abstract:Karol Maciej Szymanowski (; 6 October 188228 March 1937) was a Polish composer and pianist, considered one of the greatest Polish composers of the 20th century; awarded the highest national honors including the Officer's Cross of the Order of Polonia Restituta, the Order of Merit of the Republic of Poland and other, also foreign distinctions.
Mr Pountney, who joined WNO in 2011, has worked on operas by Polish artists including Karol Szymanowski's King Roger, Mieczyslaw Weinberg's The Passenger and the forthcoming premiere of Andre Tchaikowsky's The Merchant of Venice.