The Embassy of the Kingdom of Belgium organized an open-air concert on June 23, 2022 at the Royal Łazienki in Warsaw, in the garden of the Old Orangery, entitled „Odyssea. An Epic Cantata”.

The concert was organized as part of the Year of the Three Generals: Władyslaw Anders, Stanisław Maczek and Stanisław Sosabowski — generals of the Polish Armed Forces who contributed to the victory over Germany during World War II. The year 2022 marks the 130th anniversary of their birth.

General Stanisław Maczek is an very important figure for Polish-Belgian relations. Therefore, to honour the 130th anniversary of the birth of this outstanding officer, the Embassy of Belgium in Warsaw organised two open-air concert performances of the ‘Odyssea’ cantate — one in the Old Orangery garden of the Royal Łazienki in Warsaw on 23 June and the other in the Amphitheatre in Kraśnik on 1 July.

The Odyssea cantata is a recent work by Belgian composer Henri Seroka, himself the son of a Maczek-veteran, whose parent unit — the 24th Lancer Regiment — set out on the war trail from Kraśnik. The cantata was performed by Belgian countertenor Dominique Corbiau and the Representative Artistic Ensemble of the Polish Armed Forces under the baton of Henri Seroka. The epic voyage described in Homer’s ‘Odyssey’ is a fitting metaphor for the heroic exploits and the arduous journey of the “Maczkowcy” during and after World War II.

The concert was accompanied by the presentation of the exhibition „Trails of Hope. The Odyssey of Freedom” prepared by the Institute of National Remembrance.