The Moniuszko Competition, which took place for the 12th time in June this year, is the initiative of an exceptional artist and woman…
Maria Fołtyn was an outstanding singer, legendary performer of the role of Halka, and opera director – an exceptionally creative person, full of passion and boundless love for the music of Stanisław Moniuszko. She led to the realisation of his most famous work in many countries, including Turkey, Mexico and Cuba. She managed to inspire people from all over the world to organise a competition named after him.

Did you meet her in person?
I had the honour and great pleasure of meeting her in 2012, when I was appointed Executive Director of the Moniuszko Competition. At that time, Maria Fołtyn was already its honorary director. From the moment we met, I visited her regularly, almost until her death. She kindly introduced me to the “enchanted areas” of the competition.

I had heard a lot about her rather impetuous and sometimes capricious character. However, I only got to know the profound, magical side of her nature. When I was with her, I sometimes felt as if I was watching a play or a film – people with such imagination, charisma and panache are rare these days. It remains a mystery where she found the titanic power and drive to create this competition in 1992 – her life’s work, our national treasure. Cultivating her legacy is a great honour, but also a challenge and a commitment – I strive to fulfil the mission entrusted to me as faithfully as possible.

What was the competition like during Maria Fołtyn’s time, and what is it like today? The composition of the jury has certainly changed somewhat…
Maria Fołtyn invited renowned singers to join the jury – for example, Teresa Żylis-Gara was the chairwoman in the first edition. Over the years, it has been shaped by such luminaries as Eva Martón, Régine Crespin, Jadwiga Rappé, Wiesław Ochman, Helena Oliveira, Mirella Freni, Zdzisława Donat and many others. In 2013, opera star Aleksandra Kurzak became the president of the competition and had a significant influence on the new composition of the jury. She suggested that most of this group should consist of managers, theatre directors and agents. Thanks to her contacts, we were able to invite prominent figures to the event, such as Peter Mario Katona, Director of Casting at the Royal Opera House Covent Garden in London. Of course, most of the jury members have a musical education. There are still some outstanding singers among them, although they are in the minority, including: Izabela Kłosińska, Olga Pasiecznik, and Mariusz Kwiecień.

Young singers compete in the Moniuszko Competition. What does participating and winning mean to them?
Both can be a springboard to success. Vocal competitions give young artists – primarily singers, but also pianists – the opportunity to fully showcase their talent. Now that the event is being broadcast online, this is even more true. Participating in the Moniuszko Competition is like auditioning at several theatres at once. It works both ways, because those who are looking for new talent for their teams or projects often find them here.

There are many stars among the winners of the competition, such as Aleksandra Kurzak, who won it in 1998. And how are the careers of the winners of more recent editions developing? Jakub Józef Orliński, winner of the second prize in 2016, is already a well-known artist, not only among opera lovers…
That 9th edition was exceptional because we had many great Polish singers in the finals. First place went to Andrzej Filończyk, who, although only 30 years old, already has an established position in the world of opera. The same can be said about Krzysztof Bączyk, who was then – prophetically – awarded the prize for the most promising Polish voice. The 2019 and 2022 editions of the competition were also rich in great talent. The winners at that time: Gihoon Kim, Piotr Buszewski, Gabriela Legun, Zuzanna Nalewajek, Szymon Mechliński, Nombulelo Yende and Juliana Grigoryan are well-known names today.

The Moniuszko Competition is said to be more difficult than other competitions of this type. Why is that?
First and foremost, it is based on the Polish repertoire. After all, one of its missions is to promote Polish vocal music internationally, and for various reasons, it is still relatively unknown around the world. Competitors must perform, among other things, a Polish aria, and although we allow songs to be sung in translation, most choose to tackle the original. The Polish language in the context of the interpretation of certain arias from “Halka” is quite vigorous, striking a chord with the audience. For singers from abroad, it is a test, but there are some real gems. The winner of numerous awards at the 10th edition of the competition, Long Long (Zhang) from China sang Stefan’s aria from Stanisław Moniuszko’s opera Straszny Dwór ["The Haunted Manor" –  editor's note] phenomenally, with impeccable diction and understanding of the content. In this year’s final, we had singers from Armenia and the United Kingdom, who gave excellent performances of both arias and songs in Polish.

In addition to the main prizes, the competition also offers special and non-statutory prizes, including the award for an outstanding musical personality. So for whom?
Musical personality is a very broad term. The outstandingness of a person can manifest itself in various ways. The patron of this award, Ewa Podleś, was a singer of the highest calibre and a very charismatic artist. She was talented, had a strong character and great vocal skills, through which she expressed her extraordinary personality. All of this together testified to the exceptional power of her message. This is what we are looking for in the young generation of singers.

The 12th edition of the Moniuszko Competition broke records in terms of the number of applicants. Which countries submitted the most applications?
Indeed, we received almost 500 submissions. The geography of the competition has changed slightly. For the second time, Russians were excluded from participating. We have maintained this position since 2022 and cannot imagine it being any other way. The largest number of submissions for this year’s edition came from Poland and… China.

Let’s talk about a certain competition tradition. Apparently, participants are not accommodated in hotels, but with families who are friends of the organisers…
Yes, and although such ideas usually stem from cost-cutting measures, in the case of the Moniuszko Competition, there are some positive aspects to this. I would like to record a programme about this special custom and interview the families who host the singers. They are the ones who enjoy it the most. This year, the son of the couple who hosted one of the singers was so impressed by the girl’s passion that he bought a package of tickets to the opera for the new season. Of course, we maintain regular contact with these families and invite them to performances and other events.

What does the work involved in organising a competition look like? Where does it start and where does it end?
I will start from the end, because two months have already passed since the end of the 12th edition, and we are still completing the formalities, which will take a while. As for artistic activities, in December, as part of this year’s competition, we will open an exhibition dedicated to its former jurors and great artists Ewa Podleś and Jerzy Marchwiński. Perhaps we will be able to organise a concert featuring the winners. We begin work on the next edition two years in advance. Each time, we introduce new elements to the competition. I have in mind, among other things, visual identity and the structure of the award system – this year, we moved away from dividing the main awards into male and female categories; we also established a cash prize for reaching the finals. We establish an organisational team just before the start of specific activities, and volunteers play a huge role in that. And we are constantly working to raise awareness of the competition among opera circles and audiences. I recently attended auditions for the IMA, or International Meistersinger Academy, and shortly afterwards I received a message from a German singer asking me to suggest a repertoire for his upcoming auditions.

You are not only the director of the Moniuszko Competition, but also the head of the Opera Academy. What does this programme involve?
Its origins are linked to our presence in the European Network of Opera Academies – ENOA, one of whose initiators and founders was Waldemar Dąbrowski, director of the Grand Theatre – National Opera. Thanks to our membership in the ENOA network since 2011, we have benefited from EU funding for the organisation of workshops, concerts and performances featuring young artists. We invited young people from abroad to participate, and our singers, conductors, directors and pianists were able to take part in similar activities at partner institutions. This is precisely what the Opera Academy does. We mentor a group of young artists who are selected during annual auditions. We organise workshops for them, involve them in performances at our theatre, and recommend them to other institutions in Poland and abroad. The permanent teachers in the programme are singers Izabela Kłosińska and Olga Pasiecznik, and pianists Sophia Muñoz, Katelan Trần Terrell and Michał Biel. The list of guest lecturers is very long, so I will mention just a few names: Mariusz Kwiecień, Hedwig Fassbender, Edith Wiens, Andreas Scholl, Lech Napierała, and Tomasz Konieczny.
The number of academy graduates is so large that it deserves a separate discussion.

You are a flutist by profession. How did you come to devote your professional life to promoting opera and young artists?
From 2004 to 2007, I was employed at the Sinfonia Varsovia Foundation, where I had the honour of working with the outstanding cultural manager Franciszek Wybrańczyk. At the same time, I taught flute at two music schools in Warsaw. In 2007, I received an offer from the Grand Theatre – National Opera to come for a job interview. I hesitated whether to accept the invitation at all, but sentiment won out. I took my first steps in music on this stage, in the children’s opera choir. Its founder and director was Władysław Skoraczewski – a legendary teacher and educator of many generations of musicians, opera singer, choirmaster, pre-war scout and Warsaw insurgent.

I worked in the impresario department at the Grand Theatre – National Opera until director Waldemar Dąbrowski entrusted me with the task of developing the Opera Academy Young Talent Training Programme and then managing the Moniuszko Competition.

Stanisław Moniuszko International Vocal Competition
Commonly known as: The Moniuszko Competition, established in 1992 by Maria Fołtyn, takes place every three years at the Grand Theatre – National Opera in Warsaw, which is its organiser. As a partner of the 12th edition of the event, Dr Irena Eris provided professional make-up products for the artists performing in the final.

Beata Klatka
She graduated from the Instrumental Department of the Fryderyk Chopin Academy of Music in the flute class of Prof. Elżbieta Gajewska and completed postgraduate studies in public relations at the Warsaw School of Economics. In 2007, she joined the Grand Theatre – National Opera, where she has been directing the Opera Academy’s Young Talent Training Programme since 2010. In 2012, she took up the position of director of the Stanisław Moniuszko International Vocal Competition. In the spring of this year, she was appointed to the board of Opera Europa, the largest organisation in Europe bringing together opera theatres, festivals and institutions related to opera.