Four Polish towns - Gdańsk, Katowice, Wrocław and Zabrze – were among almost twenty European venues of last night’s live transmission of Georges Bizet’s Carmen from the Queen Sofia Palace of the Arts (Palau de les Arts Reina Sofia) in Valencia.

The production was directed by Carlos Saura and the Valencia Orchestra and Chorus were conducted by Zubin Mehta.
In all the towns, opera fans gathered in front of huge screens in parks and the botanical gardens. The transmission rights were offered free of change within the framework of an international project Viva Europa, aimed at promoting the 2010 Year for Combatting Poverty and Social Exclusion.

In 2016, two cities, one in Spain and one in Poland, will be granted the title of the European Capital of Culture. Valencia is among the Spanish candidates, as are Gdańsk, Wrocław and Katowice. (mk)