Donizetti’s love tragedy to the inauguration of 32nd Bydgoszcz Opera Festival

Gaetano Donizetti’s opera “Lucia di Lammermoor”, prepared by the company of Opera Nova under the direction of world-class director Thaddeus Strassberger, will open the 32nd Bydgoszcz Opera Festival on Saturday (25 April). The program includes performances and operas by theatres from the Netherlands, Latvia, Monaco, and Poland. The event, held on the stage of Opera Nova in Bydgoszcz, is co-financed by the regional government.

“The Bydgoszcz Opera Festival offers encounters with outstanding creators and culture at the highest level. I invite you to a unique spiritual feast and a journey into a world created by remarkable artists,” says Marshal Piotr Całbecki.

The first-ever production of this Donizetti masterpiece on the Bydgoszcz opera stage is being prepared for Opera Nova by Thaddeus Strassberger—an acclaimed American director, set designer, and costume designer, who this year directed the operatic part of the closing ceremony of the Winter Olympic Games in the historic Arena di Verona amphitheatre.

“Lucia di Lammermoor is a story about what happens to a person who is denied the space to be themselves. […] For me, this opera is therefore about the point of no return—how long one can live against their own nature and what happens when it becomes impossible. This is not an abstract tragedy. It is something very real,” explains Thaddeus Strassberger.

During the Bydgoszcz Opera Festival, seven outstanding opera and ballet productions created by artists from across Europe will be presented.

For the first time in Bydgoszcz, one of the world’s leading contemporary dance companies, Nederlands Dans Theater 2 from the Netherlands, will perform two choreographies by internationally acclaimed creators: “Folkå” by Marcos Morau and “Saaba” by Sharon Eyal and Gai Behar.

The world-class company Les Ballets de Monte-Carlo (Monaco) will once again appear on the Bydgoszcz stage, presenting the ballet “LAC”—an original interpretation of “Swan Lake” with choreography and libretto by Jean-Christophe Maillot.

Details of all performances are available on the Opera Nova website.

The Bydgoszcz Opera Festival will conclude on 10 May with a finale performed by the Latvian National Opera, presenting “Salome” with music and libretto by Richard Strauss based on the drama by Oscar Wilde.

The expansion of the Bydgoszcz opera house with an additional so-called fourth circle is currently underway. The investment, carried out by the regional government, will be completed in December.

Beata Krzemińska
Spokesperson for the Marshal’s Office

22 April 2026