04 May

In May 1871 Stanisław Moniuszko received news of the death of Achilles Bonoldi, his long-time artistic companion. Bonoldi was born in Barcelona to an Italian family. As a young man he visited Vilnius, where he met his future wife. He settled down in Lithuania, where he met Stanisław Moniuszko. The two worked together for years. Bonoldi went down in history as the original Jontek in the two-act version of Halka, which premiered in 1848. At Moniuszko's request, Bonoldi helped the composer translate the opera's libretto into Italian, which was a move intended to promote Halka in Western Europe. As a social activist, Bonoldi was actively involved in the January uprising, which led to his banishment from the former Polish territories. He moved to Paris, where he died during the last battles of the Paris Commune.