Tomasz Konina

Tomasz Konina (23 June 1972 – 26 August 2017 ) was a Polish theatre and opera director and stage designer.

Biography Born in Warsaw, on 23 June 1972, Konina graduated from the National Academy of Dramatic Art in Warsaw in 1996.

He made both his theatre and opera debut in 1998: Chekhov's Uncle Vanya at the Teatr Ateneum in Warsaw and Mozart's Marriage of Figaro at the Wrocław Opera.

In 2002, he was granted the scholarship of Vilar Young Artists Programme (presently: Jette Parker Young Artists Programme) at the Royal Opera House Covent Garden in London.

Graduate of the University of Economics in Wrocław (Managerial Postgraduate Studies on Business Management, Institute of Contemporary Management, at the Faculty of Management, 2013).

From 2007 to 2015, he was the artistic and executive director of the Jan Kochanowski Dramatic Theater in Opole.

Opera, operetta and music productions 2000 – Rossini's Tancredi, Polish National Opera in Warsaw (with Ewa Podleś in title role, under music direction of Alberto Zedda) 2001 – Boito's Mefistofele, Opera Nova in Bydgoszcz 2002 – Beethoven's Fidelio, Grand Theatre, Poznań 2004 – Cilea's Adriana Lecouvreur, Grand Theatre, Łódź 2005 – Verdi's Macbeth, Grand Theatre, Łódź 2005 – Lehar's The Merry Widow, Music Theatre in Łódź 2006 – Verdi's La traviata, Wrocław Opera 2007 – Be like Callas (based on own scenario), Music Theatre in Łódź 2013 – Verdi's Falstaff, Grand Theatre, Poznań 2014 – Boito's Mefistofele, Cracow Opera 2015 – Strauss's The Gypsy Baron, Grand Theatre, Łódź 2015 – Boito's Mefistofele z Trondheim Symphony Orchestra 2017 – Verdi's La forza del destino, Silesian Opera, Bytom

Konina directed many works which had never been staged in Poland before: 2002 – Debussy's Pelléas and Mélisande, Polish National Opera, Warsaw 2003 – Rossini's Il viaggio a Reims, Polish National Opera, Warsaw (with Ewa Podleś as Marchesa Melibea, under music direction of Alberto Zedda) 2005 – Ullmann's The Emperor of Atlantis, Warsaw Chamber Opera 2005 – Bernstein's Candide, Grand Theatre, Łódź 2010 – Ptaszynska's The Lovers From the Valldemosa Monastery, Grand Theatre, Łódź

Theatre productions 2001 – Suassuna's A Dog's Will, Cyprian Kamil Norwid Theatre in Jelenia Góra 2008 – Schimmelphennig's For a Better World, Jan Kochanowski Dramatic Theater in Opole 2008 – Chekhov's The Cherry Orchard, Jan Kochanowski Dramatic Theater in Opole 2009 – Dumas's The Lady of the Camellias, Jan Kochanowski Dramatic Theater in Opole 2009 – Dostoevsky's The Idiot, Jan Kochanowski Dramatic Theater in Opole 2009 – Iwaszkiewicz's The Maids of Wilko, Jan Kochanowski Dramatic Theater in Opole 2010 – Andersen's The Snow Queen, Jan Kochanowski Dramatic Theater in Opole 2013 – Lewis's The Lion, the Witch and the Wardrobe, Jan Kochanowski Dramatic Theater in Opole 2014 – Andersen's The Snow Queen, Teatr Polski in Warsaw

Other As a manager, he initiated cooperation with a number of important theatre festivals: Shakespeare's Globe in London Seoul Performing Arts Festival in Korea Tbilisi International Festival of Theatre in Georgia La MaMa Experimental Theatre Club in New York The Studio Players in Istanbul Teatr International Festival Minsk in Belarus Istanbul Theatre Festival in Turkey Uijeongbu International Music Theatre Festival in Korea Eurothalia Theatre Festival Timișoara in Romania As director of the theatre in Opole he invited the cooperation of many famous artists like: Agnieszka Holland, Maja Kleczewska, Aleksandra Konieczna, Monika Strzępka, , , , , Jacek Poniedziałek, , and many others. He has enabled many theatrical debuts for people who have later become recognised artists, such as , Paweł Świątek and Jędrzej Piaskowski.