Baltic State Opera

Baltic Opera (formerly Baltic State Opera) is an opera company located in Gdańsk, Poland.

History

It began in February 1949 as the Music and Drama Studio (in Polish: Studio Muzyczno-Dramatyczne) set up by Iwo Gall. In autumn 1949, the Opera Studio (in Polish: Studio Operowe) of the Baltic Philharmonic was founded. In 1953, they were united under the name of Baltic State Opera and Philharmonic. In 1993, after the institution had been divided, the Baltic Opera emerged.

In 2008, Marek Weiss became the director and steered the institution in a new direction. Such ambitious operas as

Rape of Lucretia or Richard Strauss' Ariadne auf Naxos directed by Weiss appeared in its repertoire.^{[citation needed}

]

As an effect of the changes introduced by the company, in 2010 the

Netherlands Opera in Amsterdam.^{[citation needed}

]

Contrary to most theatres in this part of Europe, the Baltic Opera presents its productions not in the

Bizet as well as more unusual repertoire.^{[citation needed}

]

The company takes part in international cultural projects on a regular basis. It has twice participated in the International Opera Festival and Competition under the aegis of the Mezzo TV. In the 2011/2012 season, it organized the first edition of the Baltic Dance Theatres’ Encounters (in September 2011) and prepared the world premiere of Elżbieta Sikora’s opera Madame Curie. This work was commissioned by the Baltic Opera, although its first performance took place in Paris in November 2011, within the framework of the Cultural Programme of the Polish Presidency of the EU Council. Madame Curie was also the first production in the Opera Gedanensis series, a project which is being realised by the Baltic Opera.^{[citation needed]}

Polish premiers

Outside of the major operatic repertoire, Polish premieres which took place in the Baltic Opera include:

Tchaikovsky
(1952)

Peter Grimes by Benjamin Britten (1958)

The Miraculous Mandarin by Béla Bartók (1960)

Donizetti
(1961)

The Rake's Progress by Igor Stravinsky (1965)

Iolanta by Tchaikovsky (1977)

The Little Hump-backed Horse, ballet by Rodion Shchedrin (1978)

Verdi
(concert version, 2001)

I Lombardi alla prima crociata by Verdi (concert version, 2004)

Donizetti
(2004)

I masnadieri by Verdi (concert version, 2005)

Madame Curie by Sikora (2011)

Rothschild's Violin by Veniamin Fleishman (2013)

The Gamblers by
Shostakovich (unfinished) and Polish composer Krzysztof Meyer (2013)^[1]^[2]

References

^ The two operas on operabaltycka.pl (In English)
^ Note on The Gamblers by Marek Weiss: "Many years later, another of Shostakovich’s pupils decided to complete his master’s work, and wrote the missing bars, or rather two thirds of The Gamblers. It was Krzysztof Meyer, a Pole, who continued the work of the ingenious Russian."

External links

Media related to Opera house in Gdańsk at Wikimedia Commons
Baltic Opera website in English

54°22′21″N 18°37′31″E / 54.3726°N 18.6254°E / 54.3726; 18.6254

[1] The two operas on operabaltycka.pl (In English)

[2] Note on The Gamblers by Marek Weiss: "Many years later, another of Shostakovich’s pupils decided to complete his master’s work, and wrote the missing bars, or rather two thirds of The Gamblers. It was Krzysztof Meyer, a Pole, who continued the work of the ingenious Russian."

[1]

[2]

History

Polish premiers

See also

References

External links