The Age of Anxiety—based on the poem *The Age of Anxiety* by W.H. Auden—in an original interpretation by Rozalia Kierc and Justyna Khil—as part of the Music at Villa Blumwe Festival—on the chamber stage of Opera Nova on November 14, 2026.

PLEASE NOTE: Tickets for the chamber music performance “The Age of Anxiety” are priced at 40 PLN (regular) and 25 PLN (reduced) starting September 1, 2026. AVAILABLE EXCLUSIVELY at the Opera Nova box office; telephone reservations can be made by calling 52 325 15 55.

Many have fallen, and even more will follow in their footsteps—this is one of the few recurring lines in W. H. Auden’s famous poem *The Age of Anxiety* (1947). It speaks to the ever-present threat of war—both in times of peace and during bloodshed. It is a theme that remains disturbingly relevant. Nearly eight decades later, another generation of young artists is experiencing the fear and pain that armed conflict brings. The trauma in whose shadow we grew up has become a tangible fear.

The concert program is divided into three acts depicting the experience of war and mourning.

Act I depicts a child growing up in the shadow of war, who, as a young man, is drafted into the army and dies on the front lines. We then witness his mother’s mourning and the funeral as seen through the eyes of his beloved.

Act II offers a moment of apparent respite and escapism, quickly contrasted with a critique of social indifference and the justification of war crimes in the name of patriotism.

Act III depicts the five stages of grief: denial, anger, bargaining, depression, and acceptance. The finale returns to the theme of the endless cycle of violence and the successive victims of war, leaving a sense of unease despite momentary solace.

With the help of choreography and visual projections, an intimate and contemporary performance has been created—one that tells a story written by many generations and still being written today.

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An Era of Turmoil - A Musical

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