Royal Castle in Warsaw
65th Anniversary Gala of the Warsaw Chamber Opera
Opening Gala of the 2026/2027 Season and the XIII Baroque Opera Festival
Soprano | Serena Farnocchia
Tenor | Uwe Stickert
Violin | Giuliano Carmignola
Period Instrument Orchestra of the Warsaw Chamber Opera
Musicae Antiquae Collegium Varsoviense (MACV)
Giuliano Carmignola
Gramophone magazine has described Giuliano Carmignola as “a prince among Baroque violinists”. His interpretations are characterised by great passion and an introspective approach full of imagination and freedom. Born in Treviso, he first studied violin with his father and later with Luigi Ferro, Nathan Milstein and Franco Gulli at the Accademia Chigiana in Siena. He began his career as a soloist under the baton of conductors such as Claudio Abbado, Eliahu Inbal, Peter Maag and Giuseppe Sinopoli, and went on to work with many renowned conductors and instrumental ensembles, performing both on period instruments and with modern orchestras throughout Europe and around the world. Since then, he has performed regularly with Michelangeli, Gatti, Marcon, Hogwood, Pinnock, Bolton, Norrington, Egarr, Antonini, Dantone, Brüggen and Koopman, as well as with leading European Baroque and Classical orchestras. Devoted to the Baroque and Classical repertoire, he is one of the foremost interpreters of the music of Antonio Vivaldi, a composer to whom he has dedicated several recordings that are now regarded as reference versions. Most of his numerous recordings have been made for Sony Classical and Deutsche Grammophon, and many have received major awards. His most recent albums have been released by Arcana–Outhere Music, with which he continues to develop several recording projects. His recording of J. S. Bach’s 6 Suites a violoncello Solo senza Basso in transcriptions for violin, released by Arcana–Outhere Music France in 2021, was selected as an Editor’s Choice by Gramophone in 2022. In September 2023, he released The Three Seasons of Antonio Vivaldi, a three-CD set recorded with the Accademia dell’Annunciata for Arcana–Outhere Music. The album received excellent reviews. For several years, alongside his concert activity, Giuliano Carmignola taught at the Accademia Musicale Chigiana in Siena and at the Hochschule in Lucerne. He is a member of the Accademia Filarmonica di Bologna and the Accademia Nazionale di Santa Cecilia.
Uwe Stickert
German tenor. He began piano and voice lessons at the age of seven at the Schloss Belvedere music school in Weimar. He completed his vocal studies with distinction at the Hochschule für Musik Franz Liszt in Weimar in the class of Prof. M. Hoff. He has appeared at Komische Oper Berlin, Aalto-Theater Essen, Nationaltheater Weimar and in Mannheim, performing roles such as Jupiter in “Semele”, Arnold in “Guillaume Tell”, Dorvil in “La scala di seta”, as well as Mozart roles including Tito in “La clemenza di Tito”, Tamino in “Die Zauberflöte”, Ferrando in “Così fan tutte”, Don Ottavio in “Don Giovanni” and Belmonte in “Die Entführung aus dem Serail”. He has gained particular acclaim in the French repertoire, notably as Faust in Charles Gounod’s “Faust” in Bern and Raoul in Giacomo Meyerbeer’s “Les Huguenots” in Nice and Nuremberg. For the latter role, he received a nomination for “Best Singer” from “Opernwelt” in 2015. In 2020 he made his debuts as Lohengrin in Erfurt and as Florestan in “Fidelio” in Cottbus. He has also appeared in productions of “Peter Grimes”, “Król Roger”, “Les Contes d’Hoffmann”, “Lulu” and “Die Liebe zu den drei Orangen”. Most recently he performed Tito in “La clemenza di Tito” at the Tiroler Landestheater Innsbruck, and in March 2026 sings the tenor part in Gustav Mahler’s “Das Lied von der Erde” at Opéra Grand Avignon.
Serena Farnocchia
Born in Lucca, Italy, the soprano studied with Gianpiero Mastromei and won several international competitions, including the Luciano Pavarotti Competition in Philadelphia. She was accepted by Riccardo Muti into the Opera Studio of Teatro alla Scala in Milan. Her repertoire includes roles such as Manon Lescaut, Madama Butterfly, Mimì (“La Bohème”), Liù, Suor Angelica, Desdemona, Aida, Elisabetta (“Don Carlo”), Leonora (“Il Trovatore”), Amelia, Alice, Luisa Miller, Maria Stuarda, Anna Bolena, Donna Anna, the Countess, Fiordiligi, Vitellia, Micaëla, Mařenka, Madama Cortese, Elisabetta and Ermione. Engagements have taken her to renowned houses such as the Lyric Opera of Chicago, San Francisco Opera, Teatro alla Scala, Opera di Roma, Bayerische Staatsoper, Semperoper Dresden, Opernhaus Zürich, Grand Théâtre de Genève, New National Theatre Tokyo, Suntory Hall and Sydney Opera House, as well as to the Glyndebourne and Santa Fe Festivals. She has collaborated with conductors including Riccardo Muti, Zubin Mehta, Fabio Luisi, Daniel Oren, Giuseppe Sinopoli, Gianandrea Noseda and Alberto Zedda. In 2024, she performed the role of Hazila in the world premiere of Lee Bradshaw’s “Zarqa Al Yamama” at the King Fahad Cultural Centre in Riyadh. Her discography includes “La Cecchina”, Verdi’s “Simon Boccanegra” and “Don Carlos”, and Rossini’s “Stabat Mater”, “Ermione” and “Elisabetta, Regina d’Inghilterra”.