In February, Vilnius City Contemporary Music Theatre Company “Operomanija” was preoccupied with publishing and other creative works and exploration of new ideas, at the same time actively participating at the Vilnius Book Fair.
In addition to interacting with visitors at the organisation’s stand in the Music Hall of the Vilnius Book Fair, we also took part in discussions organised by LRT Klasika and LRT Radio on the 23 of February.
Lithuanian culture abroad: known to ourselves or to the world? Participants of the LRT Klasika panel discussion: Julija Reklaitė, Head of the Lithuanian Culture Institute, Uršulė Bartoševičiūtė, theatre director, Ana Ablamonova, Leader of “Operomanija”, Jana Mikulevič, Head of Film Promotion, Information and Heritage Department of the Lithuanian Film Centre. Moderator – Julijus Grickevičius. A recording of the discussion can be found here.
Radio documentaries. A journey from Vilnius Old Town to the radio airwaves. Participants of the LRT Radio panel discussion: creators of the radio documentary The Abyss Rimantas Ribačiauskas and Vaida Pilibaitytė, and “Operomanija’s” producer Ana Ablamonova. The discussion was moderated by Gabija Narušytė. A recording of the discussion can be found here.
The month ended with creative process running at full pace: during the residency in Estonia, at the Arvo Pärt Centre, we were working on LLLLOVE – one of the works from the project Opera Genome, carried out by “Operomanija” and the Lithuanian National Opera and Ballet Theatre. This piece will combine the expressive means of opera, contemporary dance and art installation. The creative team: composer Jonas Jurkūnas, choreographer Erika Vizbaraitė, sculptor Donatas Jankauskas-Duonis. The residency was sponsored by the NordPlus programme Horizontal.
As the weather warms up, the sonic experience of the Vilnius ghetto The Filler returns to the streets of the Old Town. Authentically told in the voices of Holocaust witnesses and survivors, the stories of The Filler will run from 12-17 March, four times each evening. We invite you to choose the time that suits you best!
From now on, the vinyl recording of The Filler, presented at the Vilnius Book Fair, will be available at “Operomanija’s” e-shop. The audio recording of the work is like a poetic “irritant”, awakening the experiences of those who may have already travelled the route of The Filler. And the journey (to those familiar with the piece and those experiencing its stories for the first time) will be assisted by a publication that includes the libretto and a photo-essay by the humanist photographer Artūras Morozovas.
On 22 March, musical images from the archives of Lithuanian Television Radvila Darius, Son of Vytautas return to the hall of the culture complex “Sodas 2123” in Vilnius. Through the prism of archival video footage from 1989-1991, the piece addresses the issues of the present day: the construction of the National Stadium, the cutting down of trees, the ever-rising prices, and the perplexities of the monument at the Lukiškės Square, etc. The piece will be shown twice that evening.
At the end of the submission phase of the competition for the ideas of contemporary interdisciplinary performing arts piece initiated by “Operomanija” and the State Šiauliai Drama Theatre in early February, a shortlist of 8 ideas was selected out of 25 proposals. Individual meetings with the participants of the selected ideas will take place in the near future.