Konrad Ksawery Swinarski (4 July 1929 – 19 August 1975) was a Polish theatrical, television, film and opera director and stage designer. He has created his own style, thanks to which he is considered one of the most original and outstanding artists in the history of Polish theatre. He influenced many Polish directors, such as ,

Krystian Lupa Krystian Lupa (Polish pronunciation: ; born 7 November 1943) is a Polish theatre director, set designer, playwright, translator and pedagogue. He has been called "the greatest living European theatre director". He is the recipient of many nation ...

, Jerzy Jarocki, , and

Krzysztof Warlikowski Krzysztof Warlikowski (Polish pronunciation: ; born 26 May 1962) is a Polish theatre director. He is the creator and artistic director of Nowy Teatr (New Theatre) in Warsaw. Biography He studied history, philosophy and Romance languages at th ...

Life

His father was lieutenant colonel , and his mother was Irmgarda Liczbińska, who came from a Polish-German Silesian family. Born in Warsaw, Swinarski studied at and

Sopot Sopot (; or ) is a seaside resort city in Pomerelia on the southern coast of the Baltic Sea in northern Poland, with a population of approximately 40,000. It is located in Pomeranian Voivodeship, Pomerania Province and has the City with powiat ri ...

, faculty of scenic visuals of

Academy of Fine Arts In Łódź An academy (Attic Greek: Ἀκαδήμεια; Koine Greek Ἀκαδημία) is an institution of tertiary education. The name traces back to Plato's school of philosophy, founded approximately 386 BC at Akademia, a sanctuary of Athena, the go ...

and Drama Direction Faculty of National Academy of Dramatic Art in Warsaw. During Warsaw studies he was an assistant to directors and Erwin Axer. He finished studying in 1955, but graduated in 1972 based on ''

A Midsummer Night's Dream ''A Midsummer Night's Dream'' is a Comedy (drama), comedy play written by William Shakespeare in about 1595 or 1596. The play is set in Athens, and consists of several subplots that revolve around the marriage of Theseus and Hippolyta. One s ...

'' production in National Stary Theatre. In 1973–1975 he was a lecturer of National Academy of Theatre Arts in Kraków. During studies he became fascinated and worked with

Bertolt Brecht Eugen Berthold Friedrich Brecht (10 February 1898 – 14 August 1956), known as Bertolt Brecht and Bert Brecht, was a German theatre practitioner, playwright, and poet. Coming of age during the Weimar Republic, he had his first successes as a p ...

. In 1954, together with Przemysław Zieliński he realized '' Señora Carrar's Rifles'' for New Warsaw's theatre. He debuted solo by directing ''Żeglarz'' (''The Sailor'') by Jerzy Szaniawski, premiering 14 May 1955 in Wojciech Bogusławski Theatre in

Kalisz Kalisz () is a city in central Poland, and the second-largest city in the Greater Poland Voivodeship, with 97,905 residents (December 2021). It is the capital city of the Kalisz Region. Situated on the Prosna river in the southeastern part of Gr ...

. From 1955 until 1957 he interned for

Berliner Ensemble The Berliner Ensemble () is a German theatre company established by actress Helene Weigel and her husband, playwright Bertolt Brecht, in January 1949 in East Berlin. In the time after Brecht's exile, the company first worked at Wolfgang Langh ...

as Brecht's assistant. Together with other assistants he took part in finishing staging of ''

Fear and Misery of the Third Reich ''Fear and Misery of the Third Reich'' (), also known as ''The Private Life of the Master Race'', is one of Bertolt Brecht's most famous plays and the first of his openly anti-Nazi works. It premiered on 21 May 1938 in Paris. This production was ...

'', started by Brecht before his death on 14 August 1956. Returning to Poland, Swinarski directed plays in Warsaw theatres: Dramatyczny, Współczesny,

Ateneum Ateneum is an art museum in Helsinki, Finland and one of the three museums forming the Finnish National Gallery. It is located in the centre of Helsinki on the south side of Rautatientori square close to Helsinki Central railway station. It has ...

and National Theatre and Gdańsk . He also directed plays abroad, e.g. in

West Germany West Germany was the common English name for the Federal Republic of Germany (FRG) from its formation on 23 May 1949 until German reunification, its reunification with East Germany on 3 October 1990. It is sometimes known as the Bonn Republi ...

. In 1960 he got Leon Schiller award, granted to young theatrical directors. In 1966 he was a laureate of for a staging of '' The Undivine Comedy'' in Stary Theatre and for '' A Dangerous Game'' in teleplay, and West German Theatre Critics Award in 1964 for the world premiere of

Peter Weiss Peter Ulrich Weiss (8 November 1916 – 10 May 1982) was a German writer, painter, graphic artist, and experimental filmmaker of adopted Swedish nationality. He is particularly known for his plays ''Marat/Sade'' and '' The Investigation'' and h ...

's ''

Marat/Sade ''The Persecution and Assassination of Jean-Paul Marat as Performed by the Inmates of the Asylum of Charenton Under the Direction of the Marquis de Sade'' (), usually shortened to ''Marat/Sade'' (), is a 1963 play by Peter Weiss. The work was firs ...

'' at the

Schiller Theater The Schiller Theater is a theatre building in Berlin, Germany. It is located in the central Charlottenburg district at Bismarckstraße 110, near Ernst-Reuter-Platz. Opened in 1907, the building served as a second venue for the Konzerthaus Berl ...

in Berlin, and

Vladimir Mayakovsky Vladimir Vladimirovich Mayakovsky ( – 14 April 1930) was a Russian poet, playwright, artist, and actor. During his early, Russian Revolution, pre-Revolution period leading into 1917, Mayakovsky became renowned as a prominent figure of the Ru ...

's ''

The Bedbug ''The Bedbug'' () is a play by Vladimir Mayakovsky written in 1928–1929 and published originally by '' Molodaya Gvardiya'' magazine (Nos. 3 and 4, 1929), then as a book, by Gosizdat, in 1929. "The faerie comedy in nine pictures", lampooning t ...

''. Among several opera stagings, Swinarski directe the world premiere of

Krzysztof Penderecki Krzysztof Eugeniusz Penderecki (; 23 November 1933 – 29 March 2020) was a Polish composer and conductor. His best-known works include '' Threnody to the Victims of Hiroshima'', Symphony No. 3, his '' St Luke Passion'', '' Polish Requiem'', '' ...

's opera ''

The Devils of Loudun ''The Devils of Loudun'' is a 1952 non-fiction account expressed in a novelistic style by Aldous Huxley. Premise It is a historical narrative of supposed demonic possession, religious fanaticism, sexual repression, and mass hysteria that occ ...

'' in 1969 at the

Hamburg State Opera The Hamburg State Opera (in German: ) is a German opera company based in Hamburg. Its theatre is near the square of Gänsemarkt. Since 2015, the current ''Intendant'' of the company is Georges Delnon, and the current ''Generalmusikdirektor'' ...

. In 1965 he started his long-time co-operation with Stary Theatre in Kraków, where some of his most famous works were produced. Those included his most famous work, novel and innovative staging of ''

Dziady Dziady ( "grandfathers, eldfathers", sometimes translated as Forefathers' Eve) is a term in Slavic folklore for the spirits of the ancestors and a collection of pre-Christian rites, rituals and customs that were dedicated to them. The essence o ...

'' (''Forefathers Eve'') by

Adam Mickiewicz Adam Bernard Mickiewicz (24 December 179826 November 1855) was a Polish poet, dramatist, essayist, publicist, translator and political activist. He is regarded as national poet in Poland, Lithuania and Belarus. He also largely influenced Ukra ...

, premiering 18 February 1973. On 30 May 1974 premiered his staging of ''Wyzwolenie'' (''Liberation'') by

Stanisław Wyspiański Stanisław Mateusz Ignacy Wyspiański (; 15 January 1869 – 28 November 1907) was a Polish playwright, painter, poet, and interior and furniture designer. A patriotic writer, he created symbolic national dramas accordant with the artisti ...

, his last work for Stary Theatre. 1975 Swinarski began preparations to direct ''

Hamlet ''The Tragedy of Hamlet, Prince of Denmark'', often shortened to ''Hamlet'' (), is a Shakespearean tragedy, tragedy written by William Shakespeare sometime between 1599 and 1601. It is Shakespeare's longest play. Set in Denmark, the play (the ...

'', interrupted by his sudden death.

Death

On 19 August 1975 Swinarski died in ČSA Flight 540 accident of

Ilyushin Il-62 The Ilyushin Il-62 (; NATO reporting name: Classic) is a Soviet Union, Soviet long-range Narrow-body aircraft, narrow-body jetliner conceived in 1960 by Ilyushin. As a successor to the popular turboprop Ilyushin Il-18, Il-18 and with capacit ...

that crashed during attempted landing near Damascus. Swinarski was invited by empress of Iran

Farah Pahlavi Farah Pahlavi (; []; born 14 October 1938) is the former Queen and last Empress () of Pahlavi Iran and is the third wife and widow of the last List of monarchs of Iran, Shah of Iran, Mohammad Reza Pahlavi. She was born into a prosperous Ira ...

to take part in

Shiraz Arts Festival The Shiraz Festival of Arts (Persian language, Persian: جشنواره هنر شیراز) was an annual international summer arts festival, held in Iran bringing about the encounter between the East and the West. It was held from 1967 to 1977 in ...

. There were plans for Swinarski to show his ''Dziady'' during next years festival. Swinarski was buried in

Powązki Military Cemetery Powązki Military Cemetery (; ) is an old military cemetery located in the Żoliborz district, western part of Warsaw, Poland. The cemetery is often confused with the older Powązki Cemetery, known colloquially as "Old Powązki". The Old Pową ...

(section A37-4-4). After his death, ''Teatr'' magazine established yearly , awarded to theatrical directors for best work of the season. The laureates include Henryk Tomaszewski, Jerzy Jarocki, , , .

Private life

In 1955 Swinarski married Barbara Witek. His homosexuality was a well-known fact in artistic circles, but it wasn't publicly mentioned (or in any biographical work) until 2003.

Awards and honours

* 1969 – Second Degree Award of the Minister of Culture and Art for creative research in the field of theatre staging; * 1973 –

City of Kraków Award The City of Kraków Award is an award bestowed annually by the President of Kraków, Poland, for contributions relating to the city, and the popularization of its culture at home and abroad. It is given to prominent artists in the field of theatre, ...

* 1974 – First Degree State Award for outstanding achievements in the field of theatre directing * 1974 – "Drożdże" (Yeast), award of ''

Polityka ''Polityka'' (, ''Politics'') is a centre-left weekly news magazine in Poland. It had a circulation of 95,300 during 2021. ''Polityka'' has a slightly intellectual, socially liberal profile, setting it apart from the more conservative ''Wprost ...

'' * 1974 – Knights Cross

Order of Polonia Restituta The Order of Polonia Restituta (, ) is a Polish state decoration, state Order (decoration), order established 4 February 1921. It is conferred on both military and civilians as well as on alien (law), foreigners for outstanding achievements in ...

* Golden Cross of Merit

References

External links

"Konrad Swinarski"
as remembered by

Tadeusz Łomnicki Tadeusz Łomnicki (; 18 July 1927 – 22 February 1992) was a Polish actor, one of the most notable stage and film artists of his time in Poland. He is remembered mostly for his roles in comedies and dramas, as well as for the role of Kordian in ...

(in Polish) * {{DEFAULTSORT:Swinarski, Konrad Knights of the Order of Polonia Restituta Recipients of the State Award Badge (Poland) Recipients of the Gold Cross of Merit (Poland) Burials at Powązki Military Cemetery Polish theatre directors Polish television directors Polish film directors Polish opera directors Scenographers Polish gay artists 1929 births 1975 deaths Victims of aviation accidents or incidents in 1975 Victims of aviation accidents or incidents in Syria