The operatic output of Stanislaw Moniuszko is most often associated with national themes and numerous references to patriotism and propagation of patterns related to the Polish culture. It turns out, however, that the composer’s main goal was not always to promote the native tradition. Beata, the last, one-act opera by Stanislaw Moniuszko, is a less emotionally complex composition than for example The Haunted Manor. During the life of the composer the work was not approved by the Polish audience, expecting from the composer rather works to cheer people’s hearts than a vaudeville. The action of this comic opera is based on numerous intrigues and love affairs of the main character, Beata. This album in a sense shows us the operatic output of Stanislaw Moniuszko from a different, not so obvious, perspective. The present recording is connected with the restoration to the life of this forgotten, as a result of World War II, work by the Kraków Opera. The reconstruction of the score destroyed in the ruins of the Warsaw Grand Theatre was performed by Krzysztof Baculewski on the basis of the piano reduction.
