THE FAIRY QUEEN / Henry Purcell

In the mythical space of the forest, where a deeply hidden truth about nature and humankind awakens, the action of William Shakespeare’s A Midsummer Night’s Dream unfolds — the comedy that became the basis for Henry Purcell’s semi-opera The Fairy Queen. Musical masques, serving as a counterpoint to the spoken scenes, astonish with brilliance and variety, shimmering with the splendor of baroque compositional technique. Inventive instrumental passages as well as refined recitatives and arias shape an extraordinary world teeming with a profusion of feelings and emotions.

This impressive sonic space provides a framework and starting point for an in-depth interpretation of Purcell’s work directed by Kamila Siwińska, with dramaturgy prepared by Małgorzata Sikorska-Miszczuk. From the charming landscape emerge destructive forces of emotional enslavement and psychological violence, which some confuse with love. Through Oberon, possessing knowledge that enables manipulation of human consciousness, the sudden and unrestrained force of desire and ecstasy overcomes the titular Fairy Queen (Titania) as well as the young lovers — Lysander, Hermia, Demetrius and Helena. On stage, the ancient interpenetrates with the baroque and the contemporary, elevating the quasi-fairy-tale story to a level of universal reflection on the mechanisms of toxic interpersonal relationships. The worlds of ancient myth, Shakespearean drama and the extra-verbal power of musical expression co-create a nuanced and suggestive space for reflections on madness, deceit and “non-love.”

Credits:

• MUSICAL DIRECTION — KRZYSZTOF GARSTKA
• DIRECTOR, SET DESIGN, PROJECTIONS — KAMILA SIWIŃSKA
• COSTUMES — DOROTA KOŁODYŃSKA
• DRAMATURGY, TRANSLATION OF THE LIBRETTO AND FRAGMENTS OF William Shakespeare’s A Midsummer Night’s Dream — MAŁGORZATA SIKORSKA-MISZCZUK
• STAGE MOVEMENT — JAROSŁAW STANIEK
• LIGHTING DIRECTION — PAULINA GÓRAL
• VOCAL ENSEMBLE PREPARATION — KAROL KNAPIŃSKI
• DIRECTOR'S ASSISTANTS — SŁAWOMIR JURCZAK, AGNIESZKA KOZŁOWSKA
• STAGE MANAGERS — TATIANA HEMPEL-GIERLACH, AGNIESZKA ORLIKOWSKA

Cast:

Soloists:

• FAIRY — OLGA PASIECZNIK / MAŁGORZATA TROJANOWSKA
• NYMPH — MARTA BOBERSKA / IWONA LUBOWICZ
• MYSTERY — ALEKSANDER REWIŃSKI / SYLWESTER SMULCZYŃSKI
• DREAM — MICHAŁ DEMBIŃSKI / PAWEŁ MICHALCZUK
• ASS — MATEUSZ KULCZYŃSKI / KAMIL ZDEBEL
• SUN — DOROTA LACHOWICZ / ANETA ŁUKASZEWICZ

Actors:

• LYSANDER — TOMASZ NOSIŃSKI
• DEMETRIUS — MARCIN PEMPUŚ
• HELENA — MONIKA OBARA
• HERMIA — NATALIA RYBICKA

Actors appearing in projection:

• TITANIA — EWA BŁASZCZYK
• OBERON — KRZYSZTOF STRUŻYCKI
• MUSTARD (MUSZTARDKA) — TOMASZ NOSIŃSKI
• SPIDER WEB — MARCIN PEMPUŚ
• CHANGELING — JAROSŁAW STANIEK

Performers:

• Vocal Ensemble of the Polish Royal Opera
• Early Instruments Ensemble of the Polish Royal Opera — CAPELLA REGIA POLONA
• CONDUCTOR — KRZYSZTOF GARSTKA

Location: Royal Theatre in the Old Orangery, Łazienki Królewskie Museum in Warsaw

Practical information:

• The performance is intended for audiences aged 16 and over.
• Seating in the auditorium is unnumbered.
• Note: access to the Royal Theatre in Łazienki from Agrykola Street.
• If you have questions, we are available at the event site or by phone: +48 500 309 424 (Monday to Friday, 9:00–17:00).