Directed by Britain’s David Pountney, it is to open on November 22, on the eve of the 91st anniversary of the birth of Penderecki, who died in 2020 at the age of 86.
The work, with a libretto based on a 1928 play by Gerhart Hauptmann, had its world premiere in 1986. Addressing a press conference at the National Opera on Monday, its managing director Waldemar Dąbrowski said that for Pountney The Black Mask is “a present-day warning against building social order on fragile foundations”.
Richard Strauss’ Ariadne auf Naxos, directed by Mariusz Treliński, the company’s artistic director, is to be another highlight of the new season.
Other premieres include Verdi’s Simon Boccanegra, as well as the semi-staged productions of Gounod’s Romeo and Juliet and The Ghost of the Voivode by the little-known Polish composer Ludwig Grossman (1835-1915).
The ballet repertoire for the 2024/25 season includes Prometheus with music by Philip Glass and Mozart, choreographed by Krzysztof Pastor.
Previous seasons’ productions of Mozart’s The Magic Flute and Cosi fan tutte, Bizet’s Carmen, Puccini’s Tosca and Moniuszko’s The Haunted Manor remain in the company’s staple repertoire.
The National Opera is also to be the venue of a special event to mark the inauguration of the Polish presidency of the Council of the European Union in the first half of 2025.
(mk/jh)
Source: PAP