THE DEVILS OF LOUDUN at Teatr Wielki - Opera Narodowa, Moniuszko Auditorium

When Krzysztof Penderecki wrote the St. Luke Passion in the mid-1960s, he was concurrently engrossed with reading about the Inquisition. Out of this fascination, an opera about demonic possession was born. These “Satanic Verses” of Penderecki are the quintessence of what’s best
about the composer’s work: biting sounds straight from opera buffa, dramatic arias and ariosos as if taken from the greatest examples of opera seria, dense instrumental spaces anticipating the Polish Requiem, electronic processing as a trademark of Polish sonorism. Simply put, this is a musical interpersonal cosmos. The strength of Keith Warner’s version is the image of evil crawling from person to person, engulfing all without exception, including people of faith. The premiere is part of the
celebration of the Polish composer’s 80th birthday; on this occasion, he has prepared a new version of the score of The Devils of Loudun.