Although P. Mascagni composed 15 operas, only his Cavalleria rusticana is recorded in golden letters in the history of music. This compact one-act opera by Pietro Mascagni, a 27-year-old unknown conductor of small theatres, revolutionized the world of opera. For more than half a century, Mr. Mascagni lived on the fame and income of the productions of this work. While the author was still alive, this opera was performed 14,000 times in Italy alone, and nowadays the work is performed more than 700 times a year on world opera stages, with various adaptations in various contexts.
This time Cavalleria rusticana shall be heard at the Pažaislis Music and LNOBT Open festivals. This performance is made special by excellent soloists, LNOBT’s choir and symphony orchestra conducted by Ričardas Šumila.
6 July at 9 p.m. Concert performance of opera I Lituani
Traditionally, LNOBT invites you to celebrate the Day of the Restoration of the State of Lithuania together with A. Ponchielli's opera I Lituani. The tradition of performing this opera in concert has been alive for the fourth year, and every year the audience is invited to sing the anthem and then listen to the wonderful opera music.
Opera I Lituani by the famous Italian composer A. Ponchielli is based on A. Mickevičius' poem Konrad Wallenrod. Its premiere took place at Milan’s famous La Scala Theatre in 1874. The work, which portrays the heroism of Lithuanians during the wars with the Crusaders, was extremely successful and became a symbol of the Italians’ struggles for freedom.
At the Lithuanian opera, I Lituani was supposed to be staged in 1939. Unfortunately, the Second World War and the tragedy of Lithuania prevented the premiere of the opera. Lithuanians first produced I Lituani in 1981 at the Lithuanian Opera of Chicago; the production was based on a well-translated and edited libretto by Stasys Santvaras. The staging of this opera turned into a special event in Chicago in 1991, when the Lithuanian Opera of Chicago, together with LNOBT, was able to present the history of Lithuania to the whole world for the first time. An impressive commemorative production was presented in 2009 at the Trakai Castle, celebrating the 1000th anniversary of the name of Lithuania (conductor R. Šervenikas, director J. Jurašas, designers M. Navakas and A. Jacovskytė, lighting designer D. Malinauskas).
In 2023 I Lituani shall be performed again in the courtyard of the Palace of the Grand Dukes, inviting us all to celebrate Lithuania's freedom. It is symbolic that in this year's performance of I Lituani we shall welcome special guests – soloists, orchestra and choir of the Ukrainian National Opera, who will be conducted by the chief conductor of the Ukrainian National Opera, Ukrainian folk artist maestro Mykola Diadiura.
The project is partially supported by
