On October 16 and 17, the premiere of 2014: Here and Now composed by Zbigniew Preisner was performed by the Sinfonietta Cracovia and soloists with spectacular lighting, holographic and sound design at the opening of the highly anticipated new ICE Krakow Congress Centre in Poland. This grand establishment, costing 357.5 million zloty (84.5 million euro), was designed by internationally acclaimed architect Krzysztof Ingarden. The new center is estimated to be able to host three events simultaneously with its theatre of 600 seats and main auditorium of 2,000 seats, which may occur given its already fully-reserved schedule for 2015.
The principal message of Preisner’s new work is the place of human beings in history, modern civilization and their existential transience. Both the music and the libretto written by Ewa Lipska refer to Krakow’s past social and cultural atmosphere, evoked in an unconventional and original manner through the presentation and performance of the music.
[Sources: thenews.pl, preisner.com. Photo credits: Wojciech Wandzel (above left) & PAP/Grzegorz Momot (above right)]