Podlasie Opera and Philharmonic Choir

The Choir was created on the initiative of prof. V. Bielecka and M. Nałęcz-Niesiołowski in March 2006. The core are artists who have been singing for many years in the Białystok Chamber Choir "Cantica Cantamus", led by the current conductor and artistic director of the choir – prof. V. Bielecka. Currently, the choir has the honor of collaborating with the Fryderyk Chopin National Institute in Warsaw, participating in subsequent editions of the International Music Festival "Chopin and His Europe", during which, together with Europa Galante, an Italian ensemble of instrumentalists specializing in early music performances, under the baton of Maestro F. Biondi, they presented concert versions of V. Bellini's operas "I Capuleti e i Montecchi" and "Norma" and G. Verdi's "Macbeth". The last work in the original Florentine version from 1847 was recorded by the ensembles and released by the Glossa label (2018). In 2018, as part of the celebration of the Moniuszko Year, both ensembles recorded two operas by S. Moniuszko: "Halka" and "The Haunted Manor", and in January 2019, on the stage of the Teatr Wielki Opera Narodowa in Warsaw, they inaugurated the Moniuszko Year with another joint performance, performing a concert a version of S. Moniuszko's "Halka" in Italian (in a 19th-century translation).

The excellent result of collaboration with the Poznań Philharmonic Orchestra includes numerous concerts and a recording of the oratorio "Quo vadis" op. 13 for soprano, baritone, bass, mixed choir, symphony orchestra and organ by F. Nowowiejski, as well as "Mythological Cantatas" by S. Moniuszko, "Nijoł" and "Mildo" conducted by Ł. Borowicz. In the years 2009-2012, the choir performed under the baton of the contemporary Polish composer Maestro K. Penderecki, with whom they performed his own works, including: Symphony No. 7 "The Seven Gates of Jerusalem", Symphony No. 8 "Songs of Transience", "Polish Requiem". The cooperation with the Association. L. van Beethoven resulted in CD recordings and presentations of concert versions of the following operas: "Euryanthe" by C.M. von Weber, "Maria Padilla" by G. Donizetti with the Polish Radio Orchestra conducted by Maestro Ł. Borowicz.

In addition to numerous artistic presentations related to the performance of a cappella and vocal-instrumental music, it performs as a choral group with skills in stage movement, acting and choreography. On the stage of the theater, the group performs in the operas "The Haunted Manor" by S. Moniuszko, "La Traviata" by G. Verdi, and "The Magic Flute" by W.A. Mozart, "Carmen" by G. Bizet, "La bohème" and "Turandot" by G. Puccini, in the musicals "Korczak" by Ch. Williams, "The Phantom of the Opera" by A. Lloyd Webber, "Fiddler on the Roof" by J. Bock and "Doctor Zhivago" by L. Simon, as well as in the operetta "Die Fledermaus", "The Gypsy Baron" by J. Strauss and "The Merry Widow" Franz Lehár. A wide range of his stage activities is enriched by the stage performance of P. Łukaszewski's mystery play "Via Crucis" (2023).