Q: Is it possible that you have fallen victim to the battle over the definition of national culture, and what is connected to it - the role of an Opera which pretends to the title "National.?" Rather than going with your idea of putting on Orfeus, you were told to direct Conrad Vallenrod by Zeleński. This is a well known opera, but a totally different style...

Mariusz Treliński: There can be many different visions of Opera, because the word "national" hides beneath it at the very least a few different contexts. Our thinking about opera was geared towards the future. We wanted to create a contemporary Polish culture. This is why I invited people to work with us who were outside of the world of opera like Leszek Mądzik, Jan Klata, Andrzej Wajda, and Maj Kleczewska. For me, our Polish identity is best expressed by the quality of what we put on stage and not by what title we decide to put on, and what trend in opera it represents. This is really a discussion of two different Polands: about a Poland of Gombrowicz and Sienkiewicz, of Moniuszko and Szymanowski. Each of these artists had their own character and each of them represents a different vision of the Polish identity. I am personally closer to the vision represented by Gombrowcz and Szymanowski, because I think it is more fitting for contemporary times. Q: When you began your work