Cracovia Danza: ballet in the city

Cracovia Danza: The Ballet in the City

Edition 2019 MONIUSZKO

Three seasons of the happenings Cracovia Danza: The Ballet in the City are followed by this year's edition in which Cracovia Danza Ballet draws attention towards the connections between Stanislaw Moniuszko and Krakow. Although they are not numerous, they are still very significant. The composer's music sounded in Krakow, performed even under his own baton, whilst the city served an inspiration for his musical legacy. Moniuszko's visit to Krakow and sightseeing its old town was an impressive experience for the composer, as we read in his letters. We should also mention that the treasury of the Jagiellonian Library contains the manuscripts of the artist, among which are primarily his songs, as well as some pieces of the Verbum Nobile opera. Besides that, we shall not forget the fact that there is Moniuszki Street in Krakow.

The connections between Stanislaw Moniuszko and Krakow are quite modest. The composer visited the former Polish capital twice, not only for the concerts but also to meet people and visit the number of important historical places. On the way to Prague, Germany and Paris Moniuszko stopped over in Krakow for a couple of days in 1858. The composer stayed at Drezdenski Hotel where he met Ambrozy Grabowski, Jozef Kremer, amd Lucjan Sieminski. The artist's visit to Krakow and sightseeing Wawel in particular, where the composer visited the cathedral and saw the royal graves, as well as his visit to Skalka, resulted in the creation of the unfinished opera Rokiczana. The opera was written for the lyrics of libretto by Jozef Korzeniowski telling the story about Kazimierz The Great, a king of Poland.

The second visit of Stanislaw Moniuszko to Krakow lasted a month between the end of the 1866 and the beginning of 1867 when the composer performed his music in the city. At that time, his most famous opera Halka was performed in Krakow seven times whereas on the 18th of January 1867, the Krakow audience could see the performance of the Verbum Nobile opera. In turn, the concert of Moniuszko's music pieces was repeated in Krakow three times during January 1867. The cantata Widma and the concert overture Bajka were also performed under the baton of the composer in that period.

The organizers reserve the right to introduce changes to the programme.