Wanda

A dramatic poem set in legendary Poland retells the sacrifice of a queen who confronts suitors, national peril, and the choice between private love and public duty. The work blends spoken scenes, choral passages, and supernatural tableaux—goblins, water-spirits, and a prophetic bard—to stage moral debates about patriotism, feminine virtue, and the role of song in sustaining national identity. Its structure moves from lyrical prologue through courtside deliberations to a tragic resolution in which self-sacrifice is presented as the ultimate patriotic act, framed by romantic imagery and national lament.