PINOCCHIO Weinberg, Anna Hop – Polish National Opera and Ballet

Toymaker Gepetto creates a wooden puppet toy named Pinocchio and wishes on a star that he would be a real boy. A kindly Blue Fairy appears and grants his wish bringing Pinocchio to life. With a long nose which grows longer when he lies, Pinocchio learns that he must prove himself worthy in order to make his father’s wish come true. Originally conceived by Carlo Collodi, the Pinocchio story has seen adaptations over the eras. Here Polish National Ballet presents a danced version to music by Mieczysław Weinberg, the Polish-born Soviet composer Mieczylaw Weinberg, who has the dubious honour of having suffered the fury of anti-Semitism in both its Nazi and Stalinist variants. Until recently better known for his symphonies, Weinberg’s works for stage, such as Die Passagerin, are increasingly seen in European theatres. Pinocchio is based on Buratino, a reworking of the original tale by Alexei Tolstoy, a distant cousin of the famous writer. Inspired by commedia dell’arte, burattino is Italian for ’marionette’ and the name of a character of those improvised comedies. Written between 1954 and 1955, Weinberg’s piece was meant for children, despite including allusions to the oppressive Soviet realities that only grown-ups could infer. The ballet is a vibrant, multicoloured story full of humour, lyricism, and references to popular dances (waltz, tarantella). Choreographer Anna Hop presents original story fit for the modern age, to be enjoyed by children of all ages and all thanks to: Weinberg’s playful music, the beauty of dance, the magic of theatrical imagery, and the touching story about the triumph of vulnerability over violence, the pursuit of freedom and the necessity to sometimes lose one’s way to grow as a person. Full performance streamed on OperaVision from 12 July 2024 at 19:00 CET to 12 January 2025 at 12:00 CET: CAST Pinocchio 1 Anastasiia Bilokon Pinocchio 2 Diogo de Oliveira Pinocchio 3 Vladimir Yaroshenko Geppetto Łukasz Tużnik Cricket Marko Juusela The Fox Kristóf Szabó The Cat Karolina Kiermut Blue Fairy Evelina Godunova Green Fairy Mai Kageyama White Fairy Yuka Ebihara Red Fairy Yume Okano Teacher Joanna Drabik Theatre Director Paweł Koncewoj Candlewick Ryota Kitai The Wolf Marco Esposito Little Pigs Wiktoria Kotlińska Barbara Derleta Paulina Magier Conductor Yana Shtanhei The Cuckoo Eugénie Hecquet Clocks Cezary Wąsik Kasper Górczak Dancers Polish National Ballet Polish National Ballet Junior Students of Roman Turczynowicz Ballet School Orchestra Polish National Opera Orchestra Music Mieczysław Weinberg Text Anna Hop after the novel by Carlo Collodi Music editing Anna Hop Marta Kluczyńska Director and Choreographer Anna Hop Conductor Marta Kluczyńska Set, Lighting and Multimedia Designer Małgorzata Szabłowska Costumes Katarzyna Rott Make-up Lidia Wajdyk-Szmańda Film director Ewa Krasucka Sound director Emilian Rymarowicz OperaVision is a freeview opera streaming platform, supported by the European Union’s Creative Europe programme. Watch live streams as the performances themselves unfold in the opera house. Enjoy a variety of shows - including opera, operetta, musical theatre, dance, ballet and concerts. Opera connaisseur or curious newcomer, there is something for everyone on OperaVision. @operavision