Once upon a time, Polish composer Stanisław Moniuszko (1819-1872) was known – if he was known at all – chiefly for his opera The Haunted Manor. However, his reputation has been on the rise of late with his Italian opera, Paria, winning Best Rediscovered Work at the 2021 International Opera Awards (directed by the late Graham Vick at the Poznań Opera House). Recent recordings include a fine Halka on Naxos recorded live in November 2019, again at Poznań, conducted by the late Polish Israeli maestro Gabriel Chmura.

Although Moniuszko wrote nearly a dozen operettas and nine completed operas, it is Halka – written between 1847 and 1848 and revised in 1857 – that has held the stage most effectively (though mostly in Poland). Written to a libretto by Włodzimierz Wolski, a young radical poet from Warsaw with a socio-political agenda, the music combines an Italian bel canto lyricism with, here and there, the dance rhythms of Polish folk music. The opera earned the composer six bows at the premiere with the press...