This year's edition of Baroque Explorations Festival will visit Lower Silesia. During the inaugural concert, the international ensemble Baroque Collegium 1685 - Choir and Orchestra and invited soloists, under the direction of Agnieszka Żarska, will perform G.F. Handel's Ode: "Alexander's Feast or the Power of Music," HWV 75. The solo parts will be performed by Sylwia Olszyńska, a soprano associated with the Grand Theatre in Warsaw; British tenor Gwilym Bowen; and Czech bass Tomáš Král.
The work, written to the text of the John Dryden's Ode, which celebrates the power of music, was composed by Handel in 1736. The London premiere at Covent Garden Theatre was a resounding success, confirming Handel's far-reaching decision to abandon Italian opera in favor of English oratorio.
As Agnieszka Żarska, artistic director of Baroque Explorations, emphasizes: "In this project, we are combining two extraordinary phenomena: the music and architecture. The choice of the concert venue is no accident. It is really wonderful that, thanks to the collaboration with Książ Castle, Handel's work will be performed in one of the most beautiful Baroque halls in this part of Europe, a place that moreover, has become linked to the British Royal Family through Princess Daisy."
The concert, under the Honorary Patronage of the British Council, will also mark the 10th anniversary of the artistic activity of the Baroque Collegium 1685 Ensemble.
The event will be broadcast online on YouTube and on social media.
Organizer: Szczawnica Chamber Choir Association;
Event Patron: Książ Castle;
Honorary Patronage: British Council;
Strategic Partner: Malopolska Voivodeship
Co-financed by the Polish Minister of Culture and National Heritage from the Culture Promotion Fund under the "Music" program, implemented by the National Institute of Music and Dance;
Collaboration: Hotel Biały Wałbrzych, Media Patronage: TVP Culture
Baroque Explorations 2026
Georg Friedrich Handel
ALEXANDER’S FEAST or THE POWER OF MUSIC HWV 75
Performers:
Sylwia Olszyńska - soprano, Gwilym Bowen - tenor, Tomáš Král - bass
Baroque Collegium 1685 - Choir & Orchestra, dir. Agnieszka Żarska
April 10, 2026, at 7:00 PM
Książ Castle near Wałbrzych/Poland - Maksymilian Hall
Online broadcast: https://www.youtube.com/@baroquecollegium1685/streams
Ticket reservations (from March 23): https://bilety.ksiaz.walbrzych.pl/