Ballet “Carmen” to Inaugurate the Bydgoszcz Opera Festival
Renowned choreographer Johan Inger and the Ballet of Opera Nova will open the 31st Bydgoszcz Opera Festival on April 26 with a ballet performance of Carmen, set to music by Georges Bizet and contemporary Spanish composer Marc Alvarez Garcia. The festival program features performances by opera and ballet companies from Bulgaria, France, the Czech Republic, Ukraine, and Poland. The event, organized for over three decades by Opera Nova, is financially supported by the regional self-government.
“I invite you to a cultural feast and a journey into the world created by artists from across Europe,” says Marshal Piotr Całbecki.
Since its premiere in 2015, Johan Inger’s Carmen has been staged by several outstanding European ballet companies. On Saturday, April 26, the Polish premiere of the ballet—prepared by Bydgoszcz dancers under the supervision of Toby Mallitt, assistant to the acclaimed Swedish choreographer—will take place. The Opera Nova orchestra will be conducted by Manuel Coves, with Maria Martins, Kazuki Mitsuhashi, and Jorge Gutierrez among the premiere performers.
Through Sunday, May 11, six more exceptional artistic events will take place on the Opera Nova stage. On Tuesday, April 29, the National Opera of Sofia will present Elektra by Richard Strauss, directed by Plamen Kartaloff. On Thursday, May 1, the Musical Theatre from Poznań will perform one of its newest musicals, Dear Evan Hansen, directed by Paweł Szkotak. On May 3, the French troupe Compagnie Käfig returns to Opera Nova under the direction of Mourad Merzouki with the music-and-dance show Phenikx/Vertikal. On May 7, the Janáček National Opera from Brno will present Dalibor by Bedřich Smetana. On Friday, May 9, Giuseppe Verdi’s Luisa Miller: Intrigue and Love will be performed, a production by the Silesian Opera in Bytom in co-production with Italian and French theatres. The festival will conclude on May 11 with Verdi’s Macbeth, performed by the National Opera of Ukraine from Kyiv.
The festival will also include a vocal masterclass led by Artur Ruciński, organized by the Bydgoszcz Academy of Music, and the 15th International Young Opera Forum.
Detailed information about performances and tickets is available on the Opera Nova website.
The regional self-government’s subsidy for the 31st Bydgoszcz Opera Festival amounts to 850,000 PLN.
Beata Krzemińska
Spokesperson of the Marshal’s Office
April 25, 2025
-
- „Carmen” otworzy XXXI Bydgoski Festiwal Operowy, fot. Miłosz Budzyński (Opera Nova)
-
- „Carmen” otworzy XXXI Bydgoski Festiwal Operowy, fot. Miłosz Budzyński (Opera Nova)
-
- „Carmen” otworzy XXXI Bydgoski Festiwal Operowy, fot. Miłosz Budzyński (Opera Nova)
