Stanisław Moniuszko - Halka: Full Opera With English Subtitles (Satanowski) [1000 Sub Special]

I recommend turning on subtitles for the best experience if you cannot read the Polish on the score. The subtitles are optimized for 16x9 screens while watching the video on fullscreen.

Written from 1846-7, revised in 1857.

Conductor: Robert Satanowski
Chór i Orkiestra Teatru Wielkiego

Halka: Barbara Zagórzanka
Jontek: Wiesław Ochman
Stolnik: Jerzy Ostapiuk
Zofia: Ryszarda Racewicz
Janusz: Andrzej Hiolski
Dziemba: Marek Woiciechowski
Other soloists (choir): Bogdan Paprocki, Piotr Czajkowski, Kazimierz Dłuha, Andrzej Zagdanski, Barbara Sułkowska, Anita Pietrewicz, Jerzy Kosjanik, Jarosław Kłos

Characters:
Halka - A mountain girl with whom Janusz had a romance.
Jontek - A Mountaineer who is in love with Halka.
Janusz - A Minor landowner who owns the village where Jontek and Halka reside.
Zofia - Janusz's Betrothed.
Stolnik - Zofia's father and a nobleman. Stolnik means 'Pantler,' which was a ceremonial, royal function or even a district government position.
Dziemba - Stolnik's majordomo or head steward, of the Ziemba coat of arms.

0:00 - Overture

Act I: At Stolnik's
8:49 - Scene I: The Wedding Feast
13:54 - Scene II: Stolnik, Zofia, and Janusz leave the hall
20:06 - Scene III: Janusz Alone
22:49 - Scene IV: Enter Halka
31:37 - Scene V: Janusz and the Guests
32:06 - Scene VI: Ciż and Stolnik

Act II: Outside Stolnik's House
40:43 - Scene I: Halka Walking Between the Doors
49:17 - Scene II: Halka and Jontek
59:29 - Scene III: Enter Ciż and Janusz
1:03:01 - Scene IV: Enter Stolnik and Zofia: Janusz Tells Them Halka is Deranged

Act III: At Janusz's Village: A Month Passes
1:04:35 - Scene I: Peasants Gathered, Sitting on the Rocks
1:09:51 - Scene II: Ciż and a Few Village Women
1:16:46 - Scene III: Ciż and Jontek Walk Down the Mountain With Halka

Act IV: Evening in the Village
1:25:37 - Scene I: Jontek Comes Down the Mountain
1:28:03 - Scene II: Jontek and a Piper Ascend the Mountain
1:35:13 - Scene III: Ciż and Dziemba, the Wedding Procession Arrives
1:36:01 - Scene IV: Ciż, Stolnik, Janusz, and Zofia Ascend One After Another
1:44:39 - Scene V: Halka, Jontek, Dziemba, and the Choir Accompanying the Wedding Procession
1:45:29 - Scene VI: Jontek and Halka. The Scene Grows Darker and Darker
1:46:19 - Scene VII: Halka Alone
1:58:47 - Scene VIII: Halka Runs Into the Mountains

Halka is often seen as the Polish national opera because it includes elements of Polish culture at the very top of noble society and the poorest mountaineers. As the two halves interact, Moniuszko depicts the unique and sometimes disparate nature of these two societies that run in parallel with each other. Over the course of the opera, both sides display grace and magnanimity toward each other in one moment while cursing and taking advantage of each other in the next. Halka, being rich in both social commentary and catchy melodic content, quickly found its way into the Polish classical music canon and established Moniuszko as a member of its pantheon.

Biography
Just as Glinka was the "fountainhead" of Russian Romantic Music, Stanisław Moniuszko (1819-1872) could be considered the "fountainhead" for Polish Romantic music. Besides Chopin, it would be difficult to argue that any other composer had as much influence on Polish music during the Romantic Era.

Like many of the greatest composers, Moniuszko's education began early. While his family was still living in Ubiel (a small village in modern-day Belarus), his mother gave him a musical education. His education continued in Minsk under Dominik Dziewanowski and later in Warsaw under August Freyer. His family returned to Ubiel right before the outbreak of the November Uprising in 1831. In 1836, he moved to Berlin to take private lessons with Carl Rugenhagen. He studied counterpoint, harmony, instrumentation, and conducting. Moniuszko also did some practical work conducting choirs, accompanying singers, and conducting. In preparing for his conducting work and rehearsing with Rugenhagen, he developed quite a repertoire.

After leaving Berlin, he moved to Vilnius, where he worked as a church organist at St. John's. He also embarked on artistic enterprises with the aim of breathing life into Vilnius' music scene. He organized showings of his operas in private salons, he formed an amateur choir at St. John's, and he pieced together performances of the works of Mozart, Hayden, Mendelssohn and others. During this time, he also took trips to St. Petersburg, where he met Glinka, Cesar Cui, and others.

In 1848, Moniuszko's career would hit a new milestone. His friendship with the poet and novelist Włodzimierz Wolski influenced Moniuszko to write the Opera Halka. The four-act version of Halka premiered in 1858, causing Moniuszko to receive an invitation to become the director of the Polish Opera in Warsaw.

Information Sources and Bibliography:
https://moniuszko200.pl/pl/biografia-stani...
https://culture.pl/pl/tworca/stanislaw-mon...
https://pl.wikipedia.org/wiki/Halka_(opera)