Heroine of what is reputedly Poland's most cherished opera, Halka is beautiful, bright, passionate and irresistible.
Yet in the eyes of Gianni, a handsome, dashing young landowner, she has two fatal flaws: she is poor, and she is a peasant.
Nonetheless they have a fervent romance that leads to the birth of a child. But promises of marriage seem to become increasingly
vague and elusive. Suddenly Gianni disappears. Halka, deeply in love, cannot believe that he has abandoned her.
Accompanied by a faithful friend who has been in love with her since childhood, she goes out searching for her missing
lover and succeeds in finding him on the very day that his engagement to the daughter of a wealthy noblemen is being announced.
The worst is yet to come, whereby Halka joins the magnificently tragic ranks that include Norma, Donna Elvira, Gilda, Jenufa,
and Cio Cio San -- unforgettable women who fell in love with the wrong man and in so doing inspired some of the most hauntingly
beautiful, heartrending music ever written.
A richly melodic score, steeped in Polish folk balladry and dance rhythms, it has been said that were it in French or Italian,
it would be universally known and loved as one of the great operas of the 19th century. Judge for yourself when it will be heard
for the first time ever in a brand new English translation. Incidentally, you may recall that Moniuszko, was also the composer of
THE HAUNTED MANOR, which last season's audiences found so exhilarating,
