We can joke that this year Easter fell in… October, as it was then that due to the pandemic the Ludwig van Beethoven Easter Festival, scheduled for April, was held. Traditionally it included a concert dedicated to forgotten opera works, the spiritus movens of which was Łukasz Borowicz, our Chief Guest Conductor.

Also traditionally one of the cycle’s performers was Poznan Philharmonic Orchestra. This time at the National Philharmonic in Warsaw (on the 20th of October) “Faniska” by Luigi Cherubini was heard. You can now listen to this work in its full version on albums. The double CD “Luigi Cherubini, Faniska” has just been released by the DUX label.

The opera (with the libretto by Joseph Sonnleithner) was commissioned by the directorship of Hofoper in Vienna in April of 1805. The premiere performance took place in the Viennese Kärntnertortheater on the 25th of February 1806 in the presence of the emperor Franz II. The work fascinated Ludwig van Beethoven so much, that he decided to compose an opera. And he wrote one: “Fidelio”.

The action of “Faniska” takes place in Poland, in one of the castles of magnates in the area of Sandomierz. Both characters, Zamoski and Rasinski, are the estranged rulers of the adjacent voivodeships. The main plot concerns the efforts to free Faniska, the wife of Rasinski, who is being imprisoned by Zamoski in the dungeons his castle. The story finishes with a happy end.

The album was recorded with the participation of Natalia Rubiś (soprano), Krystian Adam Krzeszowiak (tenor), Katarzyna Belkius (soprano), Robert Gierlach (basso-baritone), Tomasz Rak (baritone), Justyna Ołów (mezzosoprano), Piotr Kalina (tenor), Poznan Chamber Choir (prepared by Bartosz Michałowski) and Poznan Philharmonic Orchestra. The whole ensemble was led by Łukasz Borowicz.

The album, which is another world phonographic premiere in the discography of Poznan Philharmonic Orchestra, has just been released – you can purchase it in good music stores.