Straszny Dwór [The Haunted Manor]

Stanislaw Moniuszko [1819 - 1872]
Libretto: Jan Checinski
First performance: 1865 but banned by the Russian censor after the third performance not to appear again until 1914.

Miecznik the Swor- Bearer, baritone, Adam Kruszewski;
Hanna, soprano, Iwona Hossa;
Jadwiga, mezzo, Anna Lubanska;
Damazy, tenor, Krysztof Szymt;
Stefan, tenor, Dariusz Stachura;
Zbigniew, bass, Piotr Nowaki;
Czesnikowa the Chamberlain's wife, mezzo, Stefania Toczyska.

Chorus and Orchestra of the Polish National Opera Warsaw.

Conductor: Jacek Kaspszyk.

The time: 17th century.

Act 1

In a military camp.

The two brothers, Stefan and Zbigniew, bid farewell to their comrades in arms. They make a solemn promise to remain single so as not to be diverted by thoughts of wife and children should the fatherland again calf on them to follow the flag (chorus and duet).

In the Manor House of the late Equerry

Peasant girls are preparing rooms for the two brothers, who are expected home again (chorus). The two knights enter accompanied by their faithful servant Maciej, and greet their father's household (trio). A noise is heard outside: a calash bearing Stefan and Zbigniew's aunt, the Chamberlain's wife, has driven up. She has marriage plans for her nephews and would like to see the young men married off to the daughters of the treasurer of Skier. However, neither Stefan nor Zbigniew is prepared to lend her an ear (trio). The two owners of the estate mention the fact that they are about to begin collecting their debts. They intend to make a start with the Sword-bearer of Kalinowo. The allusion to the brothers' oath of bachelorhood does not surprise their aunt as much as the mention of this name. Kalinowo Manor is reputed to be haunted. The building is under a curse, she tells them, and at night the place is haunted by ghosts. However, the two young men are not to be deterred, and set off for Kalinowo (finale).

Act II

New Year's Eve in the Manor House of the Sword-bearer.

A group of young girls including the Sword-bearer's daughters, Hanna and Jadwiga, are sitting at their looms around an open fireplace. They are bored with their work, and pass the time by singing. Jadwiga remembers that the next day will be New Year's Day, and Hanna tells them to have everything ready for a fortune-telling session (women's chorus and dumka).

Damazy the lawyer appears to the strains of a minuet. He is not wearing the traditional Polish costume, but is dressed in the French manner. Damazy is on the lookout for a wealthy catch, and makes a play for one of the sisters (duet). The fortune-telling session has produced the same result for both girls: the wax which they have used has taken on the shape of a suit of armour and a helmet and visor. The two girls, as is their father, are very pleased about this prophecy, though Damazy is less enthusiastic (quartet). The Sword-bearer expounds to the disappointed Damazy his idea of the perfect son-in-law, outlining at the same time his ideal of a Polish citizen and patriot: he is characterised by courage, honesty and a noble attitude. He is to be god-fearing and prepared to lay down his life for the fatherland at any time (Polonaise aria). At this moment the Chamberlain's wife drives up to the manor. She has spared no effort to get to Kalinowo before the two gentlemen farmers, and tells the assembled company about the oath which Stefan and Zbigniew have made. However, at the same time she describes her nephews as superstitious and fearful, saying that they had been filled with terror at the mere mention of the haunted manor. Hanna and Jadwiga determine to punish them for their unworthy cowardice. The old steward Skotuba arrives in a state of great excitement. He has just fired a shot at a wild boar on the grounds, but at the same time it was hit by a stranger from a passing coach: there are two bullets in the animal. Zbigniew and Stefan enter the room, and are welcomed by the Sword-bearer as the sons of a deceased friend. Maciej has accompanied the brothers, and it was he who fired the second shot. The Sword-bearer invites them all to a banquet. The first toast is to the father of Stefan and Zbigniew. The assembled gathering drinks to his memory, though each is lost in his own thoughts. The two girls are no longer convinced that the two brothers truly wish to remain bachelors, and determine to put their courage to the test. Maciej and Skotuba are resentful at one another on account of the wild boar. Damazy pins his hopes on being able to keep his rivals in check using the ghost of the manor. He whispers something into Skotuba's ear, which the irritable steward acknowledges with loud applause (finale).

Act III

Ghosts

A room in the tower of Kalinowo Manor with a large grandfather clock. On the wall are paintings of the girls' two great-grandmothers. Skotuba has made up beds in the tower for the two men to spend the night in. Maciej is filled with fear when Skotuba relates stories of the uncanny apparitions that await strangers in the tower (aria). The two girls have secretly hidden behind the paintings. In his excitement, Maciej imagines everything to be a ghost. Zbigniew and Stefan try to calm him down. They listen eagerly to his story about the quarrelsome grandmothers, commenting that the old soldier displays his courage only on the battlefield, and that the wine has also helped instil him with fear. Zbigniew goes into the adjoining chamber with Maciej. In the bright moonlit night, Stefan begins to dream. He imagines that the ghosts, who carry on their evil doings here, are the eyes of the beautiful Hanna. Then he remembers his vow. The clock strikes twelve, and the chimes ring out like a polonaise by Ogiriski, like a farewell from the fatherland. His father had always sung this song when he was getting his children used to carrying a sabre. However, he never sang this song again after the death of his mother (aria with chimes). Zbigniew is unable to fall asleep. He bumps into his brother in the darkness. They confess to one another that they have fallen in love: Stefan with Hanna, and Zbigniew with Jadwiga. In their hiding place the two girls join the two men in their dreaming, and then furtively leave the room (duet and quartet).

Damazy has also resolved to play a trick on the two men, and has hidden inside the clock. Now he comes out of hiding. However, he has not reckoned with the superstitious but dutiful Maciej, who fetches the two knights. Damazy now has to explain the whole situation in order to avoid a beating from the faithful valet. Some time ago, he explains, he had heard how uncanny it was to sleep in this room, but he had never had the courage to get to the bottom of the matter himself. However, when he heard that Stefan and Zbigniew were going to sleep here, he decided to put his plan into effect. He then goes on to relate that the manor house is supposed to have been built with a 'reward for shameful services rendered' -in other words with money paid for betraying the fatherland. The two men are dismayed by this news, and, fearful that this curse may be transferred to them, they resolve to depart at once (finale).

Act IV

Sledging Cavalcade

Hanna is very unhappy about the oath of bachelorhood. She fails to see any inconsistency between the state of matrimony and duty to the fatherland (aria). A delighted Damazy enters. To the great disappointment of Hanna, he reports that the two men are afraid of the ghosts, and are about to depart. The Sword-bearer is furious about the tricks that have been played during the night and tries to find the culprits. Damazy thinks it best to disappear and to return only once his rivals have left the scene. Then, while he plans to make preparations for his own marriage, Stefan and Zbigniew remain silent when the Sword-bearer asks them the reason for their departure. Maciej reports that the coach is ready to leave. The Sword-bearer now flies into a rage, accusing the two men of cowardice. At this juncture, Maciej tells him of Damazy's explanation. The Sword-bearer is indignant and orders Damazy to be fetched - but Skotuba brings the news of his departure. The ringing of bells is heard in the distance, and a sleigh bearing Damazy in disguise arrives. After Krakoviak and Mazurka, he is recognised by the Sword-bearer who demands an explanation as to why he has cast aspersions on the manor by claiming that it is haunted. Damazy admits that he had sought a means of forcing his rivals Stefan and Zbigniew to leave the manor. When the Sword-bearer tells him that the two men had no intention of marrying anyway, Damazy begins to make advances himself. Stefan, however, warns him against courting Hanna, and Zbigniew says the same about Jadwiga when Damazy makes advances to her. The two estate owners now realise how senseless their oath has been. Before the Sword-bearer gives his consent to the marriage, he calls on them all to listen to the story of the haunted manor. A hundred years earlier, his grandfather had nine daughters. Each of these girls had found a husband. 'But,' he goes on, 'whenever a sumptuous wedding was celebrated here, all the marriageable virgins left in the district aged inexplicably. This is why the mothers and aunts in the vicinity who saw all their efforts foiled described my grandfather's manor as the haunted manor'. The Chamberlain's wife arrives just as the two men take their brides in their arms. Now Hanna and Jadwiga take their revenge on their future husbands: they sing the melody of the oath of bachelorhood (finale).