The January repertoire of the Podlasie Opera and Philharmonic combines great musical stories, family performances, the carnival energy of concerts, ambitious classics, and encounters with the visual arts, creating a program that will touch hearts and spark the imagination.

The centerpiece will be the return of Gary Guthman’s musical Vesper. Vesper is a moving, emotional story inspired by the life of Krystyna Skarbek, one of the most extraordinary women of World War II, a heroine of Great Britain and France. Since its premiere in March 2025, nearly 12,000 people have seen the performance on the Main Stage of the Podlasie Opera and Philharmonic. This season, 20 performances are planned (from January to March), including four school performances. The performances will be available from January 17th.

The Opera invites young audiences and their families to the family musical Karolcia and the Secret of Christmas Night performed on the Main Stage on January 17th and 18th. This is a moving, magical story about a girl who, amidst the pre-Christmas chaos, finds herself in a mysterious world and rediscovers the meaning of Christmas. The interactive nature of the performance, live music, dance, and beautiful visuals transform the show into a shared journey into the values of closeness, love, and family bonds. Recommended for audiences aged 5 and up.

On January 9th, the Concert Hall of the Music School Complex at Podleśna 2 Street will host a Carnival Evening performed by the Podlasie Opera and Philharmonic Orchestra under the direction of Mirosław Jacek Błaszczyk, featuring pianist Artur Jaroń and sopranos Karolina Kolińska and Daria Lahotska. The program will lead the audience through the world of musicals, operettas, and classical music inspired by jazz and swing, from Leonard Bernstein’s West Side Story, through George Gershwin’s Piano Concerto in F major, to compositions by Strauss and the spectacular Cat Duet by Gioachino Rossini.

The following day, on January 10th, the Main Stage of the Podlasie Opera and Philharmonic will host the concert Classics Meets Latino, in which the majesty of classical music will be combined with the fervent rhythms of Latin America. Under the baton of Tomasz Szymuś, the Orchestra, vocal ensemble, and Ballet of the Podlasie Opera and Philharmonic will perform Latin American arrangements of works by Beethoven, Mozart, Puccini, Verdi, Bizet, Bach, Brahms, and Chopin. The performance will be enhanced by captivating choreography, striking costumes, and spectacular visuals, creating an evening full of energy and emotion. Beginning at 7:00 PM.

The Podlasie Opera and Philharmonic invites classical music lovers to the concert Dialogues of Hope: from Beethoven to Karłowicz on January 30th. The orchestra, conducted by Alexander Iradyan, and the Lontano Trio will present Ludwig van Beethoven’s less frequently performed Concerto for Piano, Violin, and Cello in C major, a joyful collaboration, and Mieczysław Karłowicz’s monumental Symphony in E minor Rebirth, a work with profound existential overtones, narrating suffering and spiritual transformation.

The presentation of young talent remains an important element of the repertoire. On January 22nd, the Chamber Hall of the School of Music will host another concert in the Academic Youth Stage series, in collaboration with the Fryderyk Chopin University of Music, Białystok Branch. The students will present a rich program featuring operatic arias, songs, chamber and instrumental works, ranging from Vivaldi, Mozart, and Bach, through Szymanowski, Ravel, and Moniuszko, to Dvořák and Tchaikovsky. The concert will begin at 7:00 PM.

The educational program for children also includes the Opera Story – Discover the Secrets of Opera, scheduled for January 12th at the OiFP building. Elementary school students in grades 1-4 will participate in an interactive backstage tour, learning about spaces normally inaccessible, the secrets of theater, and the magic of acoustics through theatrical storytelling. The workshop is led by OiFP soloist Rafał Supiński.

The January repertoire also expands with an encounter with world-renowned opera as part of the MET Live in HD series. On January 10th, the OiFP Chamber Stage will present a new production of Vincenzo Bellini’s I Puritani, the first at the Metropolitan Opera in nearly half a century. Stars from the world opera scene will star: Lisette Oropesa and Lawrence Brownlee will play Elvira and Arthur – lovers torn apart by the political divisions of the English Civil War. They will be joined by Artur Ruciński as Riccardo, Elvira’s unwanted fiancé, and Christian Van Horn as Giorgio, Elvira’s kind and caring uncle. The orchestra will be conducted by Marco Armiliato, guaranteeing an evening of vocal brilliance and dramatic emotion.

Until January 11, drawings by Dmitry Grozdev can be viewed in the OiFP Exhibition Hall as part of the exhibition God is Born… Amid the Silence of Holiness and Earthly Joy. On January 24, Odeska Street will host the opening of the exhibition The Podlasie Dimension of Art, presenting 60 years of Białowieża Open-Air Painting Workshops. The exhibition shows the dialogue between the past and the present by juxtaposing the works of participants in historical open-air workshops with works created during the meeting in October 2025, telling the story of the creative power of community, inspiration from nature, and the continuity of artistic ideas. The exhibition will be open until February 26.