Poland in Estonia

In Kuressaare, the capital of Saaremaa, the largest of the 2,222 Estonian islands, a series of artistic and cultural events dedicated to Poland took place as part of the prestigious opera festival, taking place between July 20-24.

The Silesian Opera from Bytom, with its 200-person ensemble, inaugurated the main artistic event of this year's summer "Saaremaa Opera Days 2022" on July 20 with the performance of Charles Gounod's Romeo and Juliet. The President of Estonia Alar Karis and the Ambassador of the Republic of Poland Grzegorz Kozłowski attended the performance. On the occasional stage built by the medieval castle - Kuressaare Castle Opera House - with a capacity of 2,000 spectators - the Silesian Opera also presented Traviata by Giuseppe Verdi, Raftsman by Stanisław Moniuszko (Estonian premiere). An Evening with Mozart - The Secret of Requiem together with a ballet performance to Requiem by W.A. Mozart and a show in the salon convention Waiting for Chopina. All productions directed by Michał Znaniecki.

The Saaremaa Opera Days festival is the most important event of the summer season in Estonia, bringing together politicians, people from the world of business, culture and media. For years, it has developed a brand of the most prestigious opera festival in Estonia and in the region. Organized since 1999, over time it has become an integral part of the cultural summer in Estonia, gathering opera lovers every year for concerts and performances performed by the best opera houses in the world. The Polish edition in the 15-year history of the event is organized for the second time (the first: 2016 - Wrocław Opera conducted by Ewa Michnik). As part of the cultural events dedicated to Poland, the Ambassador of the Republic of Poland, Grzegorz Kozłowski, also opened a reading room for Polish literature and the Fryderyk Chopin Life exhibition at the Saare Regional Library in Kuressaare, as well as handed over to the director of the Music School, Termo Berens, a collection of scores of all works by Fryderyk Chopin funded by the Ministry of Culture and National Heritage .

As part of a series of courtesy visits, Ambassador G. Kozłowski met with former President of Estonia Kersti Kaljulaid, Deputy Mayor Liis Lepik, Minister of Culture Piret Hartman and former ministers of culture. During the meeting he handed over to the new minister a congratulation letter from the Deputy Prime Minister of the Polish government, Piotr Gliński.

All events of this year's artistic summer on the island of Saaremaa, organized as part of the celebrations of the Year of Polish Romanticism, were supported and coordinated by the Embassy of the Republic of Poland in Tallinn. The organizer of the festival is Eesti Kontsert, a long-term strategic partner of the institution's music projects, whose director, Kertu Orro, was honored by the Polish Ambassador with the Maria Kruszewska-Laidoner’s Jabot recognition award.