Vilnius Halka

What would the opera "Halka" by Stanisław Moniuszko be without the arias “The fir trees sigh on mountain peaks” or "If at early sunrise"?! Today it is hard to imagine ... And yet before the final version of the Polish national opera saw the light of day, during the famous premiere on January 1st 1858 at the Grand Theater in Warsaw, listeners gathered in the Vilnius salon of Müller, the in-laws of Moniuszko, to hear the earliest part of the great work.

This year we are celebrating the 170th anniversary of the first staging of this opera. Exactly ten years before the Warsaw premiere on January 1st 1848, the first presentation of "Halka" sounded, but only in the form of a concert. The composition consisted of only two acts and did not include its most beautiful hits – the great arias of the main characters, Halka and Jontek. What's more, the part of Jontek, today a wonderful material for tenors, was originally intended for a baritone. Despite the shorter (by two acts) forms, the opera in the Vilnius version presents exactly the same story as its later elaboration. Although it still does not contain the most popular melodies, such as "Highland dances" or "Mazur", it maintains coherence and dramaturgy.

Listeners of the concert will have an incredible opportunity to move in time to the Müller's salon – on the stage of the Szczecin Philharmonic the concert version of "Halka" will be performed. The members of the early music group Capella Cracoviensis under the direction of Jan Tomasz Adamus will take care of fidelity to the historical sounds.