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Coming Soon - Premiere of the Opera "Madame Curie" by Elżbieta Sikora to a Libretto of Agata Miklaszewska
2011-11-03
On November 15, 2011 the world premiere of Elżbieta Sikora's opera "Madame Curie" will take place in Paris, performed to celebrate the International Year of Chemistry and the 100th anniversary of Maria Skłodowska-Curie being awarded the Nobel Prize. The opera is being prepared by artists from the Baltic Opera, on whose stage the work will be presented on November 25, 2011.The opera’s libretto was written by Agata Miklaszewska, writer and poet, author of monodramas, stories, tales (including „Kamyk“, „Huśtawka“), and also texts to musicals such as „Metro”, „Romeo i Julia” , „Mała księżniczka” and „Kaj i Gerda – baśń o Królowej Śniegu”.
The author wrote of her entry into the world of the great scholar, “to be honest I knew very little about Maria Skłodowska-Curie - I forgot about her when I finished high school. I read everything again – first and foremost the book by her daughter Eve Curie, written with remarkable literary talent. Had it not been for her, we would know little about Maria. The more I read material about Maria Curie, letters, notes by people who knew her - it seemed to me that I knew less and less about her. Even the title of the libretto before it "became" the opera was "elusive". It seemed that some things were completely foreign to her, but suddenly, in friends’ recollections, in a comment which someone wrote to someone else about her, I found some remark that cast Maria in an entirely new light. At some point I got a little confused. I had the impression that there were two different Marias, one of whom did not want to be in the spotlight, but was constantly there. I hope I did not put Madame Skłodowska-Curie through further distress…”
On the question of historical accuracy in the work the author answers, “all events and people are real - of course I have imagined around them too - but I hope that I haven’t done anyone any harm. The truth rather surpassed my literary ideas - for example, a photograph taken by an amateur at a conference in Solway, where we see Maria Skłodowska-Curie, surrounded by the greatest physicists of the last century, smiling and laughing, gracefully turning around as if dancing. I could not believe it was her. Lovely Madame Curie...They all knew each other, were friends - Pauli, Bohr, Heisenberg, young Einstein. For them, she must have been fascinating in her constant desire to explain some part of the mystery of the world. She had in her hands a mineral that shined, very mysterious, dangerous, deadly, which slowly realized – and then not only did she not want to, but was unable to give up the fight, at all costs to direct her discovery in the direction of good, not war. And it escaped from her hands, just like everything else. She wanted to be 'invisible' – she was on the candleholder, she sought peace, which was continually ruined by people and destiny. She loved France, but in her heart she was Polish, and when Poland regained its independence Polish science found a supporter in her and thanks to her the first institute of oncology was established. I am grateful to Elżbieta Sikora for 'forcing' me the libretto topic – thanks to that I could get close to the wonderful world of Mrs. Curie Skłodowska, but she herself remained for me in a fascinating way – still elusive.”
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