To escape the horrors of the battlefield, Henryk has a dream in which he imagines that his childhood home has been turned into an inn. His father is the innkeeper and his fiancée, Mania, is a serving maid. As innkeeper, his father is given a hard time by all the drunkards and, to defend his dignity, he claims that he is untouchable, ‘like a king’. But will a ‘royal wedding’ between the prince Henryk and Mania manage to restore the family’s honour?

The Marriage (Ślub) is an opera adaptation of the eponymous play by Witold Gombrowicz, one of Poland’s leading dramatists of the 20th century. Poznań Opera House has commissioned this operatic adaptation from Zygmunt Krauze, for his part, one of the leading composers active in Poland today. Out of the three members of the creative team, it is Krauze who is working for the Poznań stage for the first time. Krzysztof Cicheński returns to Poznań to direct the performance after writing the libretto himself. Katarzyna Tomala-Jedynak as conductor has numerous contemporary productions in her repertoire. OperaVision is happy to share this new production with audiences worldwides. Just like the soldier Henryk, audiences will try to make out what is true and what is nightmare in this theatre of the absurd.

Full performance streamed on OperaVision from 8 December 2024 at 19:00 CET to 8 June 2025 at 12:00 CET: operavision.eu/performance/marriage

CAST

Henryk
Michał Partyka

Władzio
Piotr Kalina

Mania
Gosha Kowalinska

Father
Łukasz Konieczny

Mother
Monika Mych-Nowicka

Drunkard
Jan Jakub Monowid

Chancellor
Michal Korzeniowski

Cardinal
Albert Rugieł

Orchestra
Poznań Opera Orchestra

Chorus
Poznań Opera Chorus

Music
Zygmunt Krauze

Text
Krzysztof Cicheński

Conductor
Katarzyna Tomala-Jedynak

Director
Krzysztof Cicheński

Scenography
Julia Kosek
Krzysztof Cicheński

Costumes
Julia Kosek

Lights
Wiktor Kuźma

Video
Leszek Stryła

Chorus Master
Mariusz Otto

Assistant conductor
Wiktor Kozłowski

Assistant director
Dominika Babiarz

OperaVision is a freeview opera streaming platform, supported by the European Union's Creative Europe programme. Watch live streams as the performances themselves unfold in the opera house. Enjoy a variety of shows - including opera, operetta, musical theatre, dance, ballet and concerts. Opera connaisseur or curious newcomer, there is something for everyone on OperaVision.

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