PWM

search
Advanced
Ministerstwo Kultury i Dziedzictwa Narodowego
biuletyn informacji publicznej

News

Zygmunt Krauze's "Pułapka" (The Trap) - Reviews in the Press

2012-01-02
Here we present fragments of reviews published after the premiere of Zygmunt Krauze’s latest opera „Pułapka”. All the critics are in agreement in their assessment of Ewelina Pietrowiak’s superb staging, they all underline the role of the wonderful music, which has drawn out the most important aspects of Różewicz’s drama that are not always captured by stage realisations. "Wroclaw Opera, in staging “Pułapka” have given a wonderful tribute to Tadeusz Różewicz. Zygmunt Krauze and Grzegorz Jarzyna carefully made the necessary abbreviations in the play, which is considered the poet’s most important dramatic achievement. They preserved its structure and layout of scenes. Zygmunt Krauze's music does not blur the meaning of the words. Short orchestral introductions before each successive image, and a few choral episodes are actually the only added elements. The rest is based on dialogues and supplemented with expressive monologues. The composer repeats themes assigned to particular individuals, the score is constructed like of a set of building blocks, but then the "Pułapka" consists of obsessively recurring threads.
Ewelina Pietrowiak, director and author of the scenography, realised an ascetic, but visually beautiful „Pułapka”, perfectly bringing out the ambiguity. It is understandable to those who did not know the play before earlier, its reference to the biography of Franz Kafka (superb Mariusz Godlewski), his complicated relationship with his father (brutal Wiktor Gorelnikow), his inability to lay out life with his fiancée (the vocally subtle Joanna Moskowicz), and his servitude to his friend (Jacek Jaskuła)."
Śmierć czeka w szafie, Jacek Marczyński, Rzeczpospolita, 2011-12-19


Wrocław: Zygmunt Krauze, Pułapka, world premiere. First of all: great directing, simple, but sophisticated, effective, but discreet. Ewelina Pietrowiak is getting better in staging operas (she also creates set design). And this was not easy. Scenes from Kafka's life, filtered through Różewicz and his memory of the war (the specific role of the wardrobe, anticipating the fate of the Jews) were captured by the composer in the "moaning" orchestral backing, as if out of tune, and the characteristic prosodic mannerism that Krauze has used in most of his operas: a personalised chanting, with detached individual words and sometimes strange accentuation. It is sadly monotonous and tedious, but maybe it was supposed to be a means to express the stuffy, Kafkaesque atmosphere?
Dorota Szwarcman, Weekendowe premiery, POLITYKA 19 December 2011


This Różewicz-Krauze „Pułapka” is an unusual presentation. A chamber opera in which there are no arias, everything is based on dialogue, and the text of the libretto is a shortened text of the play (bravo for the composer and Grzegorz Jarzyna, because  the cuts have unearthed what is most important, and the music has further underlined it). Ewelina Pietrowiak, director and set designer, has a unique gift for the realisation of contemporary opera (...). On stage, nothing is accidental, and the technical and multimedia possibilities are used not for gimmicks, but to emphasize the sense. Simple, economical set design is the hallmark of Ewelina Pietrowiak, who skillfully operates with symbolism, which is not lacking in Różewicz’s drama. And most importantly - under her direction, the opera singers show that they are also dramatic actors. Because they not only sing, but most of all, they play.
Ja też jestem pułapką, Katarzyna Kaczorowska, Gazeta Wrocławska, 2011-12-19


I appreciate this play not only for its intellectual and emotional capacity, but also for its form. And this form has become the key to the operatic success of the drama, successfully staged in the theatres (...). Zygmunt Krauze's music successfully highlights the grotesque incompatibility of the characters to the situation in which time and delusion caught them. Using a Webernian motif, the composer worked like an animator of the rhythm of the existence of the heroes trapped in events, social stereotypes, apparent male-female-family relationships, individual longings-needs. The people of the drama behave like participants in a ball of mannequins, which the operatic convention perfectly captures. The unnatural singing fits perfectly to the "epic of being out of place" as has been written about Różewicz’s "Pułapka".

There would be no victory for this presentation without Ewelina Pietrowiak. Most of the audience in anecdotal discussion praised the work of this young director. Rightly so. She found a way to join together all the stage elements. In so far as opera machinery allows, she dynamised the action, harmoniously using the mechanics, multimedia, and especially the acting talents lying dormant in the singers, not always given a chance to flourish. (...) Theatrically and vocally brilliant Mariusz Godlewski in the difficult role of Franz, the high flying (equally well in both categories) also includes Joanna Moskowicz (Felicja).
Pułapka (Opera Wrocławska), Grzegorz Chojnowski, Polskie Radio Wrocław, 2011-12-19


This year's last premiere in Wrocław Opera primarily highlights Ewelina Pietrowiak’s phenomenal directing. Zygmunt Krauze’s work does not raise such a delight, though together with Grzegorz Jarzyna the composer created a coherent libretto based on Tadeusz Różewicz’s  difficult drama. The musical layer, however, leaves us unsatisfied. We have something to compare it to, for Wrocław audiences remember the premiere of the third version of Zygmunt Krauze’s great opera Gwiazda” with Agata Zubel’s memorable creation.

There, one character ruled supreme on the stage, in the case of „Pułapka” there are many, which requires a completely different reception. Apparently, before the premiere, Zygmunt Krauze indicated that he did not want his work compared with Tadeusz Różewicz’s play, but treated as an integral piece. The intention to some extent succeeded, though, quite paradoxically, mainly thanks to the staging which could easily be shown in any self-respecting opera house in the world. (...) „Pułapka” should be seen not only by music lovers, but also by those hungry for good, classical theatre, which does not distort the letters of the text and does not seek contexts where there are none.
Opera teatrem. Po premierze „Pułapki” Zygmunta Krauzego w Operze Wrocławskiej
Magdalena Talik, Kreatywny Wrocław, 2011-12-19




After the premiere of Zygmunt Krauze’s „Pułapka” based on Tadeusz Różewicz’s play. There is no more depressing - and at the same time equally beautiful - spectacle in the repertoire of any opera house in Poland. This is not an hashing of Różewicz’s famous play into an opera, but more a lush abstract from a multi-threaded story enveloped in the threads of  Franz Kafka’s life.
Co za piękny i dołujący spektakl. Zobaczysz w Operze  Adam Domagała,
Gazeta Wyborcza Wrocław, 2011-12-20


Most popular:

THE TALE OF THE HEART. FAVOLA IN MUSICA: a joint project by Aleksander Nowak and Radek Rak from ANAKLASIS on sale as of 6th October

It is a musical-literary tale about a quest for identity, truth, and for what makes us human. The new stage work by Aleksander Nowak – which is, at the same time, Radek Rak’s operatic debut – explores the sources of good and evil, fusing reality with mythology and steering towards ‘the left-hand side of the world’. The authors spin a tale about the dual human nature. THE TALE OF THE HEART. FAVOLA IN MUSICA – the album that presents their joint project – will go on sale on 6th October.

 

Różycki’s Adventures in Jazzland. The album INSPIRED BY LUDOMIR RÓŻYCKI from ANAKLASIS on sale as of 28th August

Spectacularly successful as Ludomir Różycki’s music was in his lifetime, it is seldom programmed nowadays. All the same, such remarkable art could hardly fall into utter oblivion. It has attracted and fascinated excellent jazz pianist Kuba Stankiewicz, who has translated it into the language of jazz. The effects have been recorded and released on ANAKLASIS label’s most recent album, INSPIRED BY LUDOMIR RÓŻYCKI, which goes on sale as of 28th August.
 

PWM przenosi się na Wiejską

PWM Edition is entering the execution phase of the revitalisation of its Warsaw department. With the commencement of the renovation and the implementation of the assumptions of the architectural design, the Hire Department and the editorial office of “Ruch Muzyczny” are moving to a temporary headquarters at 19 Wiejska Street, Warsaw.

THE QUEEN THAT LOVED A GERMAN. OUR ALBUM WANDA PREMIERES ON 31ST MARCH!

This is by no means a piece about the centuries-long Polish-German conflict. It is, instead, a tale of impossible love, of tragic conflict between personal happiness and the common good.

PWM Edition is the exclusive representative of the Ricordi publishing house in Poland

PWM Edition resumes cooperation with the Italian publishing house Ricordi, as well as with its international partners forming Universal Music Publishing Classics & Screen. This means that rentals of orchestral materials from the catalogues of all publishing houses belonging to Classics & Screen is carried out in Poland by Dział Zbiorów Nutowych (Sheet Music Department) of PWM.

#SHARPENYOUREARS WITH ANAKLASIS: THE LABEL’S THIRD BIRTHDAY

The most fascinating phenomena in contemporary music; a wide range of genres; outstanding works, excellent composers and performers – are the trademarks of the record label ANAKLASIS, launched by PWM Edition. ANAKLASIS is now celebrating its third birthday. It continues to grow at a dizzying pace and maintains the high artistic standards of its releases.

VIRTUOSITY WITH A FLOURISH. ELŻBIETA SIKORA’S CONCERTOS ALBUM PREMIERES ON 2ND DECEMBER!

When asked to attempt a definition of her music, she called it lyrical expressionism. The choice of this term says much about the emotional intensity of Elżbieta Sikora’s music, which may reflect the experience of her two home countries, Poland and France, but is also a consequence of her artistic maturation in an age when two powerful trends – the avant-garde and neo-Classicism – were vying for the palm. Such a label may also result from the artist’s focus on the listener as her target, whom she invariably attempts to surprise, shock, or bewilder.

Polish chamber music of the 19th and 20th centuries in Estonia!

In cooperation with the Estonian Academy of Music and Theater and the Embassy of the Republic of Poland in Tallinn, we invite you to two concerts and lectures presenting the diversity and beauty of Polish music. 

The first “ChopinLand Piano Competition” in Japan goes down in history

Over 300 performances of works by Polish composers, 114 finalists, a total of 36 repertoire pieces in 6 age categories, 20 winners, 17 jurors, 4 competition locations and one day of master classes. The piano competition for children and teenagers, “ChopinLand Piano Competition,” is behind us – an extraordinary project that took several months, which PWM Edition organized in Japan. Thanks to cooperation with local partners, Polish music could reach hundreds of young pianists and their teachers, creating the ambassadors of Polish music in the Land of the Rising Sun.