The Haunted Manor

5.05.1819 (Ubiel) – 4.06.1872 (Warszawa)

• Dariusz Mikulski (Music Director / Producer)
• Natalia Puczniewska (Hanna)
• Magdalena Wilczyńska-Goś (Jadwiga)
• Karol Bochański (Stefan)

The Haunted Manor (Polish: Straszny dwór) is an opera in four acts composed by Polish composer Stanisław Moniuszko in 1861–1864. The libretto was written by Jan Chęciński. Despite being a romance and a comedy, it has strong Polish patriotic undertones, which made it both popular with the Polish public and unpopular – to the point of being banned – by the Russian authorities of Congress Poland

Background and reception – The story represents both an idyllic view of life in a Polish country manor house, and at the same time an idealistic preoccupation with the patriotic duties of the soldier, the military virtues of courage, bravery, and readiness to take up arms against any enemy of the nation, and the importance of family honor. It presents in its opening scenes the obvious conflict between those patriotic aspirations on the one hand, and every man’s desire for a quiet home life, love and marriage, on the other.
The opera is one of the most popular opera scores in Poland, praised for its harmonies, construction of group scenes, instrumentation, dramatic style, integration of Polish songs and dances (mazurkas, polonaises, varsovienes, polkas and krakowiaks) and Polish atmosphere.

Producers and main performers:

Dariusz Mikulski (Music Director / Producer)
Natalia Puczniewska – Hanna
Magdalena Wilczyńska-Goś – Jadwiga
Jolanta Podlewska – Cześnikowa
Karol Bochański – Stefan
Jaromir Trafankowski – Zbigniew
Marek Kępczyński – Skołuba