In 1848 in Vilnius, he staged and conducted the first performance of his opera "Halka". After the triumph of his new four-act version of "Halka" at Warsaw on 1 January 1858, he toured France. It was soon later staged in Prague, Moscow and St. Petersburg, where it met with great success.
On 1 August 1858 he was made conductor of the Polish Opera in the Grand Theatre in Warsaw. In 1864, Moniuszko started lecturing at the Music Institute in Warsaw, where he also directed a choir. His disciples included, among others, Zygmunt Noskowski and Henryk Jarecki.
Stanisław Moniuszko died on 4 June 1872 in Warsaw of a sudden heart attack. He was buried in Powązki Cemetery.
"More than 300, listing the most popular:"
Due to the current obscurity of Moniuszko outside Poland, this list more or less represents a complete discography.
Prix Benois de la Danse
The Benois de la Danse is one of the most prestigious ballet competitions. It was started by the International Dance Association in Moscow in 1991. It takes place each year on or around April 29 and is jury-based in its judging. The members of this jury change every year and have only top ballet personages.
Statuettes are given to the winners in the categories of lifelong achievement, ballerina, danseur, choreographer, composer and designer.
The idea for the Benois de la Danse was started in Moscow. The founders got support of UNESCO in the autumn of 1992. Its scheduling at the end of April is to match with the birthday of Alexandre Benois (1870–1960).
French sculptor Igor Ustinov designed the statuette of the Benois de la Danse award in 1992. He is the son of the famous actor Peter Ustinov, a great-nephew of Alexandre Benois.
Bread and salt
Bread and salt is a Slavic welcome greeting ceremony and also a type of food.
When important, respected, or admired guests arrive, they are given a loaf of bread placed on a "rushnik" (embroidered towel). A salt holder or a salt cellar is placed on top of the bread loaf or secured in a hole on the top of the loaf.
In modern Russia, on official occasions, the "bread and salt" is presented by young women dressed in national costumes (e.g., sarafan and kokoshnik).
When this tradition is observed in spaceflight, small packages of bread and salt are used.
Kvass
Kvass is a fermented beverage made from black or regular rye bread. The colour of the bread used helps to make the colour of the drink. It is a non-alcoholic drink by Russian standards. This is because the alcohol content from fermentation is less than 1.2%. Overall, the alcohol content is low (0.05% - 1.0%). It is often flavoured with fruits or herbs such as strawberries, raisins or mint. Kvass is also used for preparing a cold summertime soup called "okroshka".
It is popular in Russia, Belarus, Ukraine, Lithuania, Latvia, Poland, Estonia, and other Eastern and Central European countries, It is also popular in former Soviet states, such as Kazakhstan and Uzbekistan, where one can see many kvass vendors in the streets. Kvass is also popular in Harbin and Xinjiang, areas within China that are influenced by Russian culture.
Okroshka
Okróshka is a cold soup from Russia. It is also found in Ukraine and Belarus. The name is probably from "kroshit'" (крошить), which means to crumble into small pieces.
The classic soup is a mix of mostly raw vegetables (like cucumbers and spring onions), boiled potatoes, eggs, and a cooked meat such as beef, veal, sausages, or ham with kvass. Kvass is a mildly alcoholic beverage made from fermented black or rye bread. Okroshka is usually served with sour cream. Later versions use light or diluted kefir, vinegar, mineral water, or even beer instead of kvass.
The ingredients are diced and then mixed with kvass just before eating. The ratio of chopped food to kvass is similar to that of cereal to milk. This lets the vegetables to keep their texture. Even though the ingredients are similar to those in a Russian salad, the taste of okroshka is quite different.
Okroshka is mostly served in summer. This is because the soup adds the taste of kvass and the lightness of a salad. Salt and sugar can be added according to taste.
Okroshka is always served cold. Sometimes ice cubes are added to keep the soup cold in hot weather.
Transit of Venus
A transit of Venus across the Sun happens when the planet Venus goes between the Sun and Earth. It is a syzygy and a partial occultation of the Sun. When a transit happens, Venus can be seen as a small black dot going across the Sun. Transits of Venus usually take several hours.
Transits of Venus are among the rarest of predictable events which happen in astronomy. They occur in a pattern that repeats every 243 years, with pairs of transits eight years apart separated by long gaps of 121.5 years and 105.5 years.
The most recent transit of Venus happened on 5 and 6 June 2012. It was the last Venus transit this century. The one before took place on 8 June 2004. The next transits of Venus will be in December 2117 and December 2125.
The transit on 5 and 6 June 2012 was broadcast live on the Internet.
During the 18th century, astronomers tried to use transits of Venus to measure the astronomical unit, the distance from the Earth to the Sun. Many countries sent expeditions to distant lands to observe the transits from places as far apart as possible for maximum parallax.
One of the most famous expeditions was the voyage of Lieutenant James Cook in the HMS "Endeavour".
Mir Castle Complex
The Mirsky Castle Complex is a UNESCO World Heritage site in Belarus. It is in the town of Mir.
The building of the castle began at the end of the 15th century. It is in the Gothic architecture style. Building of the castle was completed by Duke Ilinich in the early 16th century. Around 1568 the Mir Castle was owned by Mikołaj Krzysztof "the Orphan" Radziwiłł. He finished building the castle in the Renaissance style. A three-storey palace was built along the eastern and northern walls of the castle.
After being not lived in for nearly a century, and having severe damage during the Napoleonic period, the castle was restored at the end of the 19th century. In 1813, after the death of Dominik Hieronim Radziwiłł, his daughter Stefania got the castle. She married Ludwig zu Sayn-Wittgenstein-Berleburg. The castle later went to their daughter Maria, who married Prince Chlodwig Hohenlohe-Schillingsfürst.
Their son, Maurice Hohenlohe-Schillingsfürst sold the castle to Nikolai Sviatopolk-Mirski in 1895. Nikolaj's son Michail began to rebuild the castle according to the plans of architect Teodor Bursze. The Sviatopolk-Mirski family owned the castle up to 1939.
During WWII, it came under Nazi control. It was a ghetto for the local Jewish population. Between 1944 and 1956, the castle was used as a housing facility. This partly damaged the castle's inside.
In December, 2000, the Mir Castle was listed by UNESCO as a World Heritage Site.
Nesvizh Castle
Nesvizh Castle or Niasvizh Castle is a castle of the Radziwill family in Nesvizh in Belarus.
The estate was owned by the Radziwiłł Belarus magnate family starting in 1533. It was given to Mikołaj Radziwiłł and his brother Jan Radziwiłł after the Kiszka family died. Since the Radziwills were one of the most important and rich clans of the Grand Duchy of Lithuania, it was there that the Lithuanian Archive was moved in 1551. In 1586 the estate was made into an "ordynacja".
In 1582 Mikołaj Krzysztof "Sierotka" Radziwiłł started to build a large square three-storey chateau. Building was completed by 1604. They added several galleries half a century later. The château's corners had four octagonal towers.