The story of Dorian Gray, who sold his soul in exchange for eternal youth, is as fascinating as it is tragic. Dorian’s wish to remain young and preserve the beauty captured in his portrait comes true. But does this grant him absolute happiness and fulfillment? Or does he plunge into an abyss of indifference and cruelty toward those he encounters?

His insatiable search for new sensations and obsessive desire to fulfill them drive Dorian to break one social norm after another, disregarding the principles that sustain moral order. He loses himself in cruelty, irretrievably forfeiting his humanity. His unscrupulous pursuit of selfish needs and calculated coldness harm others—sometimes fatally. Each of his transgressions is reflected in the portrait: Dorian’s face and figure grow hideous, his noble features and striking beauty nearly impossible to discern. Yet this does not matter to him, as he himself remains youthful and handsome. But not for long…

A revelation of the mechanisms of the human psyche. The price of fulfilling the darkest desires. The stripping away of empathy. Is "Dorian Gray" a mirror image of 21st-century society? Can we find an answer to the question of where the eternal struggle between good and evil is leading? We leave the audience with this thought.

The opera "Dorian Gray" was composed especially for the Teatr Wielki in Poznań as part of the “Composers’ Commissions” program carried out by the National Institute of Music and Dance. The work was created by Elżbieta Sikora—a Polish composer who has lived in France for over four decades. After graduating in sound direction and composition in Warsaw, she trained at the Groupe de Recherches Musicales in Paris, at IRCAM (the Institute for Research and Coordination in Acoustics/Music, founded by composer and conductor Pierre Boulez), and at Stanford University. She is the recipient of numerous awards, including in 2024 the prestigious honor from the Académie Charles Cros, the association of French music critics, as well as the French President’s Prize for lifetime achievement. "Dorian Gray" marks her first collaboration with the Teatr Wielki in Poznań.

Co-financed by the Ministry of Culture and National Heritage from the Culture Promotion Fund, as part of the ‘Composers’ Commissions’ programme carried out by the National Institute of Music and Dance.

Elżbieta Sikora is published by PWM Edition