Beyond the mountains: the reception of Moniuszko and his ‘Halka’ abroad

Beyond the mountains: the reception of Moniuszko and his ‘Halka’ abroad Without doubt, Halka is the opera of Moniuszko that has travelled most widely around the world, yet sadly it still remains unknown to most non-Polish music lovers. This article traces its presence abroad to reveal when and where interest in it has peaked. Yet how to define ‘abroad’ when speaking of Moniuszko, whose life crossed present-day political boundaries and since Poland itself was partitioned during his lifetime? More often than not, politics has played a part in the dissemination of Moniuszko’s music and Halka in particular: strong trends in its performance history can be seen in two of the three partitioning empires, Russia and Austro-Hungary, while later German translations were to play an important role; the plot also appealed from a political point of view to communist regimes, and the first two complete recordings were made in early 1950s Moscow and Prague. Halka has continued to travel widely, if sporadically, with one of its most unexpected appearances being as recently as 2015 in Haiti. Yet the wider recognition this opera deserves remains elusive.