Opera in 4 acts
Libretto by Henri de Saint-Georges
In cooperation with the Krakow Polish Music Festival- 2011 edition
Aleksandra Buczek (soprano)
Florian Sempey (baritone)
Juraj Hollý (tenor)
Jadwiga Postrozyna (mezzo soprano)
Xu Chang (tenor)
Karol Szymanowski Philharmonic Choir of Kraków
Teresa Majka-Pacanek, choirmaster
Kraków Festival Orchestra
Massimiliano Caldi, conductor
Recorded live on July 23, 2011 at the Kraków Philharmonic Hall
A CD with a selection from the “Grand Opera Pierre De Medicis” by Józef Poniatowski, dauphin of the famous royal household conducted by Caldi and recorded live on July 23, 2011 at the Krakow Philharmonic Hall during the seventh edition of the festival was released by the Krakow Polish Music Festival.
The opera, which only takes its cue from the events of the De Medici family and whose plot tells stories of love and battles, is set in Pisa and was first staged in Paris in 1860 for about 50 performances. It was later staged at the Teatro alla Scala in the 1879 Carnival/Lent season in the Italian version.
In Kraków it was a first performance in modern times in the French version by Henri de Saint-Georges, which was met with much interest and success by the public and critics alike: “Poniatowski’s music,” writes critic Didier van Moer on concertonet.com, “is damnably well written and, while deliberately brutal in some passages, does not leave one absolutely unmoved.
The CD can be purchased for 34.90 ZL (8.53 euros) by contacting the festival secretariat directly at: office@fmp.org.pl (www.fmp.org.pl).
“The opera, which draws on the tradition of the great French operas in its division into pictures and on that of the Italian operatic tradition in the composition of the duets, does not in itself present a new structure but one of great musical impact. The latter is helped by Milanese conductor Massimiliano Caldi who, leading the Krakow Festival Orchestra, from the overture creates the right dynamic tensions that give rhythm to the opera.” (Opernglass – November 2012 – W.Kutzschbach)
SMP Label – Year 2012