To be a man means never to be oneself, claimed Gombrowicz. These words define the path that Robert Bondara tries to follow in Persona. After his earlier miniatures (Andante con moto, When You End and I Begin..., and The Garden’s Gates) he recently staged a major original piece called The Captive Mind, based on Czesław Miłosz, at the Opera Nova in Bydgoszcz. He is preparing Persona for our Chamber Stage. He has chosen music by three composers: Arvo Pärta (Fratres, Silentium), Paweł Szymański (Five Pieces for String Quartet, Compartment 2 Car 7), and a new composition by Aldona Nawrocka. This is what Robert Bondara says about the idea behind the project: “Human existence is inextricably linked to functioning within certain sociocultural norms. This makes it necessary to adjust to existing models, which allows people to avoid conflicts and gain benefits in the form of a sense of being accepted. Thus, people put on masks, trying to play different roles, adapting to the attitudes and behaviours expected of them. Jung called this phenomenon the persona. The stronger it is, the greater the chasm between the way someone behaves around other people and when he or she is alone. To what extent, then, are we autonomous, unique beings, and how to what extent we are a reflection of society and other people?”.

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