Faithful fans of theatre are probably already missing the exciting buzz of the theatre, old and new productions. And so, we have some fantastic news for them - Lithuanian National Opera and Ballet Theatre is launching its new season with a ballet premiere! On 15, 16 and 19 September we are preseting "Tristan and Isolde" after the music of Richard Wagner - a ballet that glorifies the eternal myth of love. The production is choreographed by LNOBT's Artistic Director of Ballet Mr. Krzysztof Pastor.
The ballet company of the LNOBT has previously performed modern-classical ballets created by K. Pastor ("Carmen", "A Midsummer Night's Dream", "Acid City"), however, this time the situation is slightly different - "Tristan and Isolde" has already been tried out on stages of the Royal Theatre in Stockholm and Teatr Wielki in Warsaw (2006, 2009). In Vilnius K. Pastor is once again collaborating with set designer Adomas Jacovskis and costume designer Aleksandra Jacovskytė.
The production allows the whole ballet company to participate in the creative process. The principal roles of Tristan and Isolde are prepared by Inga Cibulskytė and Pawel Koncewoj (Poland), as well as Rūta Juodzevičiūtė and Genadijus Žukovskis. In other roles you shall also see Olga Konošenko, Martynas Rimeikis, Aurimas Paulauskas, Anastasija Čumakova, Nailia Adigamova, Kristina Gudžiūnaitė, Andrius Žužžalkinas and many others soloists. In the spring of this year the particpating soloists traveled to Teatr Wielki to study their parts. The training was made possible with the help of private sponsors.
It seems that "Tristan and Isolde" shall also be a unique treat to the appreciators of opera. The "soundtrack" of the production could cause some envious feelings to every concert hall of the world: LNOBT's Orchestra and its conductor Modestas Pitrėnas shall perform Henk de Vlieger's "Tristan and Isolde: an orchestral passion", which comes across as an exclusive compilation consisting of the framents from R. Wagner's famous opera "Tristan and Isolde". The work is often played by famous orchestras of the world and conducted by such masters as Kent Nagano or Valery Gergiev. The score for the ballet also includes 5 songs written to the texts of Mathilde Wesendonck - the songs shall be sung by opera divas Sigutė Stonytė and Inesa Linaburgytė. Moreover, on 19 September we shall witness a professional debut - the performance shall be conducted by a young conductor Modestas Barkauskas.
The appearance of this ballet in the repertoire of the LNOBT is not a coincidence. "At this time we have no plans of producing an opera variant of Wagner's 'Tristan and Isolde', same goes for all of his later operas. Thus the choice of producing ballet 'Tristan and Isolde' on the eve of Wagner's anniversary year is truly meaningful," - claimed LNOBT's general manager Gintautas Kėvišas. In 2013 the whole world shall be celebrating the 200th Anniversary of Richard Wagner, so ballet "Tristan and Isolde" shall be performed in the spring of 2013, during the "Wagner Week" produced by the LNOBT.
And still, the background of K. Pastor's ballet is quite different than the one we can see and feel in Wagner's opera. The choreographer has chosen "Tristan and Iseult" by French historian and writer Joseph Bédier as his inspiration. The reconstruction of the old myth of love that was stronger than death inspired the choreographer to reveal the beauty of the myth through the language of dance.
