2026-09-06

On September 14, the prestigious Teatro Petruzzelli in Bari will host the Italian premiere of Zygmunt Krauze's two-act opera, which tells the poignant story of Bona Sforza d’Aragona. Staging this work in Bari carries deep symbolic meaning – it is the very city where the title heroine spent her final years and was laid to rest.

The presentation of a contemporary Polish opera as part of the permanent repertoire of a major Italian opera house is a rare and exceptional event on the international music scene. Zygmunt Krauze’s work, directed by Michał Znaniecki, reveals the full spectrum of Queen Bona’s complex and controversial personality – celebrated for her wisdom and resourcefulness, yet reviled for her audacity, thirst for power, and despotism. It is a portrait of both a woman burdened by everyday anxieties and a ruler who sacrificed her personal plans and dreams for higher political ends.

The opera presents three distinct facets and stages of the Polish-Italian Queen's life, portrayed by three soloists and sung in three languages: Polish, Italian, and Latin:
• Princess Bona – a young, vibrant girl who discovers the worlds of culture and art as she prepares for her role as a ruler;
• Queen Bona – a mature woman, wife of Sigismund I the Old and mother of the heir, Sigismund II Augustus, who, despite attaining immense political clout and wealth, remains insecure and lost when confronted with an unfamiliar culture;
• Bona – Queen Dowager – a spurned, broken, and betrayed monarch returning to her beloved Bari, where she dies in 1557 poisoned by her trusted courtier, Gian Lorenzo Pappacoda.

Directed by Michał Znaniecki, Bona Sforza is an international co-production between the Kraków Opera and the Fondazione Lirico Sinfonica Petruzzelli e Teatri di Bari.

The key historical roles will be performed by an internationally renowned cast: Anna Maria Chiuri (Bona – Queen Dowager), Valeria Sepe (Bona – Queen), Nikoletta Hertsak (Bona – Princess), Rory Musgrave (Sigismund I the Old), Deniz Leone (Sigismund II Augustus), Lorrie Garcia (Isabella), Saverio Pugliese (Gian Lorenzo Pappacoda), Davide Giangregorio (Ettore Pignatelli), Eleonora Filipponi (Marina d’Arcamone), and Nicolò Balducci (Crisostomo Colonna).

Music direction is by Piotr Sułkowski, who will conduct the Orchestra, Chorus, and Ballet of Teatro Petruzzelli. The artistic production team includes Luigi Scoglio (set design), Małgorzata Słoniowska (costume design), Inga Pilchowska (choreography), Karolina Jocewicz (multimedia projections), and Dawid Karolak (lighting design).

Performances at Teatro Petruzzelli in Bari will take place on 14, 16, 18, and 20 September 2026.

The opera Bona Sforza by Zygmunt Krauze is published by PWM Edition