“Il mondo della luna” – a humorous, classic opera buffa in three acts with music by Franz Joseph Haydn and a libretto by Carl Goldoni is the latest co-production of the Grażyna and Kiejstut Bacewicz University of Music in Łódź and Trondheim Symfoniorkester & Opera as part of the international project New voices, rediscovered operas. Establishment of the Polish-Norwegian Opera Academy.

The premiere performances will take place on April 6-9, this year, in the Concert Hall of the University of Music in Łódź (6.00 pm). Free tickets can be collected at the ticket office of the Lodz University of Music at Żubardzka St. No 2a.

The musical director of the opera is Jan Willem De Vriend, a Dutch conductor specializing in the performance of the music of the oldest Viennese classics. Eva Buchmann, a Dutch opera director of Swiss origin, known to the audience of Łódź for her production of the operas “Lo speziale” by Haydn and “Semele” by Haendel, directed “Il mondo della luna”. Zuzanna Markiewicz, an artist associated with the Grand Theatre in Łódź, was entrusted with the implementation of the set design and costumes. The cast will include young opera singers from Poland and Norway, accompanied by an excellent symphony orchestra from Trondheim.

The plot of Goldoni’s libretto is reminiscent of Molière’s comedies and draws extensively on the tradition of Italian farce. The perfect intrigue of the comedy harmonizes with the humorous music by Haydn, in which the composer brings out the magical colour with thoughtful instrumentation. The unique, somewhat fairy-tale and fantastic mood of the work is achieved by placing part of the action on the Moon, which in the Lodz staging will be additionally emphasised by the use of illusionist art on stage.

Despite belonging to the commedia dell’arte genre, the work also touches upon serious topics. In her productions, Eva Buchmann tries to highlight contemporary themes, such as social inequality or various psychological phenomena. An example of this is the emphasis on the phenomenon used in the plot, which is currently referred to in psychology as Gaslighting. It is a form of mental abuse, manipulation of reality, inducing madness.

In the production, apart from young and talented musicians connected with Łódź, there will be another accent connected with the city and its cultural heritage. Photographs presenting the historic Karol Poznanski Palace – the main seat of the University of Music – will be used in the scenography. The elevation of the building in the style of the Italian Renaissance ideally reflects the architecture of 18th century Venice, where the action of the opera originally takes place.

The project, financed from a grant by the EEA Funds and the Ministry of Culture and National Heritage, will be continued in June in Trondheim, Norway, where subsequent performances of Haydn’s “Il mondo della luna” will take place. Joint activities for social integration and competitiveness carried out under the project will not end here – next year, another opera production is planned in Łódź and Trondheim.