2025 was the year of extraordinary productivity and diverse activities for “Operomanija”, a Vilnius-based contemporary music theatre production company. This autumn, as the company began its 19th (de jure 18th) season, it presented 139 events in various venues across Lithuania and elsewhere and welcomed audiences to the premieres of seven new productions during its 9th NOA (New Opera Action) festival. We suggest that you take a look at what we have accomplished this year and reflect on the most memorable experiences!
This year, five works went on international tours and were presented at prestigious festivals for performing arts and contemporary music, including MaerzMusik, Maifestspiele, Ultima, Romaeuropa, and Performa. The festival venues ranged from authentic historical opera houses to stages more commonly used for contemporary art. The most notable appearances have included:
- “The Urban Tale of a Hippo”, a concert performance with ‘choreographic tail’, was shown on March 24 at the MaerzMusic Festival, in Sophiensæle, Berlin (Germany);
- opera “Have a Good Day!” was shown on May 20 at the Maifestspiele in Staatstheater Wiesbaden (Germany);
- “Navigations”, a performance for Baroque theatre machines from the “Bad Weather” series, and the premiere of the work’s adaptation for children was shown on September 19 and 20 at the Ultima festival, in Sentralen, Oslo (Norway);
- The musical performance “Sports Group” was shown on October 2 at the Romaeuropa festival, in Mattatoio, Rome (Italy);
- “Spores”, harmonious and discordant mushroom picking sessions with a therapist, was shown on November 14-16 at the Performa biennial in the Connelly Theatre, New York (USA).
The repertoire of “Operomanija” has been recently augmented via several new co-productions: the documentary fiction “Anonymous Dances” was produced in collaboration with the Šiauliai State Drama Theatre; the “Spores” was created in collaboration with the Performa performance biennial in New York; and “Jūratė”, an AI-assisted imaginary opera by Mikalojus Konstantinas Čiurlionis, was created in collaboration with the Old Theatre of Vilnius. For the third year in a row, the company’s repertoire includes the phone booth opera “Things I Didn’t Dare to Say, and Now It’s Too Late”, created in collaboration with the Lithuanian National Drama Theatre and the Lithuanian National Opera and Ballet Theatre. New co-productions are also planned for 2026.
Undoubtedly, the 9th NOA Opera Festival, held from 18 to 26 October 2025, was Lithuania’s biggest contemporary music theatre event, which featured eight works in various venues across the capital. Among the seven featured premieres were the following:
- “The Song Festival”, musical memories from family video archives (creative team: Karolis Kaupinis, Sigita Šimkūnaitė, Julius Kuršys, Ervinas Gresevičius);
- “In the Forest”, an oratorio (composed by Albertas Navickas; spatial sound design by Edvinas Siliūnas);
- “Anonymous Dances” (creative team: Darius Gumauskas, Rimantas Ribačiauskas, Vytautas Leistrumas, Erika Vizbaraitė, Renata Valčik, Vytautas Narbutas, Vilius Vilutis);
- LLLLOVE, an alphabetised love story (creative team: Jonas Jurkūnas, Erika Vizbaraitė, Ona Juciūtė, Liucija Kvašytė, Donatas Jankauskas-Duonis, Dainius Urbonis);
- “Spores” (creative team: Neringa Černiauskaitė and Ugnius Gelguda (“Pakui Hardware”), Miša Skalskis, Vaidas Bartušas, Justina Mykolaitytė, Andrius Katinas, Morta Nakaitė);
- “Jūratė”(creative team: Julius Keleras, Mantautas Krukauskas, Arvydas Malcys, Mykolas Natalevičius, AI, Gintarė Radvilavičiūtė, Sigita Mikalauskaitė, Renata Valčik, Eugenijus Sabaliauskas, Karolis Variakojis);
- “Have a Good Day! REMIX”, a closing concert of the festival (creative team: Vaiva Grainytė, Lina Lapelytė, Rugilė Barzdžiukaitė, Kęstutis Pavalkis).
The premieres were accompanied by meetings and discussions moderated by musicologist Rasa Murauskaitė-Juškienė, as well as the presentation of the vinyl release of the “Things I Didn’t Dare to Say, and Now It’s Too Late”. We are delighted that not only the premieres at the NOA festival, but also this year’s international tours were accompanied by particularly abundant critiques in the national and international media; we received as many as 33 (15 from Lithuania and 18 from abroad, including Latvia, Poland, Germany, France, Spain, Japan, and the United States).
In 2025, audiences in other Lithuanian cities and regions, including Klaipėda, Panevėžys, Kintai, and Aleknaičiai (Pakruojis district), were also able to enjoy our new opera performances and conceptual concerts.
Moreover, this year brought many other opportunities for us to meet fans of contemporary musical theatre and demonstrate their beloved works. The vinyl record of the sonic experience “The Filler” was presented at the National Martynas Mažvydas Library; “The Filler” itself traditionally toured the courtyards and streets of the former Vilnius ghetto in spring and autumn; and this experience was expanded even further by Artūras Morozovas’ photographic essay “Neužglaistyta” (Unplastered). “Operomanija” was shortlisted for the Innovation Awards at Classical: NEXT, the largest global gathering for contemporary and classical music. The community choir of the cultural complex Sodas 2123, entitled “Sodo Choras”, continued rehearsals and performances at various events and, in collaboration with filmmakers Laurynas Skeisgiela and Vladas Suncovas, presented the premiere of a new work, “Baublio gimimas” (The Birth of Baublys). Another premiere took place on the air of the LRT Radio, where Vaida Pilibaitytė’s radio documentary episode “Kai galvoju apie mišką” (When I Come to Think About the Forest) was broadcast, presenting the creative process of the oratorio “Miške” (In the Forest). Ana Ablamonova, “Operomanija’s” managing producer and spiritus movens, shared her experience and expertise in contemporary opera production while mentoring projects carried out by the Teatro Real in Madrid.
The Baltic Contemporary Opera Network, initiated by “Operomanija” together with partners from Latvia and Estonia, continued to actively develop its activities. Having received support from Nordic Culture Point for the development of the network, in August, it invited more than two dozen artists from various fields to Aknīste (Latvia) for the first creative residency of the contemporary opera network. The creative collaborations and ideas for new works that emerged here will be further developed; the residency cycle is planned to continue until 2027, and it is expected to conclude with the premieres of works by Baltic authors based on the ideas that emerged here. The next residency will take place at the beginning of January 2026 in Tallinn.
The repertoire for 2026 has already been partially planned. In the first half of the year, we will offer you a wide selection of works, including the premieres that took place this fall at the 9th NOA festival. In 2026, we promise an intensive dissemination of works, but we will also invite you to the premieres of new works. We also have publishing projects and foreign tours planned, and we will actively showcase contemporary opera works in the different regions across Lithuania. So, we are very much looking forward to meeting you at our shows during the coming year!