About the work
Jawnuta is a two-act opera by Stanisław Moniuszko with a libretto by Władysław Ludwik Anczyc after the pastoral poem Cyganie (The Gypsies) by Franciszek Dionizy Kniaźnin. It is an expanded reworking of Moniuszko's own 1852 operetta on the same subject; the composer changed the title to avoid confusion with a play by Józef Korzeniowski. The new version premiered on 5 June 1860 at the Teatr Wielki in Warsaw, conducted by Moniuszko himself.
Plot
The young Roma woman Chicha loves Stach, who comes from a non-Roma family, but her mother Jawnuta opposes the match. The conflict resolves when it emerges that Chicha was lost as a child and is not of Roma descent after all, clearing the way for her marriage to Stach.
Cultural significance
The premiere was received with sustained applause and calls for encores. After decades of neglect, the work drew renewed attention through a 2022 Poznań Opera production, which won the 2023 International Opera Award for Best Rediscovered Work.