The main festival venues are the open-air Forest Opera in the coastal resort of Sopot and the Baltic Opera in the nearby port city of Gdańsk.
The event is set to open with a Kraków Opera production of Karol Szymanowski's Lottery for Husbands, or Fiancé No. 69, a work that occupies a special place in the composer’s output, being his only venture into the lighter genre of operetta.
The festival on the Polish Baltic coast will also feature two performances of Wagner’s The Flying Dutchman, with the Baltic Opera Orchestra conducted by Marek Janowski, a prominent German conductor of Polish descent.
The artistic concept of the production is by Konieczny, who hopes that the Baltic Opera Festival will become an annual celebration of opera attracting music lovers from across Europe.
The Polish opera singer last year celebrated the 25th anniversary of his career, which has seen him perform at some of the world’s most prestigious venues, including the Bayreuth Festival in southern Germany.
The Baltic Opera Festival runs until July 17 and features a variety of attractions including a film marathon and a special programme for children.
The film marathon includes screenings of a Theater an der Wien production of Stanisław Moniuszko’s Halka directed by Poland’s Mariusz Treliński and starring Polish tenor Piotr Beczała, and a selection of films by Canadian director Larry Weinstein, whose work focuses on various musical subjects.
Weinstein is expected to attend the festival as one of its special guests.
(mk/gs)
At a press conference in Warsaw to announce the festival earlier this year, Konieczny spoke to Radio Poland's Elżbieta Krajewska.
Click on the audio player above to listen.