The Warsaw Chamber Opera is a music institution with over 50 years of history. It was founded in 1961 by Stefan Sutkowski, its later long-standing Executive and Artistic Director, Joanna and Jan Kulma, Zofia Wierchowicz, Andrzej Sadowski and Juliusz Borzym. The inaugural stage premiere of this group was G. B. Pergolesi’s opera buffa La serva padrona/The Servant Turned Mistress, performed on September 4, 1961. The Chamber Opera’s repertoire is characterised by a huge variety of musical styles and genres of the presented works: from medieval mystery plays, through early and late Baroque operas, classical operas, 18th century pantomimes, operas by Rossini and Donizetti, to contemporary stage works, several of which were created on request of the Warsaw Chamber Opera. Opera artists also successfully perform chamber, oratorio and symphonic music of various epochs.
Premiere - new production A note from the director, Anna Sroka-Hryń:
"My interpretation of La Clemenza di Tito is a psychologically and metaphysically deepened story about humanity — about the complexity and fragility of human nature. Tito is not just an emperor, but a man, fallible and self-reflective. At the heart of the opera is the trio Vitellia–Sesto–Tito, with Sesto at the center of the conflict. Their relationships are ambiguous, set against the backdrop of a violent and ruthless Roman world. But is it really ancient? The power of Shakespearean tragedy, Dostoyevsky’s literature, or great operatic works lies in their timelessness. Despite modern advancements — airplanes, the internet, space travel, AI — human nature has not changed. Desires and passions remain the same. Only the setting has changed, and manipulation has become more subtle and sophisticated.
The libretto becomes a starting point for reflection on our emotional and psychological condition in today’s world. Through this dissection, we may draw closer to that fragile, sensitive place within us that defies definition."