„I can’t cheat nature – I’m an opera person. It’s a world that fascinates me, and the fact that I’ll be an even stronger part of it gives me a lot of energy,” says Rafał Kłoczko, who will take over the Grand Theatre in Łódź – one of Poland’s top opera houses – starting in the new artistic season.

The conductor-dictator has absolutely no place these days. And that’s fortunate! Art cannot be created under a regime or under the lash. Music is a delicate matter; we need creative freedom; everyone should be given their space.