For 170 years the Teatr Wielki - Polish National Opera, has been Poland's grandest opera and ballet institution. Its building was erected in 1825-1833 for the companies of national opera, ballet and drama active at the time in Warsaw. The building was converted several times. In the period of the partitions (1795-1918), it performed an important cultural and political role. The company produced works by Polish composers and choreographers. It was here that Stanislaw Moniuszko's two best-known operas: "Halka" (1858) and "The Haunted Manor" (1865) were performed for the first time. The theatre showed operas by Ignacy Jan Paderewski, Karol Szymanowski and other Polish composers, as well as Polish ballet productions. At the same time, the repertoire included major world opera and ballet classics, performed by the most prominent Polish and foreign singers and dancers. During the battle of Warsaw in 1939, the Teatr Wielki was bombed and almost completely ruined. Only the classicist fa