Stanisław Moniuszko

Stanisław Moniuszko (; May 5 (17), 1819 – June 4, 1872) was a Polish composer, He is generally referred to as “the father of Polish national opera”. Since the 1990s, Stanisław Moniuszko has been recognized in Belarus as an important figure to Belarusian culture as well. Life Moniuszko was born into a noble landowning family in Ubiel, Minsk Governorate (Russian Empire, now Belarus). His father, Czesław, and his uncle, Ignacy, both served in Napoleon’s army. His first piano teacher was his mother, Elżbieta (Elizabeth) Madżarska of Armenian descent. He later continued his musical education in Warsaw and Minsk, and studied under Carl Friedrich Rungenhagen in Berlin. In 1840, he married Aleksandra Mueller, with whom he had ten children, and settled down in Vilnius, taking up the position of organist at the Church of St. John’s. Moniuszko also offered private music lessons, which turned out to be an important source of income for his family. His first operettas Loteria (Lottery) and Żółta szlafmyca (Yellow Nightcap) were not very successful. However, in 1847, the premiere staging of Halka (the two-act version), considered one of his most notable operas, was more successful. It took place