The capital of Poland has plenty to offer, in a way that you are never bored (if you are brave enough to face the cold during winter). It is important for your personal development to broaden your opinions and to have some variety of cultural entertainment. Here, I recommend that you do so by visiting an amazing place and to watch some fantastic performances. This will enhance both your creativity and a critical mind (and pleasure I hope!) for you.
Many cultural events are taking place in The Grand Theatre – Polish National Opera. This is one of the larger theatres in Europe, inaugurated in 1833. It was an important place for politics and Polish artists. Unfortunately, the edifice was destroyed during the war, bombed and burned, and being a place of terrible executions. Later on, after 20 years of being closed it reopened in 1965 with brand new architecture, only keeping the façade, imaging the grandiose building it was at the time!
Today, The Polish National Opera performs great plays produced by Polish composers but the repertoire also contains major figures of the best international operas of all time.
The Warsaw Ballet Company performs there as well, cooperating with international and Polish choreographers such as Leon Woizikovsky, Stanisław Miszczyk, Witold Gruca and Emil Wesołowski.
The building features two auditoriums as well as a museum (and a club named “Opera” that I am pretty sure all of you have or will visit ;-) ).
The Stanisław Moniuszko Auditorium hosts the biggest performances and has 1841 seats. The more cozy, The Emil Młynarski Auditorium has 248 seats.
The two godfathers of Polish Opera and Ballet stands in front of the building (Wojciech Bogusławski and Stanisław Moniuszko). Their statues were made by Jan Szczepkowski.
I am telling you all of this because I had the chance to go there couple of times already. I try to go two or three times every season. Every time I enter this building, with such high ceilings, glass doors and impressive stairs, I feel so impressed. Climbing to the floors walking on red carpets gives you a feeling of almost being at the Cannes’ festival. When entering the auditorium, one can only appreciate the decoration and typical opera style. Just raise your look to see the galaxy ceiling and open your ears to hear the perfect resonance of the orchestra playing live.
A Few tips:
-Be on time or even in advance to benefit from the atmosphere. When the doors are close, you cannot enter until the break.
– Enjoy the small prices of the students tickets
– Dress up a little ;)
– Take a glass of champagne during the break, and enjoy!
Visit the English website here and find the calendar here.
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Great tips!))
@Letty : I’ve passed by The Grand Theatre atleast a hundred times & always wondered what happens on the inside of this great-looking building. Useful piece of information indeed :)