On 7-8 June, “Absorptio”, a piece for two opera houses was premiered at the Culture Night programme. This contemporary opera, as a commentary on opera culture, was created by composer Dominykas Digimas, dramatist and concept creator Edvardas Šumila, director Agnė Ambrozaitytė, set designer Dainius Liškevičius and costume designer Morta Nakaitė. The participants gathered at the Opera Social House, accompanied by a guide, and were invited to reflect on the social contexts in which the art of opera unfolds. The creation of “Absorptio” was inspired by the impulse to comment on the situation of the opera genre and to reflect on the place of (contemporary) opera in the culture industry of today. For those who missed it, the piece will be performed again in autumn.
On 10-14 June, Ana Ablamonova, director and producer of “Operomanija”, visited Japan. Together with other members of the Lithuanian delegation, she met with many representatives of culture and artistic organisations and foundations, visited the spaces dedicated to creativity, presented contemporary opera works produced by Operomanija, investigated the demand for and possibilities of promotion of contemporary music theatre in Japan, and established contacts with people interested in this field. Despite the distance and logistical challenges, the exposure to the Japanese cultural field encouraged the exploration of opportunities for the realisation of cooperation ideas.
On 18 and 19 June, the contemporary opera “Have a Good Day!” (by Vaiva Grainytė, Lina Lapelytė and Rugilė Barzdžiukaitė) was presented in the programme of the 52nd Venice Theatre Biennale. For two nights, the stories told by the supermarket cashiers were performed at the Teatro alle Tese in the Arsenale in Venice. On both occasions, the performance was shown to a full house, featuring an audience interested in contemporary art, the Biennale’s directors and journalists, as well as foreign critics, producers, curators of art institutions and programmes.
In July, several works will tour the regions of Lithuania. On 12 July, at 7 pm, at the Valkininkai Church, the “Yaga Gathering” festival will feature the concert programme “Late Junctions” (free entry), while on 12, 13 and 14 July, the audiences will be invited to enter the world of fantasy and fiction of the audio performance “Audiokaukas” by the artist Arturas Bumšteinas. “Late Junctions” will be performed once again on 14 July at 5 pm in the Old Zapyškis Church (free entry).
Last season, the premiere of the phone booth opera “Things I Didn’t Dare to Say, and It‘s Too Late Now” (by Kamilė Gudmonaitė, Dominykas Digimas, Barbora Šulniūtė) premiered at the Great Stage of the Lithuanian National Drama Theatre. The work is featured in the programme of the Lithuanian Theatre Showcase of the Vilnius International Theatre Festival “Sirenos”, which will be open not only to foreign guests – critics, producers, art curators, but also to the audience of the capital city. Tickets to the four performances (on 20, 21 and 29 September) of the phone booth opera are on sale now.
In autumn, the productions from the repertoire of “Operomanija” will tour extensively in Lithuania and abroad, many of them will be performed during the Lithuanian season in France – in various cities of the country, as part of the programmes of the Paris Autumn Festival, the Toulouse Biennial of the Performing Arts and others. As the season of public events draws to a close and the summer holidays are nearing, we dive into the preparations for the new season, the autumn tour and the new creative processes of nearly ten new works.
For now, we wish you a great summer!