The immortal chimera
On Oct. 6, 1600 a select audience gathered in a salon of the Pitti Palace in Firenze to celebrate the wedding of Maria de'Medici to Henry IV of France. As they listened to Jacobo Peri's "Euridice" no one was aware they were also celebrating the birth of an art form opera.
On Oct. 6, 2000 an audience gathered in the theater of the Warszawska Opera Kameralna to celebrate the 400th anniversary of that birth, and watch a performance of Peri's dramma per musica. Uniquely, the Kameralna appears to be the only opera company in the world to present "Euridice" to mark the anniversary. The oldest surviving opera also served to launch the company's year-long birthday festival "Niesmiertelna Chimera" (The Immortal Chimera).
Artistic director Stefan Sutkowski said his company is the only one in the world celebrating on such a scale. Few would disagree: 133 performances of 58 operas, including seven new productions, two of which are world premieres, in Warsaw alone. The company will also give 70 performances during its tours of Germany, France, Lebanon and Spain. The repertoire is far ranging and, given the size of the theater, far reaching composers from Monteverdi to Matuszczak, Rossini to Rudzinski; operas in Italian, French, English, German and Polish.
Some would call the schedule "adventurous," others "foolhardy," but Sutkowski sees it as a challenge for his company of 70 singers. He knows that they are being stretched and counts on their abilities as artists and members of an ensemble to come through. "My hope is that no performance will be less than good and more often very good," he said. But he also admitted that in the world of live theater, perfect performance rarely happens. He said that what often brings people to an opera house is the unpredictability of a live performance.
With so many works being performed, rehearsal time for revivals can be limited and at times shows can have an almost ad hoc air. Sutkowski feels this is where a house production style and relatively unchanged casts from year to year can be an advantage, although this year there are a number of singers appearing in roles for the first time.
One of those singers is Artur Stefanowicz, an internationally known counter-tenor, who will be singing his first Telemeco in the revival of "Il Ritorno d'Ulisse in Patria." He is one of the few guest artists appearing during the festival and expressed his pleasure at returning to sing with the company after several years' absence. He has nothing but praise for the members of the Kameralna ensemble; in fact he used the word "genius" to describe their ability to work under the restrictions of heavy performance schedules. He feels it is necessary to be a good actor and more truthful in performance in a smaller theater. He also feels that working in a house as small as the Kameralna has its difficulties for singers.
"The audience is so close with a good audience it can be invigorating but the man asleep in the second row can be distracting," Stefanowicz joked. And it is hard for a performer to miss the audience in the 160-seat theater. On some occasions, such as last week's birthday performances, when young people with their red cushions are sitting on the steps of the stage, it's almost impossible.
Sutkowski is as pleased with the sight of these young opera lovers "The future of our company" as he was with the standing ovation that greeted the performance on Oct. 6. He said it was an exciting start to a "once in a lifetime occasion." Few people who saw the performance would disagree.
