Cassandra & Just: Opera Rara plays with contrasts

The Cassandra Complex

Cassandra is a large cantata, composed in 1727 by Benedetto Marcelli for alto and basso continuo. The libretto was based on the poetry by Antonio Schinelli Conte, who joined the composer to create a series of experimental cantatas inspired by Greek mythology, and in the case of this work – Homer’s Iliad.

Cassandra – daughter of Priam, king of Troy – is a tragic character. Stunned by her beauty, Apollo gives her the ability to see the future. This gift, after Cassandra rejects the god of beauty and music, becomes her curse. As Apollo’s curse said, nobody believes her catastrophic prophecies, and her fears and warnings fall on deaf ears. The libretto of the cantata is a story told by Cassandra, about the final years of the Trojan War.

Since the beginning of the 17th century, the cantata has been one of the most frequently used vocal forms in Italian music. Marcello himself composed more than three hundred and fifty of them – apart from psalms, they constitute the most representative way of artistic expression of this artist. Although none of the cantatas were published during the composer’s lifetime, two of them – Timoteo and Cassandra – gained considerable recognition as early as in the 18th century. The piece was outstanding because of a number of factors – the libretto of the cantata was written in the form of a monologue, the composer did not shy away from mixing and juxtapose recitatives with arias and ariosos, he also decided to embellish the piece with various harmonic tones, exposing its emotional and expressive nature.

At the Opera Rara Festival, the cantata will be performed by soloists, with a larger vocal cast than called for in the original: Łukasz Dulewicz (alto), Helena Poczykowska (alto) and Przemysław Bałka (bass). Basso continuo will be performed by Marcin Świątkiewicz. one of the most outstanding harpsichordist of the young generation, as well as Konrad Górka (cello) and Andreas Arend (theorbo).

Minimal means – maximum contemplation

New York’s David Lang is considered to be one of the one of the most outstanding composers of contemporary, American and film music. Heir to Steve Reich, inspired by the style of Philip Glass, is sometimes referred to as a post-minimalist. Despite the fact that on the one hand his music appears to be sophisticated and demanding focus, on the other hand it is perfectly accessible.

In the ascetic and meditative piece Just (after song of songs) from the soundtrack to Youth (2015, dir. Paolo Sorrentino), Lang used fragments of the Biblical Song of Songs. The composer was particularly intrigued by the fact that the book gives a man and a woman various features that they see in each other. While this is not surprising in a purely interpersonal relationship, in an attempt to interpret the Song of Songs as a metaphor for the love of God and humankind, these characteristics can be read as indications of the nature of God himself.

The stage version of Lang’s work for the Opera Rara Festival was directed by Tomasz Cyz, playwright of the Grand Theatre – National Opera in Warsaw during Mariusz Treliński’s term, co-creator of Terytoria – a series of premières on the Chamber Stage of the National Opera, author of a libretto for Fedra, an opera by Dobromiła Jaskot, musical and literary journalist, author of radio plays. In his book Arioso, Cyz wrote: “Music is madness, but beautifully performed music and theatre that is perfectly composed and played, is even crazier. Nothing more is needed.”This is one of the best promises a director can make to the audience.

Oppositions will attract

Once every creator was contemporary, and every contemporary author will cease being one in future. Time is relative, trends and fashion disappear, yet universal values remain current. Do contrasts push us apart or bring us closer together? What does Benetto Marcelli’s Cassandra and David Lang’s Just (after song of songs) have in common? Perhaps it is opera – cantatas have narrative, dramatic action and a form made up of recitatives and arias, while film music – such as Just – recurring musical motifs assigned to protagonist and events that constitute the action. Another of their common denominators is also beautiful singing and the Opera Rara Festival, with an evening dedicated to those two pieces, during which we will discover fresh contexts and new variants. Cassandra & Just will be a show about war, death and pain; about love, truth and human nature, above all times and divisions.

For the Krakow Festival Office – Agnieszka Lakner, musicologist

1st of February 2019 (Friday), 5:00 p.m.
De Revolutionibus Books&Cafe | Bracka 14
Neverending Drama – Ancient Love 

How did the ancient idea of love evolve? In what way was it reflected in the European cultural texts of various epochs? What does opera have to do with all of this? We are going to welcome a number of notable characters on our cot, including Amor, Jupiter, Hippolyte, Aricie, Fedra, Theseus, the protagonists of Song of Songs and Oedipus with his mother.  Aleksandra Klęczar and Agnieszka Fulińska will play the role of literature and art sexologists. Host: Krzysztof Bielawski. The meeting was prepared together with Aleksandra Klęczar (an expert in antiquity, as well as in pop culture) and Krzysztof Bielawski.

2nd of February 2019 (Saturday), 12:00 p.m.
Kurant Music Store | Rynek Główny 36
 
Meeting with Tomasz Cyz
Tomasz Cyz is a true Renaissance man – an outstanding essayist, charismatic editor, a sensitive reader and viewer. All these activities are connected by a common denominator – his great sensitivity to music and beauty. This makes him one of the most interesting contemporary directors. The meeting with Tomasz Cyz will be hosted by Agata Drotkiewicz.

6th of February 2019 (Friday), 9:30 p.m.
BAL Krakow | Ślusarska 9
Meeting with Krzysztof Garbaczewski

Before 2017, Krzysztof Garbaczewski did not dare to try his hand at opera. As the first attempt, he took up the challenge of directing Philip Glass’s open piece – A Madrigal Opera – a minimalist, trance-like, repetitive composition devoid of text, stage directions or any extra-musical cues that could suggest any direction of interpretation to the director. After the premiere, which took place two years ago, the Opera Rara Festival and Krzysztof Garbaczewski decided to reprise the performance, which is a great opportunity to ask the director about his debut in the world of musical theatre. The meeting with the director will be hosted by Justyna Nowicka.

8th of February 2019 (Friday), 4:30 p.m.
BAL Krakow | Ślusarska 9
Everyone is doing it. Agnieszka Drotkiewicz talks about love, attachment and betrayal with Professor Bogdan de Barbaro

Lust, betrayal, looking for something new, the need to be adored, the need to feel secure, games in a relationship. These are only some of the themes suggested by the libretto of Cosi fan tutte. Two (actually, even three!) couples, stuck in a continuous game between each other. What can we learn about ourselves and about our relationships from this opera? It is easier for us to show our true feelings In the unrealistic space of an opera, the costumes allow us to be naked in front of each other, and the beauty of music surrounds difficult themes and helps us face them. This sincerity of the opera resembles the sincerity of a therapist’s office. We invited Professor Bogdan de Barbaro, an outstanding humanities expert, psychiatrist and therapist, author of many publications, to talk about the dynamics of couples, the risk of change and the risk of the lack of changes.

8th of February 2019 (Friday), 6:00 p.m.
BAL Krakow | Ślusarska 9
Meeting with Cezary Tomaszewski

Cezary Tomaszewski was given a nigh impossible task – after all, how does one turn an opera that is not “rara” at all, in particular a stage hit such as Cosi fan tutte, and make something extraordinary out of it? Given his achievements to date and seeing what he has done with our national opera – Halka, we can expect that his interpretation of one of the most famous operas by the Mozart and da Ponte duo will be current, surprising, concerning us and the world around us through and through. The theatrical critic Tomasz Domagała will try to convince Cezary Tomaszewski to reveal some of his inspirations and meanings.

10th of February 2019 (Sunday), 1:00 p.m.
ICE Kraków Congress Centre, S4 Hall | Marii Konopnickiej 17
Ballet workshops with Adam Kozal

It would be hard to find a girl who did not dream of becoming a ballet dancer one day. I was no exception, but my failure to do a split during children’s classes discouraged me and I let this dream gather dust for a long time. Recently, I discovered that this dream can be pursued – at least to some extent – at any age. Classical dancing classes for adults are a great adventure – putting the body through classical ballet positions enables you to feel at least a little taste of the poetry of gestures of all ballet dancers and ballet masters. Besides, when you experience how much effort is required to position the body in a basic position, classical dance ceases to be a complete abstraction and you can better imagine how much effort is required to prepare the performances that we see on stage, performed by dancers.

Adam Kozal, who danced with John Neumeier’s Hamburg Ballett and as a soloist of the Polish National Ballet for many years, teaches ballet with great charm and sense of humour. Join us for an hour of euphoric poetry of gesture. It’s like champagne – but without all the side effects!

Note! You do not need ANY EXPERIENCE in classical dance to participate in the classes. Join us if you are interested! How to dress? Like you would to a gym – keep your comfort in mind. As Adam Kozal says: ”Ballet shoes are not required, but they are good for well-being – socks will be just as good!”

In order to participate in the classes, you need to download a free ticket available at: https://warsztatybaletowe.evenea.pl/

14th of February 2019 (Friday), 9:00 p.m.
Cocon Music Club | Gazowa 21
A Being with Imagination.

On women who want love, and who know how and why to do it. A meeting revolving around ISTOTA – the first Polish erotic comic book created exclusively by women. Join us for a meeting with Aleksandra Hirszfeld (who writes about IT), Alicja Długołęcka (who talks about IT) Tomasz Z. Majkowski (who would like to learn something about IT). Theoretical and practical introduction: Janelle Monae (who sings about IT).

Back to world stages

The course of almost two hundred years (1587-1740) was marked by the creation of about four hundred operas, half of which have survived to our times, and in recent decades only a few dozen of them were staged, recorded on stage, released on CDs or performed during concerts. This repertoire still features numerous works that await their discovery or reprisal – for their resurrection and a fresh, contemporary shape. One of the recently restored works is  Hyppolyte et Aricie, a lyrical tragedy by Jean-Philippe Rameau (1683-1764). The legendary performance of this opera at the 1983 Aix-en-Province Festival was conducted by John Eliot Gardiner, the piece was also recorded by Marc Minkowski and Les Musiciens du Louvre (1995), as well as by Les Arts Florissants led by William Christie (1997). Hyppolyte et Aricie then had to wait for a return to the theatre stages until the 21st century, until the spectacular production by Palais Garnier (2012), followed by a performance at Glydenbourne Festival in the following year, and the premiere at Staatsoper Unter den Linden in Berlin – in 2018! This year, the opera will be presented to the French audiences at the Théâtre des Champs-Elysées, the Zurich Opera House and thanks to the Opera Rara Festival.

Love, revenge and plots of the gods of Olympus

Father Simon-Joseph Pellegrin wrote a libretto based on Jean Racine’s famous tragedy Phèdre, filled with references to Greek mythology, as well as the works by Euripides (Hippolitus) and Seneca (Phaedra). Theseus, a hero from Athens, wins the battle during which Aricia is captured. Due to the plot enacted by the god of love, Aricia develops feelings towards Hippolytus. The vicissitudes of fate also lead his stepmother Phaedra to fall in love with the young man. During Theseus’ long absence, convinced that her husband died, Phaedra confesses her love for Hippolytus. He rejects her, confessing that he loves Aricia and that she loves him back. In despair and overtaken by shame, Phaedra tries to fall on a sword, but Hippolytus takes away her weapon at the last second. The returning Theseus, misunderstanding the situation, curses his son and sends him and Aricia into exile. What will be the fate of the mythical lovers? Will their love break Theseus’ curse?

Rameau’s late debut

Hyppolyte et Aricie is Jean-Phillippe Rameau’s late debut as an opera composer. The piece was created in 1733, when the composer was already fifty years old. His stage works are distinguished by their masterful approach to instrumentation and his use of an orchestra, which he uses to depict events such as a storm on the sea or an earthquake, while instrumental accompaniment takes precedence over vocals. This is why the importance of Rameau for French instrumentation – rich and sensitive to tonal nuances – is often stressed and highlighted.

Hyppolyte et Aricie was considered to be a very divisive opera, both for the French audiences, as well as contemporary critics. Some were delighted to such an extent that they dubbed its author contemporary Orpheus, while others were surprised and even bewildered. Rameau became the author of the first work called considered to be Baroque because of its musical style.

Pillar of French tradition

Jean-Philippe Rameau became one of the main representatives of the French opera tradition – which is now brought back to life – together with Jean-Baptiste Lully. Despite the fact that in the Baroque, French opera was less popular than Italian music (which was met with reluctance of the French public), but today it is being discovered more and more. The performers involved in the resurrection of French stage works often regard their involvement as a mission to promote this rich repertoire. The Opera Rara Festival is also part of this mission, restoring the work of Jean-Philippe Rameau interpreted by Sjaron Minailo, musical experimental theatre director. What will be the result of an experiment combining modern technology and concept with the pillar of French tradition created nearly three hundred years ago? Will the work delight once more? Or maybe it will divide the audience again? Regardless of the outcome, it is definitely worth seeing for yourself.

For the Krakow Festival Office – Agnieszka Lakner, musicologist and ethnologist

Residency in the City of Literature!

Krakow has just opened a call for a residency program addressed to young writers from UNESCO Cities of Literature from around the world! Artists from 28 cities, including Edinburgh, Melbourne, Prague and Seattle, can apply for a stay in our city!

The two-month stays in May-June or September-October are especially dedicated to emerging and young talents. The most important criterion is having at least one publication. Additionally, candidates should know English on an upper intermediate level, be willing and ready to actively participate in the literary life of Krakow and work on their own literary project during the stay.

Residents will stay in the guest rooms of the Villa Decius Culture Institute, which is the co-organizer of the project. Moreover, they will receive a creative scholarship, as well as reimbursement of travel costs to and from Krakow.

Detailed information can be found here.

The Program was created with the belief that the UNESCO Creative Cities Network provides an excellent opportunity to develop interconnections, boost mobility, and offer professionalization services for writers.