Moniuszko was 27 years old when he composed his opera HALKA based on a story taken from an eponymous poem by young Polish poet Włodzimierz Wolski (1825 – 1882), who eventually wrote the libretto. The first edition was in two acts, and the plot is domestically and socially Romantic. Since the Warsaw Opera Theatre initially rejected the opera, the premiere of the two-act version took place in a concert performance in Wilno on 1 January 1848, under the direction of the author. In the second edition, Moniuszko thoroughly reworked the opera and now it was cast in four acts, with the new premiere scheduled to take place exactly 10 years after the first one, on 1 January 1858, and performed to outstanding success. Halka is among the most frequently performed works in Polish operatic repertoire. It has been performed in Bulgaria as well – the first production was realized in 1921 at the Sofia National Opera by Polish conductor Tadeusz Mazurkiewicz and stage director Dragomir Kazakov. The piece created by Moniuszko is a truly “national” work. In his music one can hear some of the peculiarities of Polish song and dance folklore. The opera features expressive and poetic solo episodes, with broad melodic vocalisms. The overture sounds in an agitated manner, foreshadowing the imminent drama of the forthcoming events. Its performing (concert) version is in the arrangement of Grzegorz Fitelerg (1879 – 1953) – Polish conductor, violinist and composer.