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Manru

Paderewski

09 – 16 May 2023

The bird loves his little nest,
He cries when he is forced to wander.
Have you no heart ?
Doesn't separation sadden you ?
Tell me, I beg you, why do you wander ?
Has rest no charm for you ?

Manru

Because she has fallen in love with the gypsy Manru, young Ulana is repudiated by her mother and rejected by her village. But Ulana and Manru's love will have to face many other pitfalls: it will have to resist the call of the nomadic life which is stronger than anything and which threatens their family tranquillity... This story of impossible and universal love, between two individuals from hostile communities, has sometimes earned Manru the label of "Polish Carmen".

The composer, Ignacy Jan Paderewski, had an exceptional destiny: a virtuoso who was one of the greatest pianists of his time, he moved to the United States for a time before returning to Poland after the First World War, taking over the government in a country undergoing reconstruction.

Manru, his only opera, was premiered in Dresden in 1901 before, the following year, the Metropolitan Opera opened the way to international recognition in New York. Outside Poland, the work subsequently suffered a long and unjust eclipse, before slowly but surely returning to the operatic stage.

This new production - co-produced by the Halle Opera - presents, for the first time in 120 years, the work in German, the original language of its creation. The young director Katharina Kastening sees Manru as a ruthlessly lucid drama about the failure of utopias and the end of the great romantic ideas in a society plagued by hatred. She poses the unfortunately highly topical question of the origins of hatred between peoples.

Calendar

  • Tue. 09 May 2023
    20:00
    Opéra national de Lorraine
  • Fri. 12 May 2023
    20:00
    Opéra national de Lorraine
  • Sun. 14 May 2023
    15:00
    Opéra national de Lorraine
  • Tue. 16 May 2023
    20:00
    Opéra national de Lorraine

Information

Duration
3h with interval

Prices
€ 5 - 75

Performed in German, with French surtitles
All audiences from 11 years of age

Introduction to the performance
45 minutes before the start of the performance (free of charge, upon presentation of ticket). Duration approx. 20 minutes.

The performance of May 14 includes a Sunday workshop. For more information, click here

Cast

Manru, opera in three acts

First performed at the Dresden Opera House on 29 May 1901


Production

Bühnen Halle 

Coproduction

Opéra national de Lorraine


Libretto

Alfred Nossig after the novel Die Hütte am Rand des Dorfes by Józef Ignacy Kraszewski

Music

Ignacy Jan Paderewski


Conductor

Marta Gardolińska

Opéra national de Lorraine Orchestra

Choir director

Guillaume Fauchère

Opéra national de Lorraine Chorus

Assistant to the musical direction

William Le Sage

Children's choir of the Conservatoire régional du Grand Nancy


Stage direction

Katharina Kastening

Set design, costumes

Gideon Davey

Lighting

Nathalie Perrier

Choreography

David Laera

Dramaturgy

Boris Kehrmann


Hedwig

Janis Kelly

Ulana

Gemma Summerfield

Manru

Thomas Blondelle

Urok

Gyula Nagy

Asa

Lucie Peyramaure

Oros

Tomasz Kumięga

Jagu

Halidou Nombre

Country girls

Heera Bae, Jue Zhang

Mountain voices

Yongwoo Jung, Jue Zhang

Violonist

Artur Banaszkiewicz

Ulana et Manru's daughter

Ariane Castell Prono

Extras

Eric Bontemps, José-María Mantilla, Charles Philippot, Michael Smith, Gilles Taillefer


Children's Choir of the Conservatoire régional du Grand Nancy

Jens Buret-Lacresse, Aurore Camus, Alix Fontaine, Nalia Girodon, Pauline Greco, Sara Hawner Charaf, Robert-William Junot, Alix Ricour

Assistant to the stage direction

Alixe Durand Saint Guillain

Vocal preparation of the Children's Choir

Vincent Tricarri

 

Opera recorded by France Musique for a broadcast on June 3rd 2023 at 8 pm in Samedi à l'opéra.

See also

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