In 2002, a new phenomenon has shone in Lithuanian culture – the “Švyturių” (eng. Beacon) Awards, given to the best artists of the season for their memorable works at the Lithuanian National Opera and Ballet Theater.
The creators and founders of the awards were LNOBT and Švyturys company. Six categories have been singled out since 2002: Male and Female Opera Soloist of the Year, Male and Female Ballet Soloist of the Year, Opera and Ballet Hope.
In response to the productions that appeared on the theatre stage, as well as the roles created by the soloists, the traditions of awarding the “Švyturiai” also changed. In 2009 awards were launched for professionally created supporting roles, and in 2007, in response to the premiere of opera “The Little Prince”, a nomination for Little Hope of Opera was established. Sometimes some nominations have been omitted for various reasons, but there were never less than four.
The winners are chosen by a special jury, which includes all artistic directors of the LNOBT, as well as musicologists, dance critics, representatives of patrons; the head of the jury is the General Manager of the LNOBT. Over the years of the awards, a whole gallery of various faces has been formed, which boasts our most famous soloists, reflecting their professional development and creative path.
The awards were usually presented annually on 31 December during the performance of that night. However, this tradition has changed over the years. For instance, in 2010 the prizes were awarded during the break of the performance of “La forza del destino” on 28 December, in which the role of Leonora was sung by Violeta Urmanavičiūtė-Urmana. In 2011, to commemorate the anniversary of the awards, the date was moved forward: we invited everyone to the special “Švyturių” awards ceremony and anniversary concert on 6 January 2012. In 2015, to commemorate the 90th anniversary of Lithuanian ballet, the awards ceremony took place during a spectacular ballet concert on 5 December.
In 2014 the tradition of these awards experienced some changes: the name was changed, but the essence remained the same. From then on, the prizes have been established by private individuals, and we have also renamed the awards into Soloists of the Year.
