Performance

There is no doubt that the Polish premiere of the opera "A Streetcar Named Desire" will be a significant event in our operatic life. The composer, André Previn, received the Grand Prix du Disque for its recording back in 1998, and his soundtracks for Gigi, Porgy and Bess, Sweet Irma, and My Fair Lady were awarded Oscars. The playwright himself, Tennessee Williams, a two-time Pulitzer Prize winner, needs no special recommendations. His works such as The Glass Menagerie, Cat on a Hot Tin Roof, The Night of the Iguana, Sweet Bird of Youth, and of course A Streetcar Named Desire have been staples of dramatic stages worldwide for decades, and their numerous film adaptations have brought fame, recognition, and awards to stars of the screen such as Vivien Leigh, Ava Gardner, Elizabeth Taylor, Marlon Brando, Richard Burton, and Paul Newman.

 

Audiences have embraced Williams' drama "A Streetcar Named Desire." It can be safely assumed that they will also love Previn's opera, especially since the Łódź production is in the hands of the reliable Maciej Prus—a great master of Polish theatrical directing—and maestro Tadeusz Kozłowski, who often manages to extract more from the music than what is written in the notes.