Visit to Stary Sącz and the Concert "Great Maestra – in memoriam"

As tradition dictates, Thursday is a day free from auditions during the 21ˢᵗ Ada Sari International Vocal Artistry Competition, as it is usually reserved for the finalists’ rehearsals with the orchestra. This year was no exception. The eight finalists prepared for their Friday performance with the Kraków Opera Orchestra under the baton of Marta Kluczyńska.

Following the competition’s long-standing custom, the Jury embarked on a trip to Stary Sącz to explore the place where Ada Sari spent her childhood. This time, the jurors—accompanied by Małgorzata Walewska, Chair of the Jury and Artistic Director of the Competition—were joined by Tadeusz Deszkiewicz (Advisor to the President of Poland), Andrzej Zarych (Director of the SOKÓŁ Małopolska Culture Centre), Liliana Olech (Deputy Director of SOKÓŁ for Professional Arts and Head of the Competition’s Organisational Office), and other guests.

The festival attendees visited the Seweryn Udziela Regional Museum in Stary Sącz, where Ada Sari’s memorabilia are preserved. They were welcomed by Jacek Lelek, Mayor of Stary Sącz, and Andrzej Długosz, President of the Stary Sącz Enthusiasts Society and Director of the Regional Museum.

In the salon of the great diva, visitors had the chance to see photographs and personal items belonging to the artist, look into her famous mirror, admire her lace gloves, read her correspondence, and—above all—listen to the Maestra’s performance of Rosina’s aria "Una voce poco fa" from Rossini’s The Barber of Seville, which drew admiration and thunderous applause from the jurors. During the visit, Liliana Olech, Head of the Competition’s Organisational Office, presented the Mayor and Museum Director with a special gift: Ada Sari’s original sheet music with her handwritten notes—specifically, Mieczysław Karłowicz’s song "Nie płacz nademną" (original spelling).

Flowers were also laid at the plaque commemorating the Competition’s patron. Additionally, the jurors and their guests visited the IMO Contemporary Art Gallery, the Poor Clares’ Convent, stopped by the Cukiernia Sądecka (a long-time sponsor of the event, famous for its Ada Sari-themed macarons), and enjoyed lunch at Willa Poprad, another key sponsor.

In the evening, the SOKÓŁ Małopolska Culture Centre hosted a concert accompanying the Competition, dedicated to Ada Sari—the Festival and Competition’s patron—and Prof. Helena Łazarska, the event’s initiator and long-time Artistic Director. The performers included past laureates: Adriana Ferfecka, Aleksandra Kubas-Kruk, Gabriela Legun, and Hanna Okońska, accompanied by pianist Manfred Schiebel. The highly successful concert, met with prolonged applause, showcased the remarkable development of the award-winning artists. A surprise moment came when Aleksandra Nieżychowska-Stankiewicz read an excerpt from a letter Ada Sari had written to her grandmother Zofia, referencing the 60th anniversary of Sari’s stage career. The programme featured works performed by the Competition’s patron, including pieces by Mozart, Rossini, Donizetti, Verdi, Moniuszko, and Puccini.

The event was hosted by Anna Woźniakowska, who guided the audience through Ada Sari’s artistic life in a captivating manner.

Let us recall that Ada Sari (real name Jadwiga Szayer), who passed away in 1968, had strong ties to Stary Sącz, where her father served as mayor for many years. Her stage career, which began in 1909, took her to theatres in Rome, Milan, Naples, St. Petersburg, Kyiv, Lviv, Kraków, Vienna, Warsaw, and New York. She gained worldwide acclaim, performing under the baton of legendary conductors such as Ruggero Leoncavallo, Pietro Mascagni, and Arturo Toscanini. She was also an exceptional vocal pedagogue, introducing Italian bel canto techniques to Poland. Her students included renowned Polish singers such as Halina Mickiewiczówna, Bogna Sokorska, Maria Fołtyn, Barbara Nieman, Zdzisława Donat, and Urszula Trawińska.

The Competition Final is tomorrow! It will be streamed on adasari.pl and, for the first time, on the international platform operavision.eu, which offers free broadcasts of the world’s most famous opera productions. Additionally, a TV studio operates alongside the Competition—this marks the fifth edition where Karol Szafraniec engages in insightful conversations with contestants, pianists, organisers, and jurors. The studio has garnered significant interest, with interviews aired during live broadcast breaks and later shared on the Competition’s website and social media. Notably, the audition streams alone have been viewed over 20,000 times on Facebook.