Wexford Festival Opera Presents The Rare Polish Opera Maria 10/22

On Saturday, October 22, 2011 Wexford Festival Opera will produce, for the first time outside its native Poland, the tragic opera, Maria by Roman Statkowski. First performed in Warsaw in 1906, Roman Statkowski is regarded as one of the most important Polish composers before Szymanowski. He was a composition teacher in Warsaw when he entered a competition in 1903 to compose an opera inspired by Antoni Malczewski's 1825 epic Romantic poem Maria (Ukrainian Tale). Statkowski wrote his own libretto as well as composing the music, and won the competition with Maria. Although it was successfully performed in Warsaw in 1906 it has been performed only a few times since then.

At the heart of this opera is the grotesque contrast between two fathers and their love for their children. The Wexford Opera production features a predominately Polish cast and renowned Polish Conductor, Tomasz Tokarczyk.

Artistic Director David Agler has the pleasure of introducing this long forgotten gem to the audiences outside of its native Poland. The Wexford Festival Opera production will transfer to Krakow Opera in March 2012. He said, "There are many ways one comes across lost works. In this case, a friend of mine was driving across Poland and heard a recording of ‘Maria' on the radio. He contacted me straight away and the result will be seen on the stage at Wexford Opera House on the 22nd of October."

Such is the fervour of feeling in its native Poland that The Adam Mickiewicz Institute - a Polish Cultural Institute enthusiastically agreed to support the production at Wexford Festival Opera.

The Adam Mickiewicz Institute is a government cultural institution which aims to popularise Polish culture around the world and cooperate on cultural projects with countries all over the world to popularise Poland's history and culture. Further information on The Adam Mickiewicz Institute can be obtained by visiting their website www.iam.pl or www.culture.pl

Coinciding with Poland holding the EU Presidency for the 2nd half of the year, the Polish Ambassador to Ireland, Marcin Nawrot, will attend the opening performance on Saturday, October 22 of this highly anticipated production.
Nikola Sekowska cultural attaché at the Polish Embassy in Dublin said, "The Wexford Opera Festival gives us a unique opportunity to present Polish culture at its best to Irish audiences, especially by promoting Polish opera - a genre that has rarely been presented on the Emerald Isle before. We are even more honoured on this occasion as the performance falls during the 6-month Polish Presidency of the EU Council, which is a very significant time for our country and we are thrilled to be able to celebrate it in style."
Wexford Festival Opera will present over 50 daytime and evening events in all over the 16 days. Full programme details and information on purchasing can be found on www.wexfordopera.com Tickets for ‘Maria' are €35 - €130 and can be purchased by phone +353 (0)53 912 2144, in person from Wexford Opera House box-office or online at www.wexfordopera.com

Wexford town also hosts a vibrant fringe festival coinciding with the Opera Festival that includes art exhibitions, drama, music, historical tours and of course the famous singing and swinging pubs competition. Details can be obtained on www.wexfordfringe.ie.

The performance has been organised and produced by the Wexford Opera Festival in cooperation with Krakow Opera and the Adam Mickiewicz Institute. Irish Partners include: Arts Council, Failte Ireland, Independent News & Media PLC, Wexford Borough Council and Wexford County Council.

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