This is the English version of an article first published in Polish: read the Polish original. It refers to source material: Biblioteki Publiczne m.st. Warszawy. The text is our own commentary, not a translation or copy of that source.
On Thursday, October 1 at 6:30 PM, the Main Library of Biblioteka Wilanowska on ul. Kolegiacka 3 hosts a chamber recital called "Szafirowa Romanca" (The Sapphire Romance), inspired by the repertoire of Hanna Skarżanka. Katarzyna Skarżanka, the artist's granddaughter, sings, accompanied on piano by Andrzej Perkman. The program promises a return to the songs and mood of an older stage, not as a note for note reconstruction of the past but as a personal dialogue between the granddaughter and her grandmother's legacy.
Who was Hanna Skarżanka
Hanna Skarżanka, born in 1917 in Minsk, was a Polish theatre, film and television actress and also a singer. Before she reached the stage, she studied at the Stefan Batory University in Wilno and at the conservatory there. During the war she was active in the Wilno Kedyw unit of the Home Army, taking part among other actions in freeing a prisoner from the Łukiszki jail. She died in 1992 in Warsaw. Her sister was the philosopher, professor Barbara Skarga, and her brother was actor Edward Skarga, so the Skarżanka name runs through several generations of Polish culture and several fields at once.
Katarzyna Skarżanka, who performs at the recital, is no stranger to Wilanów. She already sang during September's National Reading of Forefathers' Eve at the same library, so this October evening is another chance to hear her on Kolegiacka.
The recital is part of this year's Warsaw Senior Days, a citywide initiative in which libraries, cultural centres and other institutions across the capital run hundreds of free events. The Wilanów library joins the program with this concert and with a walking tour of the district led by guide Olga Brzozowska.
The exact rules of participation, including whether sign up is needed, are posted by the library on its own channels. Before leaving home, it is worth calling +48 22 277 03 77 or writing to wilanow@bibliotekawilanowska.pl.