritage Ministry of Culture and National Heritage of the Republic of Poland ( pl, Ministerstwo Kultury i Dziedzictwa Narodowego) is a governmental administration office concerned with various aspects of Polish culture. It was formed on 31 October 20 ...
&
Kuyavian-Pomeranian Voivodeship Kuyavian-Pomeranian Voivodeship, also known as Cuiavian-Pomeranian Voivodeship or simply Kujawsko-Pomorskie, or Kujawy-Pomerania Province ( pl, województwo kujawsko-pomorskie ) is one of the 16 voivodeships (provinces) into which Poland is divide ...
. It realizes artistic activities comprising
opera Opera is a form of theatre in which music is a fundamental component and dramatic roles are taken by singers. Such a "work" (the literal translation of the Italian word "opera") is typically a collaboration between a composer and a librett ...
s,
operetta Operetta is a form of theatre and a genre of light opera. It includes spoken dialogue, songs, and dances. It is lighter than opera in terms of its music, orchestral size, length of the work, and at face value, subject matter. Apart from its s ...
s,
ballet Ballet () is a type of performance dance that originated during the Italian Renaissance in the fifteenth century and later developed into a concert dance form in France and Russia. It has since become a widespread and highly technical form of ...
s and musicals. Its activities also include educational projects, such as introducing opera and ballet to children. The Opera Nova company performs in
Bydgoszcz Bydgoszcz ( , , ; german: Bromberg) is a city in northern Poland, straddling the meeting of the River Vistula with its left-bank tributary, the Brda. With a city population of 339,053 as of December 2021 and an urban agglomeration with more ...
, but also in other opera festivals in
Poland Poland, officially the Republic of Poland, is a country in Central Europe. It is divided into 16 administrative provinces called voivodeships, covering an area of . Poland has a population of over 38 million and is the fifth-most populous ...
and abroad. Since 1989, the ensemble has made numerous tours to
Germany Germany,, officially the Federal Republic of Germany, is a country in Central Europe. It is the second most populous country in Europe after Russia, and the most populous member state of the European Union. Germany is situated betwe ...
,
Belgium Belgium, ; french: Belgique ; german: Belgien officially the Kingdom of Belgium, is a country in Northwestern Europe. The country is bordered by the Netherlands to the north, Germany to the east, Luxembourg to the southeast, France to th ...
,
Netherlands ) , anthem = ( en, "William of Nassau") , image_map = , map_caption = , subdivision_type = Sovereign state , subdivision_name = Kingdom of the Netherlands , established_title = Before independence , established_date = Spanish Netherl ...
,
Malta Malta ( , , ), officially the Republic of Malta ( mt, Repubblika ta' Malta ), is an island country in the Mediterranean Sea. It consists of an archipelago, between Italy and Libya, and is often considered a part of Southern Europe. It lies ...
and
Italy Italy ( it, Italia ), officially the Italian Republic, ) or the Republic of Italy, is a country in Southern Europe. It is located in the middle of the Mediterranean Sea, and its territory largely coincides with the homonymous geographical re ...
. Opera Nova extends its cultural influence out of Kuyavia-Pomerania, reaching audience and artists to neighboring provinces (
Piła Piła (german: Schneidemühl) is a city in northwestern Poland and the capital of Piła County, situated in the Greater Poland Voivodeship. Its population as of 2021 was 71,846, making it the third-largest city in the voivodeship after Poznań ...
,
Koszalin Koszalin (pronounced ; csb, Kòszalëno; formerly german: Köslin, ) is a city in northwestern Poland, in Western Pomerania. It is located south of the Baltic Sea coast, and intersected by the river Dzierżęcinka. Koszalin is also a county-stat ...
,
Olsztyn Olsztyn ( , ; german: Allenstein ; Old Prussian: ''Alnāsteini'' * Latin: ''Allenstenium'', ''Holstin'') is a city on the Łyna River in northern Poland. It is the capital of the Warmian-Masurian Voivodeship, and is a city with county rights. ...
). The repertoire includes
operetta Operetta is a form of theatre and a genre of light opera. It includes spoken dialogue, songs, and dances. It is lighter than opera in terms of its music, orchestral size, length of the work, and at face value, subject matter. Apart from its s ...
s, musicals, opera galas; it attracts a very enthusiastic and popular public. Financial sponsors of the Opera Nova, critical for such an institution, come from many financial and industrial tycoons in the area. Maciej Figas is since 1992 the director of the Opera Nova, he is also the conductor of the opera orchestra. In 2014 more than 82,000 people came to the Opera Nova.


History


First times

The history of the theater in Bydgoszcz dates back to the 17th century, when was built a special theatre hall in the city Jesuit College, able to accommodate approximately 300 people. In the 19th century, operas and operettas were played in the Prussian
Municipal Theatre A municipal theatre is a theatre Theatre or theater is a collaborative form of performing art that uses live performers, usually actors or actresses, to present the experience of a real or imagined event before a live audience in a specific ...
; from 1896 to 1920, opera companies from
Gdańsk Gdańsk ( , also ; ; csb, Gduńsk;Stefan Ramułt, ''Słownik języka pomorskiego, czyli kaszubskiego'', Kraków 1893, Gdańsk 2003, ISBN 83-87408-64-6. , Johann Georg Theodor Grässe, ''Orbis latinus oder Verzeichniss der lateinischen Benen ...
, Poznan or
Rostock Rostock (), officially the Hanseatic and University City of Rostock (german: link=no, Hanse- und Universitätsstadt Rostock), is the largest city in the German state of Mecklenburg-Vorpommern and lies in the Mecklenburgian part of the state, c ...
performed in
Bromberg Bydgoszcz ( , , ; german: Bromberg) is a city in northern Poland, straddling the meeting of the River Vistula with its left-bank tributary, the Brda. With a city population of 339,053 as of December 2021 and an urban agglomeration with more ...
. In the years 1920-1939, a cultural institution run by the German minority called ''Deutsche Bühne'' ( en, German scene) was located in the backyard of 66/68 Gdanska. It was a professional theatre, which displayed opera ensembles and orchestra performances based on the local Bydgoszcz Conservatoire located at 9 Mickiewicz Alley. Its popularity matched
Municipal Theatre A municipal theatre is a theatre Theatre or theater is a collaborative form of performing art that uses live performers, usually actors or actresses, to present the experience of a real or imagined event before a live audience in a specific ...
. Deutsche Bühne staged operas, operettas, musicals and vaudeville, hosting German companies (
Berlin Berlin ( , ) is the capital and largest city of Germany by both area and population. Its 3.7 million inhabitants make it the European Union's most populous city, according to population within city limits. One of Germany's sixteen constitue ...
,
Hamburg (male), (female) en, Hamburger(s), Hamburgian(s) , timezone1 = Central (CET) , utc_offset1 = +1 , timezone1_DST = Central (CEST) , utc_offset1_DST = +2 , postal ...
,
Königsberg Königsberg (, ) was the historic Prussian city that is now Kaliningrad, Russia. Königsberg was founded in 1255 on the site of the ancient Old Prussian settlement ''Twangste'' by the Teutonic Knights during the Northern Crusades, and was named ...
). On May 3, 1930, to celebrate the 400th anniversary of
Jan Kochanowski Jan Kochanowski (; 1530 – 22 August 1584) was a Polish Renaissance poet who established poetic patterns that would become integral to the Polish literary language. He is commonly regarded as the greatest Polish poet before Adam Mickiewicz. Li ...
's birth, the theatre premiered "The Dismissal of the Greek Envoys" ( pl, Odprawa posłów greckich), as a tribute to the Polish community. After 1933, its repertoire followed the cultural
Nazi propaganda The propaganda used by the German Nazi Party in the years leading up to and during Adolf Hitler's dictatorship of Nazi Germany, Germany from 1933 to 1945 was a crucial instrument for acquiring and maintaining power, and for the implementation o ...
diktats. The first Polish opera in Bydgoszcz was founded in 1919. On October 3, 1921, members of Bydgoszcz
Municipal Theatre A municipal theatre is a theatre Theatre or theater is a collaborative form of performing art that uses live performers, usually actors or actresses, to present the experience of a real or imagined event before a live audience in a specific ...
presented the Polish national opera,
Stanislaw Moniuszko Stanislav and variants may refer to: People * Stanislav (given name), a Slavic given name with many spelling variations (Stanislaus, Stanislas, Stanisław, etc.) Places * Stanislav, a coastal village in Kherson, Ukraine * Stanislaus County, C ...
's ''
Halka ''Halka'' is an opera by Polish composer Stanisław Moniuszko to a libretto written by Włodzimierz Wolski, a young Warsaw poet with radical social views. It is part of the canon of Polish national operas. Performance history The first perf ...
''. From 1921 to 1923, the Municipal Theatre organized summer opera seasons, with companies from Poznan and
Warsaw Warsaw ( pl, Warszawa, ), officially the Capital City of Warsaw,, abbreviation: ''m.st. Warszawa'' is the capital and largest city of Poland. The metropolis stands on the River Vistula in east-central Poland, and its population is officia ...
opera houses. There were also recital singers with eminent artists from the world of Polish opera and operetta. Between 1923 and 1926, series of concerts in Bydgoszcz starred among others, Stanisław Gruszczyński, Ignacy Dygas, Jadwiga Dębicka, Victoria Kawecka. In 1926, the first recital of New York's Metropolitan Opera's bass
Adamo Didur Adam Didur or Adamo Didur (24 December 18747 January 1946) was a famous Polish operatic bass singer. He sang extensively in Europe and had a major career at New York's Metropolitan Opera from 1908 to 1932. Career He was born on 24 December 18 ...
had a huge success in the city. The Municipal Theatre invited several times in the 1920s and 1930s
Ada Sari Ada Sari (29 June 1886 – 12 July 1968) was a Polish opera singer, actress, and educator. One of the leading coloratura sopranos of her generation, she possessed a large, resonant voice with a clear timbre. Her career took her to the stages of th ...
for
recital A concert is a live music performance in front of an audience. The performance may be by a single musician, sometimes then called a recital, or by a musical ensemble, such as an orchestra, choir, or band. Concerts are held in a wide variety an ...
performances with
piano The piano is a stringed keyboard instrument in which the strings are struck by wooden hammers that are coated with a softer material (modern hammers are covered with dense wool felt; some early pianos used leather). It is played using a keyboa ...
. For the season 1925/1926, an institution was created, the ''Pomeranian Opera Theatre of Bydgoszcz-Torun-Grudziadz'' directed by Karol Benda. The company included a 36-musician orchestra, a 22-singer chorus, a small
ballet Ballet () is a type of performance dance that originated during the Italian Renaissance in the fifteenth century and later developed into a concert dance form in France and Russia. It has since become a widespread and highly technical form of ...
and external individuals from
Warsaw Warsaw ( pl, Warszawa, ), officially the Capital City of Warsaw,, abbreviation: ''m.st. Warszawa'' is the capital and largest city of Poland. The metropolis stands on the River Vistula in east-central Poland, and its population is officia ...
, Poznan and
Lviv Lviv ( uk, Львів) is the largest city in western Ukraine, and the seventh-largest in Ukraine, with a population of . It serves as the administrative centre of Lviv Oblast and Lviv Raion, and is one of the main cultural centres of Ukraine ...
. In addition, operetta guests were outstanding Polish artists of the time (Matilda Lewińska-Polińska, Ignacy Dygas, Stanisław Gruszczyński,
Jan Kiepura Jan Wiktor Kiepura (May 16, 1902 – August 15, 1966) was a Polish singer (tenor) and actor. Life and career Jan Kiepura was born in Sosnowiec, Poland, the son of Miriam (née Neuman), a former professional singer, and Franciszek Kiepura, a b ...
, Lucyna Messal). The ''Pomeranian Opera'' performed in the Municipal Theatre 15 premieres and 69 operas and operettas, such as ''
Halka ''Halka'' is an opera by Polish composer Stanisław Moniuszko to a libretto written by Włodzimierz Wolski, a young Warsaw poet with radical social views. It is part of the canon of Polish national operas. Performance history The first perf ...
'', ''
Rigoletto ''Rigoletto'' is an opera in three acts by Giuseppe Verdi. The Italian libretto was written by Francesco Maria Piave based on the 1832 play ''Le roi s'amuse'' by Victor Hugo. Despite serious initial problems with the Austrian censors who had cont ...
'', ''
Tosca ''Tosca'' is an opera in three acts by Giacomo Puccini to an Italian libretto by Luigi Illica and Giuseppe Giacosa. It premiered at the Teatro dell'Opera di Roma, Teatro Costanzi in Rome on 14 January 1900. The work, based on Victorien Sardou's 1 ...
'', ''
Carmen ''Carmen'' () is an opera in four acts by the French composer Georges Bizet. The libretto was written by Henri Meilhac and Ludovic Halévy, based on the Carmen (novella), novella of the same title by Prosper Mérimée. The opera was first perfo ...
'', ''
Madama Butterfly ''Madama Butterfly'' (; ''Madame Butterfly'') is an opera in three acts (originally two) by Giacomo Puccini, with an Italian libretto by Luigi Illica and Giuseppe Giacosa. It is based on the short story "Madame Butterfly" (1898) by John Luther ...
'', ''
Aida ''Aida'' (or ''Aïda'', ) is an opera in four acts by Giuseppe Verdi to an Italian libretto by Antonio Ghislanzoni. Set in the Old Kingdom of Egypt, it was commissioned by Cairo's Khedivial Opera House and had its première there on 24 December ...
'', ''
Countess Maritza ''Gräfin Mariza'' (''Countess Maritza'') is an operetta in three acts composed by Hungarian composer Emmerich Kálmán, with a German libretto by Julius Brammer and Alfred Grünwald. It premiered in Vienna on 28 February 1924 at the Theater an ...
'', ''
The Gay Hussars :''See also The Gay Hussar restaurant, and Tatárjárás (disambiguation)'' ''The Gay Hussars'' is an operetta in three acts by Emmerich Kálmán. The piece was Kalman's first operetta and a hit throughout Europe and America. The first version, i ...
'', ''
The Merry Widow ''The Merry Widow'' (german: Die lustige Witwe, links=no ) is an operetta by the Austro-Hungarian composer Franz Lehár. The librettists, Viktor Léon and Leo Stein, based the story – concerning a rich widow, and her countrymen's attempt t ...
''. During 11 seasons (1927-1938), the director Wladyslaw Stoma enlarged the repertoire of operas and operettas performed in the Bydgoszcz
Municipal Theatre A municipal theatre is a theatre Theatre or theater is a collaborative form of performing art that uses live performers, usually actors or actresses, to present the experience of a real or imagined event before a live audience in a specific ...
. In many instances, new pieces from
Berlin Berlin ( , ) is the capital and largest city of Germany by both area and population. Its 3.7 million inhabitants make it the European Union's most populous city, according to population within city limits. One of Germany's sixteen constitue ...
and the
Vienna en, Viennese , iso_code = AT-9 , registration_plate = W , postal_code_type = Postal code , postal_code = , timezone = CET , utc_offset = +1 , timezone_DST ...
have been specially translated for the Bydgoszcz institution. Wladyslaw Stoma hired professional singers and the orchestra acquired military professionals from the 61st Infantry Regiment ( pl, 61 Pułk Piechoty (II RP)) billeted in Pomorska Street. In the 1930s, the theatre staged with its own company forces (soloists, orchestra, choirs) operas ''
Halka ''Halka'' is an opera by Polish composer Stanisław Moniuszko to a libretto written by Włodzimierz Wolski, a young Warsaw poet with radical social views. It is part of the canon of Polish national operas. Performance history The first perf ...
'', ''
La Traviata ''La traviata'' (; ''The Fallen Woman'') is an opera in three acts by Giuseppe Verdi set to an Italian libretto by Francesco Maria Piave. It is based on ''La Dame aux camélias'' (1852), a play by Alexandre Dumas ''fils'' adapted from his own 18 ...
'' (1930), ''
The Tales of Hoffmann ''The Tales of Hoffmann'' (French: ) is an by Jacques Offenbach. The French libretto was written by Jules Barbier, based on three short stories by E. T. A. Hoffmann, who is the protagonist of the story. It was Offenbach's final work; he died ...
'', ''
Madama Butterfly ''Madama Butterfly'' (; ''Madame Butterfly'') is an opera in three acts (originally two) by Giacomo Puccini, with an Italian libretto by Luigi Illica and Giuseppe Giacosa. It is based on the short story "Madame Butterfly" (1898) by John Luther ...
'' (1931), ''
Carmen ''Carmen'' () is an opera in four acts by the French composer Georges Bizet. The libretto was written by Henri Meilhac and Ludovic Halévy, based on the Carmen (novella), novella of the same title by Prosper Mérimée. The opera was first perfo ...
'' (1932), in addition to host every year Warsaw Opera performances. The last musical premiere before the outbreak
World War II World War II or the Second World War, often abbreviated as WWII or WW2, was a world war that lasted from 1939 to 1945. It involved the vast majority of the world's countries—including all of the great powers—forming two opposin ...
was '' Susanna'', on April 4, 1939. Throughout the interwar period, performances were staged in the
Municipal Theatre A municipal theatre is a theatre Theatre or theater is a collaborative form of performing art that uses live performers, usually actors or actresses, to present the experience of a real or imagined event before a live audience in a specific ...
: Bydgoszcz did not possess yet any
opera house An opera house is a theatre building used for performances of opera. It usually includes a stage, an orchestra pit, audience seating, and backstage facilities for costumes and building sets. While some venues are constructed specifically for o ...
. In German occupation times, the Municipal Theatre was intended "only for Germans" and manned by a German-Latvian troupe from
Riga Riga (; lv, Rīga , liv, Rīgõ) is the capital and largest city of Latvia and is home to 605,802 inhabitants which is a third of Latvia's population. The city lies on the Gulf of Riga at the mouth of the Daugava river where it meets the Ba ...
under the direction of Heinrich Voit. The inaugural session on October 1, 1940, staged von Weber's opera ''
Der Freischütz ' ( J. 277, Op. 77 ''The Marksman'' or ''The Freeshooter'') is a German opera with spoken dialogue in three acts by Carl Maria von Weber with a libretto by Friedrich Kind, based on a story by Johann August Apel and Friedrich Laun from their 181 ...
''. The repertoire of the theater until 1944 included several musical performances (opera, operetta, ballet evenings), and also Municipal Symphony Orchestra performances. In 1944, the German scene gave way to a decorated cinema building showing propaganda films. After the end of
World War II World War II or the Second World War, often abbreviated as WWII or WW2, was a world war that lasted from 1939 to 1945. It involved the vast majority of the world's countries—including all of the great powers—forming two opposin ...
, efforts were made to create a permanent Opera facility in Bydgoszcz, but despite large popular audience, the initiative did not get approval from the authorities, which did not believed in the success of the project. To overcome the situation, opera sessions were held by the Pomeranian Symphony Orchestra, together with Bydgoszcz Choirs, to perform opera overtures, fragments of orchestral and choral opera.


''Opera Studio''

''Opera Studio'' ( pl, Studio Operowe), created on December 15, 1955, at the initiative of the Music Society. "I. J. Paderewski", was the first step towards a professional opera theater in Bydgoszcz. The initiator of the project was Felicia Krysiewicz, a singer, pianist and animator of musical life in Bydgoszcz. In January 1956, an agreement for a working structure was reached with the cooperation of
Pomeranian Philharmonic , native_name_lang = , image = File:Bdg Filharmonia fr 1 07-2013.jpg , image_size = 300px , image_alt = Pomeranian Philharmonic Bydgoszcz , image_caption = Pomeranian Philharmonic in Bydgoszcz , coor ...
, ''Arion'' choir in Bydgoszcz and the Social Music and Ballet department: orchestra was directed by Zdzislaw Wendyński, the choir by Antoni Rybka and the ballet by Raymond Sobiesiak. In May 1956, the ''Citizens' Committee for the Creation of Musical Theatre'' was established under the lead of Kazimierz Maludziński. On September 21, 1956, the inauguration of the ''Opera Studio'' premiered
Stanisław Moniuszko Stanisław Moniuszko (; May 5, 1819 – June 4, 1872) was a Polish composer, conductor and teacher. He wrote many popular art songs and operas, and his music is filled with patriotic folk themes of the peoples of the former Polish–Lithuania ...
's ''Flis'' and '' Verbum nobile'', and
Karol Kurpiński Karol Kazimierz Kurpiński (March 6, 1785September 18, 1857) was a Polish composer, conductor and pedagogue. He was a representative of late classicism and a member of the Warsaw Society of Friends of Learning (Polish: ''Towarzystwo Warszaws ...
's
ballet Ballet () is a type of performance dance that originated during the Italian Renaissance in the fifteenth century and later developed into a concert dance form in France and Russia. It has since become a widespread and highly technical form of ...
s ''The Marriage Fathers'' ( pl, Wesele w Ojcowie), with 150 people, including 20 solo-singers, 30
ballet Ballet () is a type of performance dance that originated during the Italian Renaissance in the fifteenth century and later developed into a concert dance form in France and Russia. It has since become a widespread and highly technical form of ...
dancers, 40 orchestra players and 60
chorus Chorus may refer to: Music * Chorus (song) or refrain, line or lines that are repeated in music or in verse * Chorus effect, the perception of similar sounds from multiple sources as a single, richer sound * Chorus form, song in which all verse ...
singers. In 1958 was created an institution called ''Bydgoszcz Comedy Music'' ( pl, Bydgoska Komedia Muzyczna) which aim was to perform in summer time operettas and musical pieces with tailored ensembles. Led by Józef Szurka, it had realized by the end of the 1980s around 1500 performances throughout the country, mainly in small towns. ''Opera Studio'' repertoire gave the lion's share to
comic opera Comic opera, sometimes known as light opera, is a sung dramatic work of a light or comic nature, usually with a happy ending and often including spoken dialogue. Forms of comic opera first developed in late 17th-century Italy. By the 1730s, a ne ...
and operetta classics. Performances were held in the building of the Polish Theatre in Mickiewicz Alley, in various clubs and occasionally in the hall of the Pomeranian House of Art. During its four-year activity, ''Opera Studio'' gave 10 premieres and around 400 performances, including 34 outside
Bydgoszcz Bydgoszcz ( , , ; german: Bromberg) is a city in northern Poland, straddling the meeting of the River Vistula with its left-bank tributary, the Brda. With a city population of 339,053 as of December 2021 and an urban agglomeration with more ...
( Torun, Grudziadz,
Inowrocław Inowrocław (; german: Hohensalza; before 1904: Inowrazlaw; archaic: Jungleslau) is a city in central Poland with a total population of 70,713 in December 2021. It is situated in the Kuyavian-Pomeranian Voivodeship since 1999, previously in the By ...
,
Świecie Świecie (; german: Schwetz) is a town in northern Poland with 25,968 inhabitants (2006), situated in Kuyavian-Pomeranian Voivodeship (since 1999); it was in Bydgoszcz Voivodeship from 1975 to 1998. It is the capital of Świecie County. Locatio ...
) which attracted an audience of 22 000. In 1958, thanks to minister credits, full-time soloists were engaged, as well as half-time choir, ballet and administration individuals. On April 10, 1958, the first
ballet Ballet () is a type of performance dance that originated during the Italian Renaissance in the fifteenth century and later developed into a concert dance form in France and Russia. It has since become a widespread and highly technical form of ...
was played, ''
The Nutcracker ''The Nutcracker'' ( rus, Щелкунчик, Shchelkunchik, links=no ) is an 1892 two-act ballet (""; russian: балет-феерия, link=no, ), originally choreographed by Marius Petipa and Lev Ivanov with a score by Pyotr Ilyich Tchaiko ...
'' by
Tchaikovsky Pyotr Ilyich Tchaikovsky , group=n ( ; 7 May 1840 – 6 November 1893) was a Russian composer of the Romantic period. He was the first Russian composer whose music would make a lasting impression internationally. He wrote some of the most popu ...
, and on July 2, Offenbach's operetta ''
Orpheus in the Underworld ''Orpheus in the Underworld'' and ''Orpheus in Hell'' are English names for (), a comic opera with music by Jacques Offenbach and words by Hector Crémieux and Ludovic Halévy. It was first performed as a two-act " opéra bouffon" at the Thé ...
''. ''Opera Studio'' was renamed on March 3, 1959, ''Musical Theatre of Opera and Operetta'' ( pl, Teatr Muzyczny Opery i Operetki), so as to meet cultural expectations of the inhabitants of the entire Bydgoszcz Voivodeship. A year later, on March 1, 1960, the institution was nationalized. In 1963, the ''Musical Theatre of Opera and Operetta'' had then its own orchestra established, putting an end to the use of musicians from the Pomeranian Philharmonic.


State Opera and Operetta in Bydgoszcz

Bydgoszcz musical scene, once nationalised, changed its name several times: ''Opera and Operetta'' (1964), ''National Opera'' (1980), ''Opera Nova'' (1990), and from 1996, ''Opera Nova - State Opera in Bydgoszcz''. Until the mid-1990s, the institution did not have its own facility: it used the Pomeranian Art House building and three times a week staged in Polish Theatre in Bydgoszcz. In spite of these unusual conditions, the company gained there its first experience and several artists who started here, appeared later on national stages in
Warsaw Warsaw ( pl, Warszawa, ), officially the Capital City of Warsaw,, abbreviation: ''m.st. Warszawa'' is the capital and largest city of Poland. The metropolis stands on the River Vistula in east-central Poland, and its population is officia ...
, Lodz or Poznan: Barbara Zagórzanka (soprano), Lidia Skowron, Bożena Kinasz-Mikołajczak, Bożena Betley, Elżbieta Hoffmann, Monika Olkisz-Chabros (soprano) Henryk Kłosiński (tenor), Bronisław Pekowski (bass-baritone), and others. Besides, the troupe hosted the greatest opera artists: Maria Foltyn (1960), Antonina Kawecka (1962), Bogna Sokorska (1960), Krystyna Szczepańska (1964),
Teresa Żylis-Gara Teresa Żylis-Gara (23 January 1930 – 28 August 2021) was a Polish operatic soprano who enjoyed a major international career from the 1950s through the 1990s. She made her stage debut at the Opera Krakowska in 1958 in the title role of Moni ...
(1959),
Wiesław Ochman Wiesław Ochman (; born 6 February 1937) is a Polish tenor. Life and career In 1960, he graduated from the AGH University of Science and Technology in Kraków. Ochman began learning voice under the direction of Gustaw Serafin in Kraków (1955–1 ...
(1965), Bernard Ładysz (1960), Bogdan Paprocki (1962), Ryszard Tarasiewicz (1970) Marcin Bronikowski (1994, 2012). The Bydgoszcz opera executed works by contemporary composers, who had their world premieres: musicals ''Hel'' of Jerzy Lawiny-Świętochowski and Ryszard Damrosz (1965), opera ''Przemysław II'' by Henryk Swolkień (1986), ballets ''Anna Karenina'' by Radion Shchedrin (1979), Bernadett Matuszczak's ''Wild swans'' (1992) and Bogdan Pawlowski's ''Puss in boots'' (1997). Many companies from East and West countries came to Bydgoszcz stage and Opera Nova ensembles toured abroad, mainly to
Western Europe Western Europe is the western region of Europe. The region's countries and territories vary depending on context. The concept of "the West" appeared in Europe in juxtaposition to "the East" and originally applied to the ancient Mediterranean ...
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France France (), officially the French Republic ( ), is a country primarily located in Western Europe. It also comprises of Overseas France, overseas regions and territories in the Americas and the Atlantic Ocean, Atlantic, Pacific Ocean, Pac ...
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Germany Germany,, officially the Federal Republic of Germany, is a country in Central Europe. It is the second most populous country in Europe after Russia, and the most populous member state of the European Union. Germany is situated betwe ...
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Malta Malta ( , , ), officially the Republic of Malta ( mt, Repubblika ta' Malta ), is an island country in the Mediterranean Sea. It consists of an archipelago, between Italy and Libya, and is often considered a part of Southern Europe. It lies ...
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Belgium Belgium, ; french: Belgique ; german: Belgien officially the Kingdom of Belgium, is a country in Northwestern Europe. The country is bordered by the Netherlands to the north, Germany to the east, Luxembourg to the southeast, France to th ...
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Austria Austria, , bar, Östareich officially the Republic of Austria, is a country in the southern part of Central Europe, lying in the Eastern Alps. It is a federation of nine states, one of which is the capital, Vienna, the most populous ...
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Switzerland ). Swiss law does not designate a ''capital'' as such, but the federal parliament and government are installed in Bern, while other federal institutions, such as the federal courts, are in other cities (Bellinzona, Lausanne, Luzern, Neuchâtel ...
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), performing at numerous opera festivals. These foreign contacts resulted in an enhanced cooperation with opera music centers in Europe. In the 1960s, operas and operettas were performed far out Bydgoszcz Voivodeship, in places like
Piła Piła (german: Schneidemühl) is a city in northwestern Poland and the capital of Piła County, situated in the Greater Poland Voivodeship. Its population as of 2021 was 71,846, making it the third-largest city in the voivodeship after Poznań ...
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Wałcz Wałcz (pronounced ; german: Deutsch Krone) is a county town in Wałcz County of the West Pomeranian Voivodeship in northwestern Poland. During the years 1975 to 1998, the city was administratively part of the Piła Voivodeship. Granted city r ...
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Konin Konin (german: Kunau) is a city in central Poland, on the Warta River. It is the capital of Konin County and is located within the Greater Poland Voivodeship. Prior to 1999, it was the capital of the Konin Voivodeship (1975–1998). In 2021 the p ...
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Płock Płock (pronounced ) is a city in central Poland, on the Vistula river, in the Masovian Voivodeship. According to the data provided by GUS on 31 December 2021, there were 116,962 inhabitants in the city. Its full ceremonial name, according to the ...
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Żary Żary (pronounced , german: Sorau, dsb, Žarow) is a town in western Poland with 37,502 inhabitants (2019), situated in the Lubusz Voivodeship since 1999. Previously it was located within Zielona Góra Voivodeship (1975–1998). It is the admi ...
. Most popular couple on stage was then Barbara Zagórzanka and Henryk Herdzin. In 1971, ''Bydgoszcz Opera and Operetta'' had cumulated 2200 performances watched by 1.2 million people. Guest soloists from socialist countries and outstanding Polish artists were invited, such as: Bernard Ładysz, Bogdan Paprocki, Antonina Kawecka, Krystyna Szczepańska and Wieslaw Ochman. The idea to build a new seat for the Opera company in Bydgoszcz appeared in 1960 and was strongly supported by the then director of Pomeranian Philharmonic, Andrzej Szwalbe. It was the only solution to avoid performances being scattered in several smaller stages all around the city (Polish Theatre,
Chamber Theatre Chamber theater is a method of adapting literary works to the stage using a maximal amount of the work's original text and often minimal and suggestive settings. In chamber theater, narration is included in the performed text and the narrator migh ...
, Pomeranian House of Arts or movie theatre). These scenes were not fitted at all for soloists, choir, ballet and orchestra. In 1973, building started in a picturesque bend of the Brda river. Completion of the facility kept being delayed by high costs of construction and the deficit in materials and contractors. In the 1980s, facing budget cuts for culture, work came to a halt: some attempts were made to use the unfinished building, and realize cultural activities, like the first Bydgoszcz Opera Festival in 1994. Bydgoszcz Opera Festival was a good omen for the future Opera Nova. Staged operas, operettas and ballets helped to appreciate the capabilities of exposing the great forms of stage in a new building, the acoustic qualities of the auditorium, the technical capacities of the scene and the skills of the orchestra, choir and ballet. In 1996, the Opera Nova employed 170 people, including 23 soloists, 30
ballet Ballet () is a type of performance dance that originated during the Italian Renaissance in the fifteenth century and later developed into a concert dance form in France and Russia. It has since become a widespread and highly technical form of ...
dancers, 44
chorus Chorus may refer to: Music * Chorus (song) or refrain, line or lines that are repeated in music or in verse * Chorus effect, the perception of similar sounds from multiple sources as a single, richer sound * Chorus form, song in which all verse ...
singers, 56 musicians and others (conductors, directors...). The repertoire comprised 18 pieces: 8
opera Opera is a form of theatre in which music is a fundamental component and dramatic roles are taken by singers. Such a "work" (the literal translation of the Italian word "opera") is typically a collaboration between a composer and a librett ...
s, 4
operetta Operetta is a form of theatre and a genre of light opera. It includes spoken dialogue, songs, and dances. It is lighter than opera in terms of its music, orchestral size, length of the work, and at face value, subject matter. Apart from its s ...
s, 4
ballet Ballet () is a type of performance dance that originated during the Italian Renaissance in the fifteenth century and later developed into a concert dance form in France and Russia. It has since become a widespread and highly technical form of ...
s and 2 musicals. After 1996, the company realised about 200 performances, including 110
Bydgoszcz Bydgoszcz ( , , ; german: Bromberg) is a city in northern Poland, straddling the meeting of the River Vistula with its left-bank tributary, the Brda. With a city population of 339,053 as of December 2021 and an urban agglomeration with more ...
and more than 90 abroad (mainly in
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and
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). Since 1996-1997, Opera Nova performances attract approximately 40 000 per season. On October 21, 2006, the Bydgoszcz
Opera House An opera house is a theatre building used for performances of opera. It usually includes a stage, an orchestra pit, audience seating, and backstage facilities for costumes and building sets. While some venues are constructed specifically for o ...
celebrated the 50th anniversary of the opera company in the city, together with the official completion of the Opera Nova building.


Performances

In May 2016, Opera Nova had staged the most famous works of
opera Opera is a form of theatre in which music is a fundamental component and dramatic roles are taken by singers. Such a "work" (the literal translation of the Italian word "opera") is typically a collaboration between a composer and a librett ...
,
operetta Operetta is a form of theatre and a genre of light opera. It includes spoken dialogue, songs, and dances. It is lighter than opera in terms of its music, orchestral size, length of the work, and at face value, subject matter. Apart from its s ...
,
ballet Ballet () is a type of performance dance that originated during the Italian Renaissance in the fifteenth century and later developed into a concert dance form in France and Russia. It has since become a widespread and highly technical form of ...
and
musical Musical is the adjective of music. Musical may also refer to: * Musical theatre, a performance art that combines songs, spoken dialogue, acting and dance * Musical film and television, a genre of film and television that incorporates into the narr ...
since its inception, among others: * ''
Carmen ''Carmen'' () is an opera in four acts by the French composer Georges Bizet. The libretto was written by Henri Meilhac and Ludovic Halévy, based on the Carmen (novella), novella of the same title by Prosper Mérimée. The opera was first perfo ...
'' (1964,1991,1999) * ''
Faust Faust is the protagonist of a classic German legend based on the historical Johann Georg Faust ( 1480–1540). The erudite Faust is highly successful yet dissatisfied with his life, which leads him to make a pact with the Devil at a crossroads ...
'' (1960,2015) * ''
The Tales of Hoffmann ''The Tales of Hoffmann'' (French: ) is an by Jacques Offenbach. The French libretto was written by Jules Barbier, based on three short stories by E. T. A. Hoffmann, who is the protagonist of the story. It was Offenbach's final work; he died ...
'' (1959,1998) * ''
Manon ''Manon'' () is an ''opéra comique'' in five acts by Jules Massenet to a French libretto by Henri Meilhac and Philippe Gille, based on the 1731 novel '' L'histoire du chevalier des Grieux et de Manon Lescaut'' by the Abbé Prévost. It was first ...
'' (1979) * ''
La Bohème ''La bohème'' (; ) is an opera in four acts,Puccini called the divisions ''quadri'', ''tableaux'' or "images", rather than ''atti'' (acts). composed by Giacomo Puccini between 1893 and 1895 to an Italian libretto by Luigi Illica and Giuseppe G ...
'' (1978,2011) * ''
Tosca ''Tosca'' is an opera in three acts by Giacomo Puccini to an Italian libretto by Luigi Illica and Giuseppe Giacosa. It premiered at the Teatro dell'Opera di Roma, Teatro Costanzi in Rome on 14 January 1900. The work, based on Victorien Sardou's 1 ...
'' (1966,1984,2004) * ''
Madama Butterfly ''Madama Butterfly'' (; ''Madame Butterfly'') is an opera in three acts (originally two) by Giacomo Puccini, with an Italian libretto by Luigi Illica and Giuseppe Giacosa. It is based on the short story "Madame Butterfly" (1898) by John Luther ...
'' (1961,1981) * ''
Suor Angelica ''Suor Angelica'' (''Sister Angelica'') is an opera in one act by Giacomo Puccini to an original Italian libretto by Giovacchino Forzano. It is the second opera of the trio of operas known as ''Il trittico'' (''The Triptych''). It received its wor ...
'' (1992) * ''
Gianni Schicchi () is a comic opera in one act by Giacomo Puccini to an Italian libretto by Giovacchino Forzano, composed in 1917–18. The libretto is based on an incident mentioned in Dante's ''Divine Comedy''. The work is the third and final part of Puccin ...
'' (1992) * ''
Turandot ''Turandot'' (; see below) is an opera in three acts by Giacomo Puccini, posthumously completed by Franco Alfano in 1926, and set to a libretto in Italian by Giuseppe Adami and Renato Simoni. ''Turandot'' best-known aria is "Nessun dorma", whi ...
'' (1996) * ''
The Barber of Seville ''The Barber of Seville, or The Useless Precaution'' ( it, Il barbiere di Siviglia, ossia L'inutile precauzione ) is an ''opera buffa'' in two acts composed by Gioachino Rossini with an Italian libretto by Cesare Sterbini. The libretto was base ...
'' (1957,1972,1987,2002) * ''
La Cenerentola ' (''Cinderella, or Goodness Triumphant'') is an operatic ''dramma giocoso'' in two acts by Gioachino Rossini. The libretto was written by Jacopo Ferretti, based on the libretti written by Charles-Guillaume Étienne for the opera '' Cendrillon'' ...
'' (1967,1985,2009,2015) * ''
The Magic Flute ''The Magic Flute'' (German: , ), K. 620, is an opera in two acts by Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart to a German libretto by Emanuel Schikaneder. The work is in the form of a ''Singspiel'', a popular form during the time it was written that inclu ...
'' (1971,1994) * ''
Don Giovanni ''Don Giovanni'' (; K. 527; Vienna (1788) title: , literally ''The Rake Punished, or Don Giovanni'') is an opera in two acts with music by Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart to an Italian libretto by Lorenzo Da Ponte. Its subject is a centuries-old Spanis ...
'' (1997) * ''
The Marriage of Figaro ''The Marriage of Figaro'' ( it, Le nozze di Figaro, links=no, ), K. 492, is a ''commedia per musica'' (opera buffa) in four acts composed in 1786 by Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart, with an Italian libretto written by Lorenzo Da Ponte. It premie ...
'' (1979) * ''
Der Schauspieldirektor ' (''The Impresario''), K. 486, is a comic ''singspiel'' by Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart, set to a German libretto by Gottlieb Stephanie, an Austrian ''Schauspieldirektor''. Originally, it was written because of "the imperial command" of the Holy Roma ...
'' (1970,1991) * ''
Eugene Onegin ''Eugene Onegin, A Novel in Verse'' ( pre-reform Russian: ; post-reform rus, Евгений Оне́гин, ромáн в стихáх, p=jɪvˈɡʲenʲɪj ɐˈnʲeɡʲɪn, r=Yevgeniy Onegin, roman v stikhakh) is a novel in verse written by Ale ...
'' (1962,1980) * ''
Prince Igor ''Prince Igor'' ( rus, Князь Игорь, Knyáz Ígor ) is an opera in four acts with a prologue, written and composed by Alexander Borodin. The composer adapted the libretto from the Ancient Russian epic '' The Lay of Igor's Host'', which re ...
'' (1975) * ''
Nabucco ''Nabucco'' (, short for Nabucodonosor ; en, " Nebuchadnezzar") is an Italian-language opera in four acts composed in 1841 by Giuseppe Verdi to an Italian libretto by Temistocle Solera. The libretto is based on the biblical books of 2 Kings, ...
'' (1995) * ''
La Traviata ''La traviata'' (; ''The Fallen Woman'') is an opera in three acts by Giuseppe Verdi set to an Italian libretto by Francesco Maria Piave. It is based on ''La Dame aux camélias'' (1852), a play by Alexandre Dumas ''fils'' adapted from his own 18 ...
'' (1964,1981,1998,2015) * ''
Rigoletto ''Rigoletto'' is an opera in three acts by Giuseppe Verdi. The Italian libretto was written by Francesco Maria Piave based on the 1832 play ''Le roi s'amuse'' by Victor Hugo. Despite serious initial problems with the Austrian censors who had cont ...
'' (1967,1986,2014) * ''
Il trovatore ''Il trovatore'' ('The Troubadour') is an opera in four acts by Giuseppe Verdi to an Italian libretto largely written by Salvadore Cammarano, based on the play ''El trovador'' (1836) by Antonio García Gutiérrez. It was García Gutiérrez's mos ...
'' (1973) * ''
Un ballo in maschera ''Un ballo in maschera'' ''(A Masked Ball)'' is an 1859 opera in three acts by Giuseppe Verdi. The text, by Antonio Somma, was based on Eugène Scribe's libretto for Daniel Auber's 1833 five act opera, '' Gustave III, ou Le bal masqué''. The ...
'' (1984) * ''
Aida ''Aida'' (or ''Aïda'', ) is an opera in four acts by Giuseppe Verdi to an Italian libretto by Antonio Ghislanzoni. Set in the Old Kingdom of Egypt, it was commissioned by Cairo's Khedivial Opera House and had its première there on 24 December ...
'' (1968,1985) * ''
Don Carlos ''Don Carlos'' is a five-act grand opera composed by Giuseppe Verdi to a French-language libretto by Joseph Méry and Camille du Locle, based on the dramatic play '' Don Carlos, Infant von Spanien'' (''Don Carlos, Infante of Spain'') by Friedri ...
'' (1972,2016) * ''
Otello ''Otello'' () is an opera in four acts by Giuseppe Verdi to an Italian libretto by Arrigo Boito, based on Shakespeare's play ''Othello''. It was Verdi's penultimate opera, first performed at the Teatro alla Scala, Milan, on 5 February 1887. Th ...
'' (1989) * ''
The Flying Dutchman The ''Flying Dutchman'' ( nl, De Vliegende Hollander) is a legendary ghost ship, allegedly never able to make port, but doomed to sail the seven seas forever. The myth is likely to have originated from the 17th-century Golden Age of the Dut ...
''(1977) * ''
The Haunted Manor ''The Haunted Manor'' ( pl, Straszny dwór) is an opera in four acts composed by Polish composer Stanisław Moniuszko in 1861–1864. The libretto was written by . Despite being a romance and a comedy, it has strong Polish patriotic undertones ...
'' (1958,1976,1994) * ''
Halka ''Halka'' is an opera by Polish composer Stanisław Moniuszko to a libretto written by Włodzimierz Wolski, a young Warsaw poet with radical social views. It is part of the canon of Polish national operas. Performance history The first perf ...
'' (1961,1981,2013) * '' The Countess'' (1960,1982) * ''
Swan Lake ''Swan Lake'' ( rus, Лебеди́ное о́зеро, r=Lebedínoye ózero, p=lʲɪbʲɪˈdʲinəjə ˈozʲɪrə, link=no ), Op. 20, is a ballet composed by Russian composer Pyotr Ilyich Tchaikovsky in 1875–76. Despite its initial failur ...
'' (1972) * ''
The Nutcracker ''The Nutcracker'' ( rus, Щелкунчик, Shchelkunchik, links=no ) is an 1892 two-act ballet (""; russian: балет-феерия, link=no, ), originally choreographed by Marius Petipa and Lev Ivanov with a score by Pyotr Ilyich Tchaiko ...
'' (1958,1986,2015) * '' The sleeping Beauty '' (1994) * ''
Don Quixote is a Spanish epic novel by Miguel de Cervantes. Originally published in two parts, in 1605 and 1615, its full title is ''The Ingenious Gentleman Don Quixote of La Mancha'' or, in Spanish, (changing in Part 2 to ). A founding work of Wester ...
'' (1996) * ''
The Gypsy Baron ''The Gypsy Baron'' () is an operetta in three acts by Johann Strauss II which premiered at the Theater an der Wien on 24 October 1885. Its German libretto by Ignaz Schnitzer is based on the unpublished 1883 story ''Saffi'' by Mór Jókai. Jokai ...
'' (1957,1980,1991) * ''
Die Fledermaus ' (, ''The Flittermouse'' or ''The Bat'', sometimes called ''The Revenge of the Bat'') is an operetta composed by Johann Strauss II to a German libretto by Karl Haffner and Richard Genée, which premiered in 1874. Background The original ...
'' (1961,1982,1995) * ''
Eine Nacht in Venedig '' Eine Nacht in Venedig '' (''A Night in Venice'') is an operetta in three acts by Johann Strauss II. Its libretto was by F. Zell and Richard Genée based on ''Le Château Trompette'' by Eugène Cormon and Richard Genée. The farcical, romanti ...
'' (1985) * ''
The Land of Smiles ''The Land of Smiles'' (German: ') is a 1929 romantic operetta in three acts by Franz Lehár. The German language libretto was by and Fritz Löhner-Beda. The performance duration is about 100 minutes. This was one of Lehár's later works, and h ...
'' (1970,1978,1994) * ''
The Merry Widow ''The Merry Widow'' (german: Die lustige Witwe, links=no ) is an operetta by the Austro-Hungarian composer Franz Lehár. The librettists, Viktor Léon and Leo Stein, based the story – concerning a rich widow, and her countrymen's attempt t ...
'' (1966,1988) * ''
Orpheus in the Underworld ''Orpheus in the Underworld'' and ''Orpheus in Hell'' are English names for (), a comic opera with music by Jacques Offenbach and words by Hector Crémieux and Ludovic Halévy. It was first performed as a two-act " opéra bouffon" at the Thé ...
'' (1958,1983,1991 - adaptation under the title "''Who wanted to kidnap Euridice?''") * ''
Fiddler on the Roof ''Fiddler on the Roof'' is a musical with music by Jerry Bock, lyrics by Sheldon Harnick, and book by Joseph Stein, set in the Pale of Settlement of Imperial Russia in or around 1905. It is based on ''Tevye and his Daughters'' (or ''Tevye the ...
'' (1992) * ''
My Fair Lady ''My Fair Lady'' is a musical based on George Bernard Shaw's 1913 play ''Pygmalion'', with a book and lyrics by Alan Jay Lerner and music by Frederick Loewe. The story concerns Eliza Doolittle, a Cockney flower girl who takes speech lessons f ...
'' (1993,2008,2016).


Opera House


History

The idea of a building dedicated to the Bydgoszcz Opera dates back to the 1950s and 1960s, soon after the nationalization of the institution. The first initiative came from Andrzej Schwalbe, then director of the Pomeranian Philharmonic: for him it was clear from the start that the co-existence in the long run under one roof of two companies and orchestras could not achieve the needed artistic stability. Rationale was the successful attendance at opera performances and the lack of large auditoriums in the city, capable of satisfying the growing artistic aspirations of the public. In 1961, a meeting between representatives of ''Bydgoszcz Music Society'', Musical Theatre, Pomeranian Philharmonic, administrative authorities and architects, agreed to launch the project of a musical theater with two scenes and an art café. Different locations were considered for the future opera house: the place of the former
Municipal Theatre A municipal theatre is a theatre Theatre or theater is a collaborative form of performing art that uses live performers, usually actors or actresses, to present the experience of a real or imagined event before a live audience in a specific ...
, or Ludowy Park on Jagiellońska street, or again on the heights of Bydgoszcz. Finally the area chosen was the one between Focha street, Theatre square and Brda river. There have been standing large granaries -"Royal granaries" ( pl, spichrze królewski)- which burnt down in the 1960s. Only buildings left in the 1960s were military facilities (warehouses, mess, garrison command). In May, the Association of Polish Architects announced a national contest to "''develop the architectural design of the building of Musical Theatre and Drama in Bydgoszcz''". Jury comprised architects of
Bydgoszcz Bydgoszcz ( , , ; german: Bromberg) is a city in northern Poland, straddling the meeting of the River Vistula with its left-bank tributary, the Brda. With a city population of 339,053 as of December 2021 and an urban agglomeration with more ...
,
Gdańsk Gdańsk ( , also ; ; csb, Gduńsk;Stefan Ramułt, ''Słownik języka pomorskiego, czyli kaszubskiego'', Kraków 1893, Gdańsk 2003, ISBN 83-87408-64-6. , Johann Georg Theodor Grässe, ''Orbis latinus oder Verzeichniss der lateinischen Benen ...
, Poznan,
Warsaw Warsaw ( pl, Warszawa, ), officially the Capital City of Warsaw,, abbreviation: ''m.st. Warszawa'' is the capital and largest city of Poland. The metropolis stands on the River Vistula in east-central Poland, and its population is officia ...
, and representatives from the Ministry of Culture and Art and the Pomeranian Philharmonic in Bydgoszcz. The prize winner was a young architect, Joseph Chmiel, who was also the author of the project for the Musical Theatre in
Gdynia Gdynia ( ; ; german: Gdingen (currently), (1939–1945); csb, Gdiniô, , , ) is a city in northern Poland and a seaport on the Baltic Sea coast. With a population of 243,918, it is the List of cities in Poland, 12th-largest city in Poland and ...
. The project presented an edifice composed of four intersecting circles, integrated into the meander of the Brda river. In 1962, the design phase of the building started, supported by the
Gdańsk University of Technology The Gdańsk University of Technology (Gdańsk Tech, former ''GUT''; pl, Politechnika Gdańska) is a technical university in the Wrzeszcz borough of Gdańsk, and one of the oldest universities in Poland. It has eight faculties and with 41 fi ...
. The investment was planned in two steps, the first one from 1966 to 1971, the second stage after 1972. Contrary to expectations, construction did not start immediately, due to the delaying design work. The building has been planned to use of all modern technical capacities: extended stage depth and
proscenium A proscenium ( grc-gre, προσκήνιον, ) is the metaphorical vertical plane of space in a theatre, usually surrounded on the top and sides by a physical proscenium arch (whether or not truly "arched") and on the bottom by the stage floor ...
, designed trapdoor and an external platform, which could lift the stage up to height meters. A panoramic scene
portal Portal often refers to: * Portal (architecture), an opening in a wall of a building, gate or fortification, or the extremities (ends) of a tunnel Portal may also refer to: Arts and entertainment Gaming * ''Portal'' (series), two video games ...
was designed, with a fireproof
front curtain A front curtain, also known as a (front-of-)house curtain, act curtain, grand drape, main curtain or drape, proscenium curtain, or main rag is the stage curtain or curtains at the very front of a theatrical stage, separating it from the house. Th ...
, allowing, if necessary, an increased stage space. In this manner, the auditorium could be able function as a theatre scene and a conference stage. The
auditorium An auditorium is a room built to enable an audience to hear and watch performances. For movie theatres, the number of auditoria (or auditoriums) is expressed as the number of screens. Auditoria can be found in entertainment venues, community ...
itself has been designed on the model of a
theatre of ancient Greece Ancient Greek theatre was a theatrical culture that flourished in ancient Greece from 700 BC. The city-state of Athens, which became a significant cultural, political, and religious place during this period, was its centre, where the theatre was ...
, without any partition between loges and
balconies A balcony (from it, balcone, "scaffold") is a platform projecting from the wall of a building, supported by columns or Corbel, console brackets, and enclosed with a balustrade, usually above the ground floor. Types The traditional Malta, Malte ...
, so that the audience could feel closer to the artists. In 1973, building permits were issued and handed over to ''Budopol'', the municipal firm in charge of the work. From 1973 to 1976, National Company "Hydrobudowa 9" from Poznan dug into the soil 1100 concrete piles. In the following years, design assumptions changed: from four intersecting rings, plans went down to two then eventually three. Issues to get building materials were recurrent and in 1977, at the time to secure the investment Polish
Prime Minister A prime minister, premier or chief of cabinet is the head of the cabinet and the leader of the ministers in the executive branch of government, often in a parliamentary or semi-presidential system. Under those systems, a prime minister is not ...
Piotr Jaroszewicz Gen. Piotr Jaroszewicz (; 8 October 1909 – 1 September 1992) was a post World War II Polish political figure. He served as the Prime Minister of Poland between 1970 and 1980. After he was forced out of office he lived quietly in a suburb of W ...
canceled the project for economical reasons. However, local First Secretary of the
Polish United Workers' Party The Polish United Workers' Party ( pl, Polska Zjednoczona Partia Robotnicza; ), commonly abbreviated to PZPR, was the communist party which ruled the Polish People's Republic as a one-party state from 1948 to 1989. The PZPR had led two other lega ...
in Bydgoszcz, Józef Majchrzak, decided to overrule Warsaw's decision by continuing the construction. Although works were expected to end in 1982, the economic crisis of the 1980s reduced severely state funds allocated for culture, interrupting the construction. Building became a symbol of "''eternal investments''" and few people believed in its completion. It is only in 1985, thanks to an increased effort of provincial administrative authorities and cultural lobbies, that the continuation of the construction was insured through the National Culture Development Fund. In 1986, former military warehouses and Headquarters Garrison were at last demolished, getting the work accelerated. Between 1990 and 1994, the main body of the edifice housing the auditorium and the main stage was glazed, and the work moved to dressing rooms and rehearsal rooms, all of which was carried out by a specialized Company, "''Teatr''" from
Warsaw Warsaw ( pl, Warszawa, ), officially the Capital City of Warsaw,, abbreviation: ''m.st. Warszawa'' is the capital and largest city of Poland. The metropolis stands on the River Vistula in east-central Poland, and its population is officia ...
. With the end of communist era, the Fund for the Development of Culture was liquidated, putting another threat to postpone the completion of the building. Construction was then focusing on the third circle, planned to host offices (
TVP3 Bydgoszcz TVP3 Bydgoszcz is one of the regional branches of the TVP, Poland's public television broadcaster. It serves the entire Kuyavian-Pomeranian Voivodeship Kuyavian-Pomeranian Voivodeship, also known as Cuiavian-Pomeranian Voivodeship or simply Kuj ...
), a convention center and restaurants. Around this date, initiative was taken to use the raw building to organize the first ''Bydgoszcz Opera Festival'': main points were to draw attention of the public and decision makers on this important project and to raise funds for its achievement. The first ''Bydgoszcz Opera Festival'' took place from 17 to 30 April 1994, in the harsh surroundings of the building. The second half of 1990s brought a major positive change in the socio-political climate, helping out with investment, mainly from the provincial authorities. The construction of the Opera Nova in Bydgoszcz gained modern architectural solutions, new technologies, materials and theatrical capacities. The final stage of the investment occurred in the years 2002 to 2008: government of
Kuyavian-Pomeranian Voivodeship Kuyavian-Pomeranian Voivodeship, also known as Cuiavian-Pomeranian Voivodeship or simply Kujawsko-Pomorskie, or Kujawy-Pomerania Province ( pl, województwo kujawsko-pomorskie ) is one of the 16 voivodeships (provinces) into which Poland is divide ...
decided to change the function of the third circle (originally, the area planned for production and decorations storage), so as to create a large convention center, where could be organized symposiums, meetings and congresses. Rationale behind such a decision was money related since the convention center approximately cost 20 million against 60 million for the initial project. The building officially started operating on October 21, 2006, with a gala celebrating the 50th anniversary of the Opera activity in Bydgoszcz. Construction of Bydgoszcz opera house lasted 34 years and 5 months and is considered one of the longest building projects for a theater in post-war Poland. The
Lublin Lublin is the ninth-largest city in Poland and the second-largest city of historical Lesser Poland. It is the capital and the center of Lublin Voivodeship with a population of 336,339 (December 2021). Lublin is the largest Polish city east of t ...
Musical theater, however, is second to none in this contest, since its project started in 1974 and has only been completed on November 22, 2015. In the years following its achievement, the Opera Nova has been used as a Regional Convention Center, organizing a number of cultural events and festivals. Since 2010, it houses the international Film festival Camerimage. To be able to accommodate the growing success of ''Camerimage'', a project of extension is currently underway. A fourth ''lobe'' to the actual building will be added, comprising a projection room for about 350 seats and an exhibition centre.


Architecture

The building, by its own size, stands out in the architectural environment of the city centre: it has 6 levels, covers an area of 24 432 m2, has a volume of 120 700 m3 and a height of 34.19 m. Its location along the Brda river provides an opening to the Mill Island. The building, with its three connecting circles, affords optimal conditions for the realization of opera, operetta, ballet and musicals. Because of its original shape and position by the water, Opera Nova is often compared to the Sydney Opera House. The building has an illumination light system, one of Bydgoszcz hallmark by night. The ''First Circle'' hosts the main
auditorium An auditorium is a room built to enable an audience to hear and watch performances. For movie theatres, the number of auditoria (or auditoriums) is expressed as the number of screens. Auditoria can be found in entertainment venues, community ...
for 803 people, a large stage, two rehearsal rooms - for
ballet Ballet () is a type of performance dance that originated during the Italian Renaissance in the fifteenth century and later developed into a concert dance form in France and Russia. It has since become a widespread and highly technical form of ...
and
chorus Chorus may refer to: Music * Chorus (song) or refrain, line or lines that are repeated in music or in verse * Chorus effect, the perception of similar sounds from multiple sources as a single, richer sound * Chorus form, song in which all verse ...
, costumes storing area and a chamber hall with 189 seats (beneath the auditorium). It also houses workshops (clothing, hairdressing, wigs...) The ''Second circle'' houses a ventilation chamber in the basement, on the ground floor an actor club, a large orchestra hall and a ballet rehearsal area, two floors for dressing rooms (choir and ballet), and on the top floor administration offices. The ''Third circle'' is devoted to the Opera Nova Convention Center, with two conference rooms (more than 200 seats each), allowing the organization of large symposiums or seminars. There are also the Department of Promotion (entrance from Focha Street) and the restaurant "''Maestra''".


Interiors

The large auditorium has a capacity of 803 seating places and 6 seats for disabled, the scene covers an area of 420 m2 (22 m wide and 25 m deep), and houses theatre equipment and lighting, and a revolving stage (11,80 m diameter). The scene
portal Portal often refers to: * Portal (architecture), an opening in a wall of a building, gate or fortification, or the extremities (ends) of a tunnel Portal may also refer to: Arts and entertainment Gaming * ''Portal'' (series), two video games ...
is 9,5 m high and 18 m wide. The
front curtain A front curtain, also known as a (front-of-)house curtain, act curtain, grand drape, main curtain or drape, proscenium curtain, or main rag is the stage curtain or curtains at the very front of a theatrical stage, separating it from the house. Th ...
is steel and textile made, comprising 6 layers (10 m high and 21 m wide). The hall has an appreciated acoustics, acoustic; it gives onto the Lobby (room), lobby and two mezzanines. The Chamber hall named after professor :pl:Felicia Krysiewicz, Felicia Krysiewicz, has 189 seats and 3 places for disabled. This Hall is generally used for chamber music, recitals, concerts and cinema projection. Main hall and foyer are spaces for the audience to wander during breaks. They house painting, sculpture and photography exhibitions. Behind the scenes are a number of workshops, warehouses, rehearsal rooms, dressing rooms. There is also
Poland Poland, officially the Republic of Poland, is a country in Central Europe. It is divided into 16 administrative provinces called voivodeships, covering an area of . Poland has a population of over 38 million and is the fifth-most populous ...
's largest elevator for transporting decorations and set pieces. The Restaurant Maestra is located in the third circle of the building. Its interior is decorated with pictures from Opera Nova performances and a poster collection of the ''Bydgoszcz Opera Festival''.


Surroundings

Opera Nova close neighborhood includes: * an observation deck connected to the bank of Brda river; * a footbridge joining Mill Island in Bydgoszcz, through which you can reach Mill Island in Bydgoszcz#Venice of Bydgoszcz, Venice of Bydgoszcz or the Old market ( pl, Stary Rynek); * at the bottom of Opera Nova, a summer amphitheater for 200 people giving onto the river. In 2016, a stage will be built on the river from the quay. On April 19, 2013, to celebrate the 667th anniversary of the municipal charter, city charter, a modern sculpture of ''The Archer statue in Bydgoszcz, The archer'' has been unveiled in front of the opera house, called the "New Archer" ( pl, "Łuczniczka Nova").


Conference Center

''Congress Centre Opera Nova'', occupying the third circle of the building, provides professional support for symposia, conferences, trade shows, conventions, exhibitions, anniversaries and performances of small theatrical plays. The Center houses two conference rooms ("''Manru''" and "''Fidelio''") for 300 and 220 people, five seminar rooms and a restaurant, "''Maestro''" with catering facilities. Both rooms are equipped with electrically folding stands, electro-acoustic and simultaneous translation boothes. In addition, equipment includes: * audio-visual capacities managed by touch panels * multimedia kiosks with Internet access * multimedia presentations capabilities. Combined use of the large Auditorium and the conference centre allow hosting very large gathering (up to 1,500 people).


Musical ensembles


Soloists

Opera Nova company includes more than 50 Solo (music), solo singing, singers: * 15 sopranos, * 8 mezzo-sopranos, * 15 tenors * 10 baritones, * 7 Bass (voice type), basses, along with actors, assistants, tutors and other staff personnel.


Orchestra

From 1956 to 1963, 40 musicians from Bydgoszcz Pomeranian Philharmonic were playing for each opera performance. A professional Opera Nova orchestra was established in 1963, comprising initially 36 musicians, the majority of whom were graduates from the Bydgoszcz Music Academy - "Feliks Nowowiejski". Several conductors led this group: * Zbigniew Chwedczuk * Zdzislaw Wendyński * Zygmunt Szczepanski * Zbigniew Droszcz * Włodzimierz Ormicki * Joseph Klimanka * Stanisław Renz * Adam Palka * Mieczyslaw Dondajewski * Jerzy Katlewicz * Mieczyslaw Nowakowski * Zygmunt Rychert * Boguslaw Madey * Vadim Perevoznikov * Włodzimierz Szymanski * Jerzy Wołosiuk * Ruben Silva * Maciej Figas * Piotr Wajrak * Andrzej Straszyński * Tadeusz Wojciechowski * Andrzej Knap Today, Opera Nova orchestra is 68 musicians strong, and its main conductor is the director of the Opera, Maciej Figas. Its yearly repertoire includes 32 pieces, mainly
opera Opera is a form of theatre in which music is a fundamental component and dramatic roles are taken by singers. Such a "work" (the literal translation of the Italian word "opera") is typically a collaboration between a composer and a librett ...
s,
operetta Operetta is a form of theatre and a genre of light opera. It includes spoken dialogue, songs, and dances. It is lighter than opera in terms of its music, orchestral size, length of the work, and at face value, subject matter. Apart from its s ...
s,
ballet Ballet () is a type of performance dance that originated during the Italian Renaissance in the fifteenth century and later developed into a concert dance form in France and Russia. It has since become a widespread and highly technical form of ...
s, oratorios, musicals from contemporary, popular and classical music. The orchestra always performs to accompany Opera Nova singers, as well as guest stars during galas in
Poland Poland, officially the Republic of Poland, is a country in Central Europe. It is divided into 16 administrative provinces called voivodeships, covering an area of . Poland has a population of over 38 million and is the fifth-most populous ...
and abroad.


Choir

The ''Opera Nova Choir'' was established in 1956, under the leadership of Antoni Rybka. Most of its members were recruited from the "''Arion''" choir in Bydgoszcz. Consecutive Choir directors of the Choir have been Czeslaw Kaczmarek (1982-1984), Maciej Banach (1991-1992) and Henryk Wierzchoń (1984-1991 and since 1993). Over the years the choir mastered most of the works of world literature, opera, operetta, musicals and oratorios. Currently, choir band reaches approximately 80 people. Choir is augmented to stage performances of musical works with symphony orchestras: Pomeranian Philharmonic (for ''Bydgoszcz Music Festival''), Koszalin Philharmonic and foreign. It is also involved in tours.


Ballet

''Opera Nova Ballet'' was founded in 1956, initially with 40 dancers, in majority graduated students from Bydgoszcz ballet music center. Between 1959 and 1989, the ballet ensemble had a training room in the
Chamber Theatre Chamber theater is a method of adapting literary works to the stage using a maximal amount of the work's original text and often minimal and suggestive settings. In chamber theater, narration is included in the performed text and the narrator migh ...
, then in the Pomeranian Arts House in Bydgoszcz, Pomeranian Arts House. Since the 1990s, the ballet working room is located in the building of the Opera Nova. Ballet repertoire includes around 30 works. Since its creation, the ballet premiered 6 times in
Poland Poland, officially the Republic of Poland, is a country in Central Europe. It is divided into 16 administrative provinces called voivodeships, covering an area of . Poland has a population of over 38 million and is the fifth-most populous ...
for ''
The Nutcracker ''The Nutcracker'' ( rus, Щелкунчик, Shchelkunchik, links=no ) is an 1892 two-act ballet (""; russian: балет-феерия, link=no, ), originally choreographed by Marius Petipa and Lev Ivanov with a score by Pyotr Ilyich Tchaiko ...
'' (1958), ''The King of the winds'' ( pl, Król wichrów) by Feliks Nowowiejski (1963), ''Legend of love'' (russian: Легенда о любви) by Arif Malikov, Melikov (1967), ''The Tale of the Stone Flower (Prokofiev), The Tale of the Stone Flower'' (russian: Сказ о каменном цветке) by Sergei Prokofiev (1970), ''Anna Karenina'' by Rodion Shchedrin (1979) and a world premiere, the fairy tale ballet ''Puss in boots'' by Bogdan Pawlowski (1997). In 2011, ballet company was about 50 people strong, led by Ilona Jaświn-Madejska. From 1995, with the creation of the Opera Nova Ballet Studio, children and youth groups follow shortened course ballet school. Some of their members are involved in performances of ballet and musicals.


Bydgoszcz Opera Festival


History

''Bydgoszcz Opera Festival'' was born in 1994, associated with the difficulties to achieve the project of the Opera Nova building started in 1973. From 17 to 30 April 1994, the best troupes of Polish opera performed on the unfinished opera stage - Poznan, Grand Theatre, Łódź, Lodz and
Warsaw Warsaw ( pl, Warszawa, ), officially the Capital City of Warsaw,, abbreviation: ''m.st. Warszawa'' is the capital and largest city of Poland. The metropolis stands on the River Vistula in east-central Poland, and its population is officia ...
, Warsaw Chamber Opera, but also Askold Makarov Theatre Ballet of Saint Petersburg. All sessions were held in a harsh scenery of bare walls, and the audience was set in 500 wooden chairs borrowed from the military. The numerous audience which came to this unusual event rewarded the artists and the direction, creating a sublime festival. The almost eerie musical environment became one of the main strength of the event. It received a positive welcome from the artists and the audience, and provided a nationwide publicity for Bydgoszcz opera stage. The festival had reached its main goal: to stop a 20-year long procrastination in the construction of the opera house. The success of subsequent editions exceeded organizers' expectations: tickets were sold out long before the first day. With such possibilities, added to the new scene of Bydgoszcz opera house, it was possible to create large-scale performances of
opera Opera is a form of theatre in which music is a fundamental component and dramatic roles are taken by singers. Such a "work" (the literal translation of the Italian word "opera") is typically a collaboration between a composer and a librett ...
and
ballet Ballet () is a type of performance dance that originated during the Italian Renaissance in the fifteenth century and later developed into a concert dance form in France and Russia. It has since become a widespread and highly technical form of ...
. For instance: * Giuseppe Verdi's ''Macbeth (opera), Macbeth'' performed by company from the Grand Theatre, Warsaw, Warsaw Grand Theatre (2nd edition, 1995); * Giuseppe Verdi's ''La forza del destino'' presented by the Grand Theatre, Poznań, Grand Theatre of Poznań (8th edition, 2001); * Modest Mussorgsky's opera ''Boris Godunov (opera), Boris Godunov'' performed by the National Opera of Kyiv (3rd edition, 1996); * ''
Turandot ''Turandot'' (; see below) is an opera in three acts by Giacomo Puccini, posthumously completed by Franco Alfano in 1926, and set to a libretto in Italian by Giuseppe Adami and Renato Simoni. ''Turandot'' best-known aria is "Nessun dorma", whi ...
'' by Giacomo Puccini, presented by Opera Nova troupe at the opening of the 3rd edition (1996). For the first time in Bydgoszcz were presented the following ballets: * Aram Khachaturian's ''Spartacus (ballet), Spartacus'' performed by the Grand Academic Ballet Theatre of Belarus in Belarus Minsk (2nd edition, 1995); * Sergei Prokofiev, Prokofiev's ''Cinderella (Prokofiev), Cinderella'' executed by the Royal ballet of Antwerp (6th edition, 1999); * Léo Delibes's ''Coppélia'' performed by the Latvian National Opera in
Riga Riga (; lv, Rīga , liv, Rīgõ) is the capital and largest city of Latvia and is home to 605,802 inhabitants which is a third of Latvia's population. The city lies on the Gulf of Riga at the mouth of the Daugava river where it meets the Ba ...
(7th edition, 2000). Through the Festival occurrences, other famous companies performed: troupe from Chicago (7th edition, 2000) or the Cullberg Ballet from Sweden which executed a modern choreography of the ''The Sleeping Beauty (ballet), Sleeping Beauty'' (7th edition, 2001).


Characteristics

Opera Festival
Bydgoszcz Bydgoszcz ( , , ; german: Bromberg) is a city in northern Poland, straddling the meeting of the River Vistula with its left-bank tributary, the Brda. With a city population of 339,053 as of December 2021 and an urban agglomeration with more ...
is the biggest Polish review of diverse musical genres in the area of
opera Opera is a form of theatre in which music is a fundamental component and dramatic roles are taken by singers. Such a "work" (the literal translation of the Italian word "opera") is typically a collaboration between a composer and a librett ...
,
operetta Operetta is a form of theatre and a genre of light opera. It includes spoken dialogue, songs, and dances. It is lighter than opera in terms of its music, orchestral size, length of the work, and at face value, subject matter. Apart from its s ...
,
musical Musical is the adjective of music. Musical may also refer to: * Musical theatre, a performance art that combines songs, spoken dialogue, acting and dance * Musical film and television, a genre of film and television that incorporates into the narr ...
and
ballet Ballet () is a type of performance dance that originated during the Italian Renaissance in the fifteenth century and later developed into a concert dance form in France and Russia. It has since become a widespread and highly technical form of ...
, both classic and modern. Various opera companies present here their latest artistic achievements. It is a tradition to invite, in addition to the main Polish troupes, at least one company from abroad. The troupe from the Opera Nova, at the inauguration of each festival always premieres. The festival is held annually in the spring season: April or May. For the 2016 edition, the Opera Nova premiered
Don Carlos ''Don Carlos'' is a five-act grand opera composed by Giuseppe Verdi to a French-language libretto by Joseph Méry and Camille du Locle, based on the dramatic play '' Don Carlos, Infant von Spanien'' (''Don Carlos, Infante of Spain'') by Friedri ...
. Polish scenes invited to perform are Grand Theatre, Łódź, Łódź Grand Theatre, Wrocław Opera, the ballet School of Poznan, Polish National Ballet. Foreign guests are the Czech National Theatre Brno, National Theatre in Brno and the Chinese Shanghai Ballet Company. The festival is funded by the Marshal Office of
Kuyavian-Pomeranian Voivodeship Kuyavian-Pomeranian Voivodeship, also known as Cuiavian-Pomeranian Voivodeship or simply Kujawsko-Pomorskie, or Kujawy-Pomerania Province ( pl, województwo kujawsko-pomorskie ) is one of the 16 voivodeships (provinces) into which Poland is divide ...
, the city of
Bydgoszcz Bydgoszcz ( , , ; german: Bromberg) is a city in northern Poland, straddling the meeting of the River Vistula with its left-bank tributary, the Brda. With a city population of 339,053 as of December 2021 and an urban agglomeration with more ...
, the
Ministry of Culture and National Heritage Ministry of Culture and National Heritage of the Republic of Poland ( pl, Ministerstwo Kultury i Dziedzictwa Narodowego) is a governmental administration office concerned with various aspects of Polish culture. It was formed on 31 October 20 ...
and private sponsors. The festival is accompanied by exhibitions, a review of music videos on DVD and an Opera Youth Forum, as a review of chamber operas performed by students of Polish and foreign music academies.


Miscellaneous

* Bydgoszcz prima donna were, among others: Lidia Skowron (1960s and 1970s), Barbara Zagórzanka and Barbara Nitecka (1980s), Katarzyna Rymarczyk and Magdalena Krzyńska. * During Polish People's Republic, the most successful turnout at Opera Nova has been musicals: ''Winged lover'' and ''Thank you, Eve'' in the second half of the 1970s. * Until 1976, bass-baritone soloist [Bronisław Pekowski, was chief director of the Regional Geodesy and Cartography Company while staging at the Opera Nova. * Opera Nova soloists have been invited abroad, including Georgia (country), Georgia, Russia, Romania, Hungary, Japan, Bulgaria, Greece,
Italy Italy ( it, Italia ), officially the Italian Republic, ) or the Republic of Italy, is a country in Southern Europe. It is located in the middle of the Mediterranean Sea, and its territory largely coincides with the homonymous geographical re ...
,
Germany Germany,, officially the Federal Republic of Germany, is a country in Central Europe. It is the second most populous country in Europe after Russia, and the most populous member state of the European Union. Germany is situated betwe ...
and former Union of Soviet Socialist Republics, Soviet Republics. * Since 1989, the opera company has been holding an annual tour abroad to perform
opera Opera is a form of theatre in which music is a fundamental component and dramatic roles are taken by singers. Such a "work" (the literal translation of the Italian word "opera") is typically a collaboration between a composer and a librett ...
s,
ballet Ballet () is a type of performance dance that originated during the Italian Renaissance in the fifteenth century and later developed into a concert dance form in France and Russia. It has since become a widespread and highly technical form of ...
s and
operetta Operetta is a form of theatre and a genre of light opera. It includes spoken dialogue, songs, and dances. It is lighter than opera in terms of its music, orchestral size, length of the work, and at face value, subject matter. Apart from its s ...
s: *
Italy Italy ( it, Italia ), officially the Italian Republic, ) or the Republic of Italy, is a country in Southern Europe. It is located in the middle of the Mediterranean Sea, and its territory largely coincides with the homonymous geographical re ...
and
Malta Malta ( , , ), officially the Republic of Malta ( mt, Repubblika ta' Malta ), is an island country in the Mediterranean Sea. It consists of an archipelago, between Italy and Libya, and is often considered a part of Southern Europe. It lies ...
in 1989 (''
Rigoletto ''Rigoletto'' is an opera in three acts by Giuseppe Verdi. The Italian libretto was written by Francesco Maria Piave based on the 1832 play ''Le roi s'amuse'' by Victor Hugo. Despite serious initial problems with the Austrian censors who had cont ...
'', ''
Otello ''Otello'' () is an opera in four acts by Giuseppe Verdi to an Italian libretto by Arrigo Boito, based on Shakespeare's play ''Othello''. It was Verdi's penultimate opera, first performed at the Teatro alla Scala, Milan, on 5 February 1887. Th ...
'', ''
Madama Butterfly ''Madama Butterfly'' (; ''Madame Butterfly'') is an opera in three acts (originally two) by Giacomo Puccini, with an Italian libretto by Luigi Illica and Giuseppe Giacosa. It is based on the short story "Madame Butterfly" (1898) by John Luther ...
''); *
Netherlands ) , anthem = ( en, "William of Nassau") , image_map = , map_caption = , subdivision_type = Sovereign state , subdivision_name = Kingdom of the Netherlands , established_title = Before independence , established_date = Spanish Netherl ...
in 1990; *
Belgium Belgium, ; french: Belgique ; german: Belgien officially the Kingdom of Belgium, is a country in Northwestern Europe. The country is bordered by the Netherlands to the north, Germany to the east, Luxembourg to the southeast, France to th ...
in 1992.


Directors

List of the Directors of Bydgoszcz Opera: * 1956: Zdzisław Wendyński (Opera Studio) * 1956-1960: Felicja Krysiewicz * 1960-1963: Feliks Kłodziński ( Musical Theatre of Opera and Operetta) * 1963-1964: Zygmunt Szczepański * 1964-1969: Zdzisław Wendyński * 1969-1970: Maurycy Leszczycki * 1970-1973: Mieczysław Rak * 1973-1977: Tadeusz Kłobucki * 1977-1979: Stanisław Renz * 1979-1980: Adam Pałka * 1981-1990: Alicja Weber (State Opera and Operetta in Bydgoszcz) * 1990: Rafał Delekta * 1990-1991: Andrzej Jurkiewicz (Opera Nova) * 1991-1992: Andrzej Maria Marczewski * Since 1992: Maciej Figas


Gallery

File:Bdg OperaNova 10 07-2013.jpg, Main entrance on Focha Street File:Bdg LuczniczkaNova noc 6 07-2013.jpg, Main entrance by night File:Bdg Opera kładka podczas smoothfestiwalu.jpg, By night, viewed from Mill Island


See also

* Marshal Ferdinand Foch Street in Bydgoszcz *
Bydgoszcz Bydgoszcz ( , , ; german: Bromberg) is a city in northern Poland, straddling the meeting of the River Vistula with its left-bank tributary, the Brda. With a city population of 339,053 as of December 2021 and an urban agglomeration with more ...
* Gdańska Street, Bydgoszcz *
Pomeranian Philharmonic , native_name_lang = , image = File:Bdg Filharmonia fr 1 07-2013.jpg , image_size = 300px , image_alt = Pomeranian Philharmonic Bydgoszcz , image_caption = Pomeranian Philharmonic in Bydgoszcz , coor ...
* Opera house * Bydgoszcz Music Academy - "Feliks Nowowiejski"


References


External links


Website of the Opera Nova
*
Opera Nova Congress center
*
Buratino Puppet Theatre

Camerimage Film Festival

Restaurant located in the Opera Nova


Bibliography

* * * * * * * * * * * * * {{Notable buildings in Bydgoszcz Opera houses in Poland Buildings and structures in Bydgoszcz