Poles among finalists for Int’l Opera Awards

Poland’s Krzysztof Warlikowski has received a nomination for best director for his work on Czech composer Leos Janáček’s From the House of the Dead at the Royal Opera House in London.

The production itself has been nominated in the New Production category.

Meanwhile, a production of Polish composer Ignacy Jan Paderewski’s Manru—a joint project between Warsaw’s National Opera and the Grand Opera in Poland's western city of Poznań—is in the running for the award in the Rediscovered Work category.

Among the finalists in the Best Director category is also David Pountney, a prominent British director who was granted Polish citizenship several weeks ago.

Pountney has directed a slew of operas by Polish composers, including Karol Szymanowski’s King Roger, Mieczysław Weinberg’s The Passenger, Andrzej Czajkowski’s The Merchant of Venice, and Stanisław Moniuszko’s The Haunted Manor.

The finalists for the awards have been chosen by an international jury of 42, chaired by Opera magazine editor John Allison.

The winners will be announced at a gala ceremony in London on April 29.

(mk/gs)