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The Krakow Opera Yesterday and Today
The tradition of Opera Theatre in Krakow is over two hundred years old. It has been preserved through decades, with varying success, by numerous enthusiasts driven by artistic and organisational ambitions, as well as simply by the love of music. Their efforts did not lead, however, to bring an opera scene into being, although the Royal City often resounded to magnificent movements from Halka, Carmen or Faust. And in the best renditions! ...
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Katarzyna Oleś-Blacha
Coloratura soprano. A graduate of and a
teacher at the Music Academy in Krakow and the winner of a
number of international vocal competitions, she is a soloist
of the Krakow Opera. She has sung several dozen opera parts,
including the Queen of the Night in The Magic Flute, Hanna in
The Haunted Manor, Gilda in Rigoletto, Donna Anna in Don
Givanni, Violetta in Traviata, Zorbinetta in Ariadna auf Naxos,
Countess Almaviva and Susanna in The Marriage of Figaro and
Lucia in Donizetti’s famous opera – the role which inaugurated
her collaboration with the National Opera in Warsaw in 2008.
She has performed at a large number of opera houses and
philharmonic and concert halls at home and abroad.
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Agnieszka Cząstka
Mezzo-soprano. A Madama Butterfly, Zerlina in
Don Giovanni, Polina in The Queen of Spades,
Magdalena in Rigoletto, Jadwiga in The Haunted
Manor,Olga in Eugene Onegin, Dryad in Ariadne
auf Naxos, Marcellina in The Marriage of Figaro.
Her repertoire includes a number of major opera
and oratorio parts. She also collaborates with
other music theatres, and has given concerts in
the USA, Germany, Benelux, Ukraine, Russia, and
Slovakia.
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Tomasz Kuk
Tenor. His major parts at the Krakow Opera
include Don Jose in Carmen,
Pinkerton in Madama Butterfly,
Stefan in The Haunted Manor, Tamino
in The Magic Flute, Arturo in Lucy
of Lammermoor, Cavaradossi in Tosca,
Ismaele in Nabucco, Tebaldo in I
Capuleti e i Montecchi, Alfredo in
La Traviata, Jontek in Halka and
Macduff in Macbeth. Since 2002, Kuk
has been collaborating with the
National Opera in Warsaw, singing
the parts of Jontek in Halka, Lensky
in Onegin, Calaf in Turandot, Stefan
in The Haunted Manor, and Stach in
Zabobon, czyli Krakowiacy i Górale.
He has performed on several foreign
stages, e.g. in Germany, Switzerland,
and Austria.
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Stanisław Kufluk
Baritone. A graduate of the Art Institute
in Ivano-Frankivsk. A soloist at the
Silesian Opera in Bytom and a member
of the Krakow Opera’s ensemble, he
can currently be heard performing
the parts of Yeletsky in The Queen
of Spades, Sharpless in Madama
Butterfly, Maciej in The Haunted
Manor, Morales in Carmen, Baron
Douphol in La traviata, Janusz in
Halka, Harlequin in Ariadne on Naxos
and also as Eugene Onegin. His
accolades include the 3rd prize in
the Adam Didur Competition (2008)
and the Grand Prix in the Singing
Competition “Art of the 21st Century”
in Finland (2006), and recently the
3rd place in the Ada Sari Vocal Art
Competition in Nowy Sącz (2011). |
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Tomasz Tokarczyk
Conductor. A graduate of the Music Academy
in Krakow, where he studied
conducting (diploma with honours)
and violin, Tokarczyk received
several scholarships from the
Bachakademie Stuttgart and the Bach
Oregon Festival (USA). He had been
the conductor of the Tarnow Chamber
Orchestra and the musical director
and conductor of the Opera Company
in Szczecin before he became engaged
with the Krakow Opera in 2004, first
as head of the orchestra and a
conductor, and from 2008 on also as
the musical director. Recently, he
has prepared Ullmann’s Der Kaiser
von Atlantis, Puccini’s Madama
Butterfly, The Gypsy Baron by
Strauss, Verdi’s Traviata, Requiem
and Ariadne auf Naxos by Richard
Strauss, Mozart’s The Marriage of
Figaro here. He has collaborated
with most Polish philharmonic
orchestras, the Warsaw Radio
Orchestra, and the Grand Theatres in
Poznan and Lodz. During last year’s
Wexford Opera Festival (Ireland), he
prepared the music in Roman
Statkowski’s opera Maria and
conducted it with great success. He
has conducted a number of recordings
of music for television, film and
theatre. |
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