May was a busy month in terms of touring and rich in international contacts. At the beginning of the month, we made new contacts with producers and curators from France and other countries at Lithuania’s first performing arts platform, where the work produced by “Operomanija” was presented in a variety of formats. The aim of the platform was to prepare for the Lithuanian cultural season in France in 2024. The works produced by “Operomanija” attracted a large number of foreign representatives, not only from France but also from other countries. Soon we shall announce new touring destinations for various works from our repertoire.
On 10 May, concert programme “Late Junctions” visited Tel Aviv (Israel), taking part at the Felicja Blumental International Music Festival. In the modern surroundings of the Tel Aviv Museum of Art, the music ranged from Baroque classics to contemporary music by some of the world’s most famous composers, as well as works by Lithuanian composers.
Next, the May routes followed the annual direction to Rotterdam’s “O. Festival” – one of the largest contemporary music theatre festivals in the world. Here, on the stage of the Rotterdamse Schouwburg theatre, the musical performance “Sports Group” was performed twice. This was the first foreign tour of the “Sports Group” and it was a success, attracting the interest of representatives of other international festivals and warmly received by the local audience.
Jurgis Kubilius, the winner of the 8th NOA (New Opera Action) festival’s review competition, also travelled to Rotterdam; a trip to “O. Festival” was a prize for the winner of this competition. Jurgis’s impressions and assessments of this year’s Rotterdam Festival programme were presented in the review published in Menų faktūra, which can be found here.
On 27 May, at the Lithuanian showcase of the international theatre festival TheATRIUM in Klaipėda, the corporate dystopia / probiotic ecotopia for voices “Brave New Body” was presented to an audience of foreign critics and producers. The work was performed at the Main Hall of the Klaipėda Drama Theatre.
In June, we shall continue our journeys outside the capital city – opera “Have A Good Day!” will be presented in Šiauliai for the first time: two performances of this opera will take place on 11 June at the Šiauliai Drama Theatre, as part of the performing arts festival “Teatrodromas”.
During the summer season, “Operomanija’s” perpetuum mobile will retain its momentum – ideas for new works are already being generated, creative processes are underway, recordings for new vinyl records are in progress, and new territories are being explored. In July and August, tours in Poland and Latvia are scheduled.
The most recent good news that has just reached our organisation: at the end of May, “Operomanija” was accepted into the “Opera Europa” network, an international association of opera theatres and companies.