On 24 November, Feliks Nowowiejski’s oratorio Kreuzauffindung [Finding the Holy Cross] was presented for the first time in Warsaw at a special “Professor Mieczysław Nowakowski in memoriam” free concert on the occasion of the Feliks Nowowiejski year. It was performed at the Basilica of the Holy Cross by Sinfonia Varsovia and the Warsaw Philharmonic Chorus under the baton of Sebastian Perłowski. Solos were sung by mezzo soprano Ewa Biegas and baritone Krzysztof Szumański. The performance was broadcast live.
Considered by critics to be Feliks Nowowiejski’s finest oratorio, this monumental work was written in 1905–09. It was first performed (prior to the composer’s changes to the score) to great success in Lviv in 1906, but the winds of history prevented it from becoming a staple of the Polish oratorio repertoire. The libretto was written by Arno Herolaska. The work was performed in the original German.
[Sources: pwm.com.pl, nowowiejski2017.pl, sinfoniavarsovia.org]