When the concert performance of the opera Hercules in Thermodon by Antonio Vivaldi inaugurated Opera Rara in January 2009, nobody expected the metamorphosis that would be undergone by this cycle. Now, after nearly eight years, we announce the birth of the Opera Rara festival – a cohesive and condensed series of events and a full-blooded festival showing various faces of the opera and highlighting its important social and artistic role.

Between the 18th of January and the 10th of February 2017, we will see 7 titles and 3 vocal recitals at 14 concerts on Krakow stages! They will include Le Carnaval Baroque – a performance by Le Poème Harmonique reconstructing the carnival attractions of the 17th-century Italy, which will open the festival, magnificent opera works from the four centuries of existence of the genre: Dido and Aeneas by Henry Purcell, Marc’Antonio e Cleopatra – a serenade by Johann Adolph Hasse, Germanico in Germania by Nicola Porpora, Arminio by George Frideric Handel, Halka by Stanisław Moniuszko directed by Cezary Tomaszewski, and A Madrigal Opera – a chamber opera by Philip Glass, which will be translated into the language of theatre by Krzysztof Garbaczewski. And, last but not least, we will see top-class artists! The audience in Krakow will see renowned early music performers such as Armonia Atenea under the baton of George Petrou, Arte dei Suonatori – a Polish ensemble conducted by the violinist Aureliusz Goliński, the sophisticated La Risonanza and Fabio Bonizzoni, or Capella Cracoviensis – an internationally acclaimed ensemble that will be conducted by Jan Tomasz Adamus. Enchanting performances will also be given by soloists – after all, Opera Rara knows no compromise. Max Emanuel Cencic, Julia Lezhneva and other artists will demonstrate their talent, recitals of songs by Berg, Debussy, Brahms and two Schumanns will be performed by the mezzo-soprano Michaela Selinger, the impressive Winterreise by Franz Schubert based on Wilhelm Müller’s poetry will be told by Peter Harvey (bass), whereas songs by Karol Szymanowski will be interpreted by Susanna Jara – a soprano specialising in traditional singing.

Prepared by the Krakow Festival Office in collaboration with Capella Cracoviensis, Opera Rara will be presented from 2017 in a new festival format during Carnival – the period that is historically associated with the highest intensity of opera premieres. The epithet “rara” will gain in importance, too – the repertoire will be extended with later compositions, including the 20th century, and vocal recitals. At the same time, Opera Rara will continue to present the things that build the brand of the festival and have always been the heart of the cycle: the biggest opera works performed by the most outstanding early music stars in accordance with the spirit of the epoch. From 2017, stage versions will be shown on prestigious Krakow stages and in new surprising locations. They present the real face of the music theatre, too, and will enchant the audience with their theatricality, at the same time being a response to its voice and filling in the stylistic gap. This means evolution rather than revolution and expansion rather than lasting.

‘With the presence of world premieres in its programme, the Opera Rara cycle put the spotlight on Krakow both in Poland and worldwide for many years,’ says Izabela Helbin, Director of the Krakow Festival Office. ‘This year’s event will assume the form of a three-week-long festival and will take place during the Carnival period, which is historically associated with the biggest number of premieres. We are expanding the program with modern operas and their semi-stage versions, as well as vocal recitals. The new format of Opera Rara is addressed to everyone who has felt intimidated by opera works and historical music, while maintaining the highest level of each event.’ adds Helbin.

ATTENTION: Tickets and festival passes to the festival concerts available for purchase from Monday, 28 November via www.eventim.pl and in four InfoKraków tourist information points: at ul. św. Jana 2, at the Wyspiański Pavilion (pl. Wszystkich Świętych 2), in Sukiennice (Rynek Główny 1/3), at Powiśle 11, at ul. Józefa 7, at ul. Szpitalna 25 and at the InfoKraków point at the ICE Kraków Congress Centre. Tickets to each event cost from 20 to 120 PLN, and festival passes cost from 70 to 450 PLN.

18 January 2017, 7:30pm
Juliusz Słowacki Theatre
Le Carnaval Baroque
Claire Lefilliâtre soprano | Hugues Primard tenor | Serge Goubioud tenor | Emmanuel Vistorsky bass
Le Poème Harmonique
Vincent Dumestre musical direction
Cécile Roussat direction

20, 21, 22 January 2017, 7pm
Hall of the bl. Jacob
Philip Glass A Madrigal Opera
Capella Cracoviensis
Krzysztof Garbaczewski direction

26 January 2017, 6pm
Collegium Novum UJ, Hall
Michaela Selinger mezzo-soprano
Mariusz Klimsiak piano
Alban Berg 7 Frühe Lieder | Claude Debussy songs | Johannes Brahms songs

27 January 2017, 6:30pm
Juliusz Słowacki Theatre
Nicola Porpora Germanico in Germania
Julia Lezhneva soprano | Max Emanuel Cenčić countertenor | Hasnaa Bennani soprano | Dilyara Idrisova soprano | Mary-Ellen Nesi mezzo-soprano
Capella Cracoviensis
Jan Tomasz Adamus conductor

29 January 2017, 6pm
Collegium Novum UJ, Hall
Franz Schubert Winterreise
Peter Harvey baritone
Roger Vignoles piano

31 January, 1, 2 February 2017, 7pm
ICE Kraków Congress Centre (S2 Hall)
Stanisław Moniuszko Halka (Vilnius version, 1848)
Natalia Kawałek soprano | Sebasstian Szumski baritone | Małgorzata Rodek soprano | Jakub Pawlik tenor
Capella Cracoviensis
Jan Tomasz Adamus conductor
Cezary Tomaszewski direction

4 February 2017, 6pm
BAL
Karol Szymanowski Songs of a Fairytale Princess
Susanna Jara soprano
Marek Szlezer piano

5 February 2017, 6:30pm
Juliusz Słowacki Theatre
George Frederic Handel Arminio
Max Emanuel Cenčić countertenor | Lauren Snouffler soprano | Gaia Petrone mezzo-soprano | Vince Yi countertenor | Juan Sancho tenor | Pavel Kudinov bass | Victor Jimenez Diaz countertenor
Armonia Atenea
George Petrou conductor

9 February 2017, 7pm
Gallery of the 19th-century Polish Art in Sukiennice, branch of the National Museum in Krakow
Johann Adolf Hasse Marc’Antonio e Cleopatra
Maria Keohane soprano | Maria Sanner alto
Arte Dei Suonatori
Aureliusz Goliński violin, musical direction

10 February 2017, 7pm
Karol Szymanowski Kraków Philharmonic
Henry Purcell Dido and Aeneas
Raffaella Milanesi soprano | Richard Helm baritone | Stefanie True soprano | Iason Marmaras tenor
La Risonanza
Fabio Bonizzoni conductor