An Opera about Warsaw. The Best City in the World
The Best City in the World is the title of a new stage work – an opera about Warsaw, which is scheduled to premiere in 2025. The project is run by Sinfonia Varsovia in collaboration with partners: the International Festival of Contemporary Music “Warsaw Autumn”, the Teatr Wielki – Polish National Opera, and the Museum of Warsaw. The authors of the music and libretto for the piece will be announced in May. They will be selected from among the invited artists by a jury of musicians and writers who are recognized experts in their respective domains.
Theme
The main inspiration behind the opera is an unprecedented event – the collective effort to reconstruct Warsaw after World War II. The opera will tell the story of the new capital rising from ruins, the great ambitions to build “the best city in the world” as well as the determination, optimism, and daring of those rebuilding Warsaw. As a story of hope, it will carry a universal message and show the will to live despite destruction and death.
Form and style
The opera will be performed on a large stage by a full-scale symphony orchestra, soloists, choir, and dancers and will feature electronics and audiovisual projections. This will be a communicative and modern work, combining new means of expression and contemporary musical language with an innovative approach to traditional operatic forms. The length of the composition is estimated at 120 minutes.
Composer
The invitation to take part in the project was extended to a group of leading composers, whose musical language combines advanced instrumental and vocal techniques with multimedia. Submissions include the musical development of three fragments of a text indicated by the organizers. The music jury is chaired by the director of the “Warsaw Autumn”, composer Jerzy Kornowicz.
Author of the libretto
The author of the libretto will be chosen by a literary jury chaired by playwright Piotr Gruszczyński. The opera’s libretto will be based on Grzegorz Piątek’s book The Best City in the World. Rebuilding Warsaw 1945–1949 (W.A.B., Warszawa 2020), which received the Literary Award of the Capital City of Warsaw and the Historical Award of the Capital City of Warsaw, and was nominated for the Nike Literary Award.
Opera staging
The premiere of the opera will close the 68th Warsaw Autumn International Festival, open the 2025/26 season at Teatr Wielki – Polish National Opera, and mark the 80th anniversary of the start of the reconstruction of Warsaw.
Project schedule
- January/February 2023 – invitation of composers
- February 2023 – invitation of librettists
- April 2023 – selection of librettist
- May 2023 – selection of composer
- June 2024 – start of the opera production
- September/October 2025 – Polish premiere
Press:
Jakub Strużyński
PR Specialist
Marketing and Audience Services Department
e-mail: jakub.struzynski@sinfoniavarsovia.org, phone: 502 243 387
photo: Edward Hartwig, Budowa MDM (Construction of MDM),work on groups of sculptures adorning the buildings, 1952 (the Musuem of Warsaw collection)
