On the evening of the 20th of March, the beautifully-dressed audience rushed to the Lithuanian National Opera and Ballet Theatre (LNOBT), where the first premiere of 2026 was being unveiled: Benjamin Britten's opera "A Midsummer Night's Dream". This is a production in which the moonlight shines, elves joke, and a magical forest is full of fluffy pillows inviting us into a dream of love.
The Chairman of the Seimas Culture Committee of the Republic of Lithuania Kęstutis Vilkauskas, LRT Director General Monika Garbačiauskaitė-Budrienė, famous conductor Modestas Pitrėnas and others came to the LNOBT to admire the magic of the opera and meditate with B. Britten's enchanting music.
The libretto of the opera "A Midsummer Night's Dream" is based on the comedy of the same name by William Shakespeare. This opera, first performed in 1960, is still popular worldwide, but was staged in Lithuania for the very first time.
The authors of the production are music director and conductor Martynas Stakionis, director Gintaras Varnas, set designer Vytautas Narbutas, costume and make-up designer Juozas Statkevičius, lighting designer Eugenijus Sabaliauskas, puppet and mask designer Julija Skuratova, and movement director Elita Bukovska.
“W. Shakespeare did not avoid magic and extraterrestrial beings in his dramas, their role in “A Midsummer Night’s Dream” is especially important. Oberon and Titania are the rulers of fairies and elves, and the elves are the spiritus movens of this work. So, magic is mandatory in this production, and magic wands will definitely be here. The main theme of the work is love and its different aspects,” – says director G. Varnas.
When asked how to dress for such a premiere, costume and make-up designer J. Statkevičius advised the ladies to look for dreamy, mystical accents: “It could be a giant black velvet or taffeta ribbon, bright pink gloves, a veil covering the eyes – one unexpected detail that would lend a bit of mystery.”
The performances of “A Midsummer Night’s Dream” at the LNOBT are also shown this week, on March 25–28. Tickets for the new set of performances, which will be shown in December this year and February next year, are still available.
