The Polish Opera in London is a chorus based group that works throughout the year to promtoe Polish Opera. Later in the year agreements are struck to bring in dance groups and soloists for the full productions, however the main group is the chorus. Throughout the years the chorus members have joined, left etc due to other commitments and rejoined for new productions etc but we pride ourselve on the fact that even if you only come to one rehearsal and cannot take part in the final production, you are still a welcome member of our group and we keep you in the mailing lists because your particpation contributes to the spreading of the knowledge of Polish Opera around the world. Beginning with Moniuszko's one act opera Verbum Nobile (2008), the Polish Social and Cultural Association POSK has presented a cycle of Moniuszko operas during the last 11 years including Halka (2014), Straszny Dwor (2015), Hrabina (2016), Pariah (2017), Fliss (2018) and Jawnuta (2019) as well as a 200th Birthday Gala featuring fragments of unkown outside Poland operatic and symphonic music.
Soloists have included Polish opera singers resident in UK Marcin Gesla, Lukasz Biela, Przemyslaw Baranek, Violetta Gawara, Milena Dobrzynska, Piotr Lempa, Kamil Bien as well as guests from Polish opera houses Bydgoszcz, Lodz, Warszawa, Wroclaw and Bytom including sopranos Agnieszka Adamczak, Monika Swiostek, mezzo Olga Marroszek, tenors Rafal Bartminski, Lukasz Gaj, Tadeusz Szlenkier and Maciej Komandera. Music staff pianists have included Marek Ruszczynski, Wolfgang Fritsch, William Fielding among others.
Choruses built up from different Polish choirs in London as well as traditional dances by London based Polish ensembles as well as the participation of a Waltham Forest Ballet School have made the events highly entertaining, dynamic and memorable leading to great reviews in Opera, Opera Now and the Stage magazines as well as Polish magazines Goniec, Cooltura, Tydzien Polski with brilliant media support by Tomasz Furmanek and dramatic photography by Ryszard Szydlo among others.
Productions have featured stage directors Richard Fawkes, Jarek Zawartko and Felix Tarnawski and conductors Alexander Walker and Stephen Ellery with scenery by Mike Leopold and costumes by Beata Barton-Chapple and lighting by Zubair Dhalla.
During Covid lockdown 2021 we were invited by Conductors in Isolation to give a talk about the operatic music of Moniuszko.
If you are interested in any aspect of our work or would like to join, recommend someone or become a supporter of our work please contact either myself, Stephen Ellery
27B Poppleton Rd, London, E11 1LP
0044 7845778100/0044 203 566 7119
ellery007@hotmail.com
or
Polish Social and
Cultural Association Ltd
238-246 King Street
London
W6 0RF
