A dramatized reconstruction of historical events which led to the Warsaw premiere of Stanisław Moniuszko’s “Halka”. The story of its production serves as a pretext for presenting the opera as an instrument in the fight for social justice and Poles’ national identity under Russian rule. The excellent musical score consists mainly of opera excerpts performed by the orchestra of the Stanisław Moniszko Grand Theater in Poznań. The theater’s soloists included Barbara Kostrzewska, who sang the parts of Paulina Rivoli, and Wacław Domieniecki, who sang the parts of Jontek, as played by Tadeusz Cygler.