CONCERT BY CANDLELIGHT - LA BELLE NUIT | JAGODA SOKOŁOWSKA O'DONOVAN | JARYNA RAK | ROBERT SKIERA

La Belle Nuit – a beautiful night where music speaks of love.

This candlelit concert series is devoted to the art of classical vocal music – from the passions of the Baroque to the reflections of our own time. The evening features some of the most beautiful arias and songs, often inspired by the theme of love, performed by exceptional artists in an intimate and luminous atmosphere.

Held in the elegant Fryderyk Concert Hall in Warsaw, these events echo the spirit of 19th-century musical salons of Poland and Europe, where music, poetry, and conversation intertwined. During the intermission, guests are offered a glass of sparkling wine – a nod to the refined rituals of the past.

La Belle Nuit is more than a concert. It is an encounter with beauty that lingers long after the final note fades.

Please arrive 15 minutes before the concert.

Jagoda Sokołowska‑O’Donovan – mezzo-soprano, flautist, cultural manager, architect of the Fryderyk Concert Hall

A versatile artist and cultural entrepreneur, she graduated with distinction from the Academy of Music in Kraków. Prizewinner of national and international competitions both as a flautist and singer, she has performed across Europe, Asia, and North America. Her artistry was praised by Jerzy Waldorff – an eminent Polish music critic, essayist, and cultural advocate – who described her as “an exceptionally gifted artist… an outstanding musical personality.” She is the founder and director of the Fryderyk Concert Hall in Warsaw – a unique venue inspired by the spirit of 19th-century salons, where she merges artistic vision with contemporary cultural leadership.

Yaryna Rak - soprano

A graduate of the Mykola Lysenko Lviv National Music Academy in the piano class of Maria Kruszelnicka and in the operatic singing class of Volodymyr Ignatenko and Ludmila Bozhko. She also completed an artistic internship in the operatic singing class of Izabela Kłosińska at the Fryderyk Chopin University of Music in Warsaw. Winner of piano and vocal competitions nationally and internationally. A scholarship recipient from the President of Ukraine and the Ministry of Culture and National Heritage of Poland. She taught a chamber singing class at the music academy in Lviv for several years, a master class in interpretation and vocal technique at the University of Tromsø. Currently, she is a coach for soloists at the Grand Theatre - National Opera in Warsaw. Collaborates with numerous festivals, philharmonics, and theaters nationally and internationally as a vocal coach and operatic singer.

Robert Skiera - piano

Robert currently performs as a soloist and chamber musician in Poland and throughout Europe. Between performances he fits in teaching at music schools in Warsaw from the Jozef Elsner State College Music School to his old alma-mater the Fryderyk Chopin Academy of Music in Warsaw from where he graduated in 1988.

Robert has also conducted classes at the international courses of musical interpretation in Nowy Sącz.

Among the concerts and festivals Robert has performed at are: Germany (Kiel, Frankfurt, Mainz, Trier, Mannheim, Cottbus, Husum, Mülheim, Oberhausen, Segeberg), Holland (The Hague), Italy (Milan, Turin, Genoa), Austria (Vienna), France (Paris), Belgium (Brussels) and Hungary (Budapest).

Robert has also made recordings for both polish radio and television, performing as a soloist with chamber orchestras, and also performing piano ensembles in orchestral works (e.g. under Dietrich Fischer-Dieskau).

Robert repertoire doesn’t just include Chopin’s many wonderful works, but ranges from Bach to Bartók.

Robert has released albums for the labels Acte Préalable (Chopin’s works) and DUX (chamber music).