PRESS REVIEW
It was really an outstanding performance. In all aspects. In a musical aspect – soloists and the chamber orchestra conducted by Jerzy Wołosiuk. (...) This chamber opera is one of the best operas I have ever watched during this season in Polish theatres.
“The Turn of the Screw” by Britten, author: Dorota Szwarcman, Polityka, 21st May 2016.
Britten’s tone is subtle and delicate, created for thirteen instruments, but if the conductor, just like Jerzy Wołosiuk at the Opera in the Castle, is able to punch properly the twelve-tone pattern in the course of the narrative, the musical oppression makes a very good impression. In Szczecin, each instrumentalist contributed to creating the climate of the whole, and Jerzy Wołosiuk was able to extract from Britten’s script more than it happens in other interpretations.
“The Turn of the Screw” by Britten, author: Jacek Marczyński, Ruch Muzyczny #6, 2016.
So far, no one in Poland has not undertaken to perform this masterpiece (...). This is not surprising as the scenario is difficult to perform. The orchestra has only 13 instruments so it is possible to hear each failing. However, there were no such failings at the Opera in the Castle in Szczecin. The orchestra conducted by Jerzy Wołosiuk perfectly prepared itself and excellently performed this masterpiece by deepening the dark atmosphere of Victorian house which spectators were watching at the scene.
“The Turn of the Screw” by Britten, author: Małgorzata Klimczak, Głos Szczeciński, 24th May 2016.
Jerzy Wołosiuk, a deputy artistic director at the Opera in the Castle since 2014, should be congratulated with the initiative for performing Benjamin Britten in Szczecin (”The Man who Mistook his Wife for a Hat” by Michael Nyman in Bydgoszcz). Jerzy Wołosiuk has efficiently conducted the opera and made a 13-member orchestra emit its full sound.
“The Turn of the Screw” by Britten, author: Anna S. Dębowska, Gazeta Wyborcza, 25th May 2016.
The Opera in the Castle conducted by Jerzy Wołosiuk, the project initiator, copes very well with reproducing the expressive specificity of Britten’s opera, although the twelve-tone “Screw” theme is performed only by 13 soloists. Almost every sound resounds here separately, intensifying the growing anxiety, and metallic tones of tubular bells drill deeply into spectators’ imagination. “The Turn of the Screw” is certainly one of the most interesting proposals prepared by the Opera in the Castle over the past few years.
“The Turn of the Screw” by Britten, author: Agnieszka Moroz, Dziennik Teatralny Szczecin, 25th May 2016.
This dominating from the very beginning anxious atmosphere was possible not only thanks to Britten’s music excellently interpreted by the orchestra conducted by Jerzy Wołosiuk (…). “The Turn of the Screw” by the Opera in the Castle is a very good performance. Britten’s music remains beautiful and, at the same time, mysterious and anxious for a long time.
“The Turn of the Screw” by Britten, author: Ks. Andrzej Draguła, Laboratorium Więzi, 22th May 2016.
Thanks to this performance, Jerzy Wołosiuk gave his audience a perfect symbiosis of performance staging and music production. In addition, his conducting is sensible, but not unemotional, even for a moment. It is a perfect and masterful performance where love for the piece of art may be felt.
“The Turn of the Screw” by Britten, author: AHS & MK, mittelloge.de, 4th June 2016.
The instrumental ensemble, hand-picked by the conductor Jerzy Wołosiuk, played beautifully, fully participating in the gothic storytelling.
“The Turn of the Screw” by Britten, author: Aleksander Laskowski, Opera Magazine, October 2016.
A true master in his profession is a conductor Jerzy Wołosiuk who conducted the orchestra with a great feeling for the music and its times. He managed to combine art and interpretation where otherwise would be some larger problems. According to the motto “joy” and instead of sentimentality, the orchestra played fully professionally and did not lose its sensitivity to lightness. (…) Musically, the operetta was almost perfect.
“Countess Mariza” by Kálmán, author: AHS, mittelloge.de, 22nd June 2014.
The interpretation of the orchestra of the Opera in the Castle in Szczecin under the direction of Jerzy Wołosiuk is absolutely convincing: picturesque and brilliant in the four parts of "Little Suite" as well as rough and piquant in "Funeral Music". Instead of falling into a dry and spectral analysis of these scores, even in harsh and disharmonious pieces as "The Chain I" and "The Chain II", it manages to retain some tenderness from which emanate simplicity and generosity of this music. A fabulous show given by Ilian Garnetz who hovers like a satellite over the fiery orchestra conducted with the precision of a telescope in the piece ("The Chain II") within a well-known performance of a violinist Anne Sophie Mutter to which the composer was listening himself. This CD album will be a great introduction to Lutosławki’s output.
“Little Suite”, “Funeral Music”, “The Chain I” and “The Chain II” by Lutosławski, CD album 0983 DUX, author: Jérôme Angouillant, diapasoncd.com, 1st March 2014.
The latest album by the musicians of the Opera in the Castle in Szczecin, directed by Jerzy Wołosiuk, seems to be extremely interesting in comparison with the recordings of Gold Collection. (...) Jerzy Wołosiuk tries to feel the inner pulse of music and clearly outlines the “pacing” rhythmic pattern by which he emphasises the dramatic element of the piece. It is a convincing proposal (...) The album of the Opera in the Castle is a compulsory reading for every music lover who is interested in a new look at renowned pieces of music.
“Little Suite”, “Funeral Music”, “The Chain I” and “The Chain II” by Lutosławski, CD album 0983, author: Tomasz Piotrowski, Institute of Music and Dance, 27th February 2014.
Jerzy Wołosiuk has perfectly conducted the orchestra which conjured up from musical instruments a spectacular music bed for events taking place in the forest. (…) The fact that the conductor’s podium was occupied by Jerzy Wołosiuk was extremely gratifying. He extracted from Humperdinck’s music all possible nuances and showed how clear and bright for children should be the language of melody. I think that this was exactly what was expected by young spectators who were introduced to the performance climate with the sound of a horn. Jerzy Wołosiuk has conducted the orchestra in such a way that it harmonised with artists’ voices which were in a great condition that evening.
“Hansel and Gretel” by Humperdinck, authoress: Ilona Słojewska, Teatr dla Was, 14th February 2014.
Musicians and dancers interacted together by forming one consistent whole. (…) The maestro Jerzy Wołosiuk also deserves recognition as he professionally conducted the instrumentalists. There was no lack of dynamic diversity. The synchronisation among the artists was audible and visible as well.
“The Shades of Passion” – a ballet to the music of de Falli and Szczedrin, authoress: Oktawia Prokurat, elewatorkultury.pl, 27th January 2014.
A conductor Jerzy Wołosiuk deserves much recognition for leading the evening with a great sense for Tchaikovsky’s music and allowing both the singers and orchestra to have more space for musical development. In such a way many would like to listen to this opera. And in that way, the orchestra of the Opera in the Castle showed its best side.
“Eugene Onegin” by Tchaikovsky, author: AHS, mittelloge.de, 29th September 2013.
Undoubtedly, the most important event of that Forum was the world premiere of the contemporary opera “Poiesis” by Przemysław Zych, which was directed by Tomáš Studený and performed in the scenery of Sylva Markova and under the musical direction of Jerzy Wołosiuk. (…) It was the second performance, after “The Man who Mistook his Wife for a Hat”, of the Operalnia Foundation established by Jerzy Wołosiuk. The Chamber Music Hall of the Opera Nova experienced a real siege that evening. Young people were even sitting on the stairs.
Summary of the 20th Bydgoszcz Opera Festival, authoress: Anita Nowak, Teatr dla Was, May 5th May 2013.
Jerzy Wołosiuk, together with the Polish Energetic Ensemble, has brought Przemysław Zych’s piece of art into the heights of musical art. (…) The sounds were “singing” along with the soloists and fading away by creating silence in which it was possible to catch the melody.
“Poiesis" by Zych, authoress: Ilona Słojewska, Teatr dla Was, 14th May 2013.
The value of the proposed event was a wonderful music of the Orchestra at the Opera in the Castle, flowing from the baton of Jerzy Wołosiuk. Listening live to sounds of such well conducted multi-member orchestra was really a great experience. It was one of the very few performance elements which could catch and evoke many pleasant aesthetic experiences.
“A few Notes about Love” Gala, authoress: Kinga Binkowska, Teatralia Szczecin, 6th February 2013.
Jerzy Wołosiuk, while conducting the instrumental septet, extracts the motility and subtlety of Nyman’s music with a high dose of finesse and precision, which not only converts tonal stereotypes, but also originally juggles them. The conductor, by playing discreetly with sound and genre conventions and also a sort of banal musicality, paid a great attention to dynamics so as to not disrupt the dialogue flowing from the stage.
“The Man who Mistook his Wife for a Hat” by Michael Nyman, author: Wiesław Kowalski, Teatr dla Was, 9th June 2012.
The Polish Energetic Ensemble surprised in turn with the accompaniment of digital harp and grand piano under the direction of Jerzy Wołosiuk. They showed a remarkable motility and melody of Nyman’s music which was present in almost every bar of the orchestral score.
“The Man who Mistook his Wife for a Hat” by Michael Nyman, authoress: Joanna Lach, Gazeta Wyborcza, 9th June 2012.
But what surprised me most? And that really nicely? Perhaps the music in the performance (…) Thus the greater admiration for the skills of Jerzy Wołosiuk, a young conductor, who has performed this piece of art for the first time in his life. And he conducted the Bydgoszcz orchestra in such a way that everyone was delighted with its artistic condition and sound.
“Hansel and Gretel” by Humperdinck, premiere, author: Marek K. Jankowiak, Express Bydgoski, 30th April 2008.
“The Turn of the Screw” by Britten, author: Dorota Szwarcman, Polityka, 21st May 2016.
Britten’s tone is subtle and delicate, created for thirteen instruments, but if the conductor, just like Jerzy Wołosiuk at the Opera in the Castle, is able to punch properly the twelve-tone pattern in the course of the narrative, the musical oppression makes a very good impression. In Szczecin, each instrumentalist contributed to creating the climate of the whole, and Jerzy Wołosiuk was able to extract from Britten’s script more than it happens in other interpretations.
“The Turn of the Screw” by Britten, author: Jacek Marczyński, Ruch Muzyczny #6, 2016.
So far, no one in Poland has not undertaken to perform this masterpiece (...). This is not surprising as the scenario is difficult to perform. The orchestra has only 13 instruments so it is possible to hear each failing. However, there were no such failings at the Opera in the Castle in Szczecin. The orchestra conducted by Jerzy Wołosiuk perfectly prepared itself and excellently performed this masterpiece by deepening the dark atmosphere of Victorian house which spectators were watching at the scene.
“The Turn of the Screw” by Britten, author: Małgorzata Klimczak, Głos Szczeciński, 24th May 2016.
Jerzy Wołosiuk, a deputy artistic director at the Opera in the Castle since 2014, should be congratulated with the initiative for performing Benjamin Britten in Szczecin (”The Man who Mistook his Wife for a Hat” by Michael Nyman in Bydgoszcz). Jerzy Wołosiuk has efficiently conducted the opera and made a 13-member orchestra emit its full sound.
“The Turn of the Screw” by Britten, author: Anna S. Dębowska, Gazeta Wyborcza, 25th May 2016.
The Opera in the Castle conducted by Jerzy Wołosiuk, the project initiator, copes very well with reproducing the expressive specificity of Britten’s opera, although the twelve-tone “Screw” theme is performed only by 13 soloists. Almost every sound resounds here separately, intensifying the growing anxiety, and metallic tones of tubular bells drill deeply into spectators’ imagination. “The Turn of the Screw” is certainly one of the most interesting proposals prepared by the Opera in the Castle over the past few years.
“The Turn of the Screw” by Britten, author: Agnieszka Moroz, Dziennik Teatralny Szczecin, 25th May 2016.
This dominating from the very beginning anxious atmosphere was possible not only thanks to Britten’s music excellently interpreted by the orchestra conducted by Jerzy Wołosiuk (…). “The Turn of the Screw” by the Opera in the Castle is a very good performance. Britten’s music remains beautiful and, at the same time, mysterious and anxious for a long time.
“The Turn of the Screw” by Britten, author: Ks. Andrzej Draguła, Laboratorium Więzi, 22th May 2016.
Thanks to this performance, Jerzy Wołosiuk gave his audience a perfect symbiosis of performance staging and music production. In addition, his conducting is sensible, but not unemotional, even for a moment. It is a perfect and masterful performance where love for the piece of art may be felt.
“The Turn of the Screw” by Britten, author: AHS & MK, mittelloge.de, 4th June 2016.
The instrumental ensemble, hand-picked by the conductor Jerzy Wołosiuk, played beautifully, fully participating in the gothic storytelling.
“The Turn of the Screw” by Britten, author: Aleksander Laskowski, Opera Magazine, October 2016.
A true master in his profession is a conductor Jerzy Wołosiuk who conducted the orchestra with a great feeling for the music and its times. He managed to combine art and interpretation where otherwise would be some larger problems. According to the motto “joy” and instead of sentimentality, the orchestra played fully professionally and did not lose its sensitivity to lightness. (…) Musically, the operetta was almost perfect.
“Countess Mariza” by Kálmán, author: AHS, mittelloge.de, 22nd June 2014.
The interpretation of the orchestra of the Opera in the Castle in Szczecin under the direction of Jerzy Wołosiuk is absolutely convincing: picturesque and brilliant in the four parts of "Little Suite" as well as rough and piquant in "Funeral Music". Instead of falling into a dry and spectral analysis of these scores, even in harsh and disharmonious pieces as "The Chain I" and "The Chain II", it manages to retain some tenderness from which emanate simplicity and generosity of this music. A fabulous show given by Ilian Garnetz who hovers like a satellite over the fiery orchestra conducted with the precision of a telescope in the piece ("The Chain II") within a well-known performance of a violinist Anne Sophie Mutter to which the composer was listening himself. This CD album will be a great introduction to Lutosławki’s output.
“Little Suite”, “Funeral Music”, “The Chain I” and “The Chain II” by Lutosławski, CD album 0983 DUX, author: Jérôme Angouillant, diapasoncd.com, 1st March 2014.
The latest album by the musicians of the Opera in the Castle in Szczecin, directed by Jerzy Wołosiuk, seems to be extremely interesting in comparison with the recordings of Gold Collection. (...) Jerzy Wołosiuk tries to feel the inner pulse of music and clearly outlines the “pacing” rhythmic pattern by which he emphasises the dramatic element of the piece. It is a convincing proposal (...) The album of the Opera in the Castle is a compulsory reading for every music lover who is interested in a new look at renowned pieces of music.
“Little Suite”, “Funeral Music”, “The Chain I” and “The Chain II” by Lutosławski, CD album 0983, author: Tomasz Piotrowski, Institute of Music and Dance, 27th February 2014.
Jerzy Wołosiuk has perfectly conducted the orchestra which conjured up from musical instruments a spectacular music bed for events taking place in the forest. (…) The fact that the conductor’s podium was occupied by Jerzy Wołosiuk was extremely gratifying. He extracted from Humperdinck’s music all possible nuances and showed how clear and bright for children should be the language of melody. I think that this was exactly what was expected by young spectators who were introduced to the performance climate with the sound of a horn. Jerzy Wołosiuk has conducted the orchestra in such a way that it harmonised with artists’ voices which were in a great condition that evening.
“Hansel and Gretel” by Humperdinck, authoress: Ilona Słojewska, Teatr dla Was, 14th February 2014.
Musicians and dancers interacted together by forming one consistent whole. (…) The maestro Jerzy Wołosiuk also deserves recognition as he professionally conducted the instrumentalists. There was no lack of dynamic diversity. The synchronisation among the artists was audible and visible as well.
“The Shades of Passion” – a ballet to the music of de Falli and Szczedrin, authoress: Oktawia Prokurat, elewatorkultury.pl, 27th January 2014.
A conductor Jerzy Wołosiuk deserves much recognition for leading the evening with a great sense for Tchaikovsky’s music and allowing both the singers and orchestra to have more space for musical development. In such a way many would like to listen to this opera. And in that way, the orchestra of the Opera in the Castle showed its best side.
“Eugene Onegin” by Tchaikovsky, author: AHS, mittelloge.de, 29th September 2013.
Undoubtedly, the most important event of that Forum was the world premiere of the contemporary opera “Poiesis” by Przemysław Zych, which was directed by Tomáš Studený and performed in the scenery of Sylva Markova and under the musical direction of Jerzy Wołosiuk. (…) It was the second performance, after “The Man who Mistook his Wife for a Hat”, of the Operalnia Foundation established by Jerzy Wołosiuk. The Chamber Music Hall of the Opera Nova experienced a real siege that evening. Young people were even sitting on the stairs.
Summary of the 20th Bydgoszcz Opera Festival, authoress: Anita Nowak, Teatr dla Was, May 5th May 2013.
Jerzy Wołosiuk, together with the Polish Energetic Ensemble, has brought Przemysław Zych’s piece of art into the heights of musical art. (…) The sounds were “singing” along with the soloists and fading away by creating silence in which it was possible to catch the melody.
“Poiesis" by Zych, authoress: Ilona Słojewska, Teatr dla Was, 14th May 2013.
The value of the proposed event was a wonderful music of the Orchestra at the Opera in the Castle, flowing from the baton of Jerzy Wołosiuk. Listening live to sounds of such well conducted multi-member orchestra was really a great experience. It was one of the very few performance elements which could catch and evoke many pleasant aesthetic experiences.
“A few Notes about Love” Gala, authoress: Kinga Binkowska, Teatralia Szczecin, 6th February 2013.
Jerzy Wołosiuk, while conducting the instrumental septet, extracts the motility and subtlety of Nyman’s music with a high dose of finesse and precision, which not only converts tonal stereotypes, but also originally juggles them. The conductor, by playing discreetly with sound and genre conventions and also a sort of banal musicality, paid a great attention to dynamics so as to not disrupt the dialogue flowing from the stage.
“The Man who Mistook his Wife for a Hat” by Michael Nyman, author: Wiesław Kowalski, Teatr dla Was, 9th June 2012.
The Polish Energetic Ensemble surprised in turn with the accompaniment of digital harp and grand piano under the direction of Jerzy Wołosiuk. They showed a remarkable motility and melody of Nyman’s music which was present in almost every bar of the orchestral score.
“The Man who Mistook his Wife for a Hat” by Michael Nyman, authoress: Joanna Lach, Gazeta Wyborcza, 9th June 2012.
But what surprised me most? And that really nicely? Perhaps the music in the performance (…) Thus the greater admiration for the skills of Jerzy Wołosiuk, a young conductor, who has performed this piece of art for the first time in his life. And he conducted the Bydgoszcz orchestra in such a way that everyone was delighted with its artistic condition and sound.
“Hansel and Gretel” by Humperdinck, premiere, author: Marek K. Jankowiak, Express Bydgoski, 30th April 2008.