The Haunted Manor (Straszny Dwor) in San Francisco, CA
The Pocket Opera presents The Haunted Manor (Straszny Dwor) by Stanislaw Moniuszko (1819 Minsk -1872 Warsaw) in a new translation with lyrics in English.
A NEW TRANSLATION of a buoyant and colorful comedy, by a composer revered in Poland as second only to Chopin.
“It is hard to think of a more prodigiously tuneful opera after Mozart than The Haunted Manor” wrote one critic. Greatly beloved in Poland where it is often performed, and where it is considered the quintessential Polish opera, comparable to The Bartered Bride, the quintessential Czech opera, yet it is practically unknown elsewhere. Pocket Opera, nudged by a matching grant from the National Endowment for the Arts, comes to the rescue!
Two young soldiers, in a characteristically Polish burst of patriotic fervor, make a vow to remain single in order to be instantly available in case of need – a not unlikely prospect, considering their homeland’s turbulent history and its precarious location, sandwiched between two powerful and aggressive neighbors, Russia to the East, Prussia to the West.
This causes great consternation among the unmarried ladies in a land largely depleted of eligible men, due to decades of losses on the battlefield. Despite the somber background, a lively, exuberant, romantic comedy emerges, with a parade of colorful characters and a sparkling, ever flowing stream of dancelike melodies – the mazurka, the polonaise, the krakoviak . . .
How does the haunted manor come into play? Come and find out!
Costumes and props on-loan from the Polish Arts and Culture Foundation and Łowiczanie Polish Folk Ensemble. Łowiczanie will perform in the opera. Singers include Patrycja Poluchowicz and Dalyte Kodzis. Rehearsal space for the Pocket Opera partially subsidized by The Polish Club Inc. (San Francisco).
Performances:
- Sunday, April 19th, 2:00 PM at the Legion of Honor – Florence Gould Theatre at the CPLH, San Francisco, CA
- Sunday, April 26th, 2:00 PM at the Legion of Honor – Florence Gould Theatre at the CPLH, San Francisco, CA
- Saturday, May 9th, 2:00 PM at the Julia Morgan Theater – Julia Morgan Center for the Arts, Berkeley, CA
Philip Lowery from Pocket Opera will be interviewed by Zbigniew Stanczyk, “Studio Poland,” to air this coming Sunday, April 19th at 2pm on San Francisco’s KUSF (90.3 FM on your radio dial, or listen online).