The performance, dedicated to the Adam Mickiewicz Institute on the occasion of the tenth anniversary of its inception, draws upon the great oeuvre of the Institute's patron-poet and the daring ingenuity of Marcin Libera and Małgorzata Sikorska-Miszczuk
At a time when many issues divide Polish society into splintered factions, a decision has to be made whether to choose love or to choose hate. To choose Poland's heaven or its hell. The team behind the recital takes on the topic of suffering and hate and asks: what does it bring?
The poetry of Adam Mickiewicz will be brought back to life in an entirely novel context in this performance based on an adaptation by Małgorzata Sikorska-Miszczuk set alongside the street art creed of Marcin Liber and the music of Aleksandra Gryka. Antigama head vocalist Łukasz Myszkowski, accompanied by the Varsoviae Regii Cantores choir, will take on the role of Dante in Mickiewicz's "Ugolino. An exception to the 'Divine Comedy' ", inspired by the 3rd, 32nd and 33rd Cantos of Dante's classic work.
As the bard writes:
Dante and Virgil step down into hell. Having passed through its various wards, glimpsing all the different punishments, they come upon Ugolin; in response to Dante's question, he tells of how he was made to starve to death with his children.
In his poem, Mickiewicz expounds upon the story of Count Ugolino who, along with his two sons and grandchildren, was buried alive in a wall by the Archbishop Ruggieri.
"Our Hell" is a daring juxtaposition of conventional choir music and avant-garde grindcore rock, presented against the backdrop of the Neo-Classical architecture of the Institute's home. The drama plays out of the grand windows the Institute under the direction of Marcin Libera, one of the most important figures on the contemporary Polish art and theatre scene.
Performances take place at the Sugar Refiners' Palace at 25 Mokotowska Street in Warsaw on Saturday the 25th and Sunday the 26th at 20:00. Admission is free.
