Opera TO THE LIGHTHOUSE
Human lives are filled with the waiting.
Human lives consist of small disconnected moments that are experienced one after another, but ultimately swing into a powerful wave that sweeps us back to the shore.
The birth of the contemporary Lithuanian opera "To the Lighthouse" was due to inspiration by one of the most lucid pieces of writing - of the same title - by modernist author Virginia Woolf. The work has brought together a few talented artists: stage director Loreta Vaskova, the winner of the four "Golden Stage Crosses" - Lithuanian highest theatrical awards, composer Rita Mačiliūnaitė, and playwright Gabrielė Labanauskaitė. Each of them was peeling Woolf‘s novels from her own perspective, but eventually, they have combined their insights together. This process results in a long, thought-out timing of the opera and its distinctive tempo, along with the retained musicality of Woolf‘s text and the storyline.
The plot of the opera "To the Lighthouse" is developing in the Ramsays‘ summer cottage located on an island. Here, they spend their vacations together with the guests, in filling their time with everyday activities and conversations. The space of the opera is overwhelmed not only by the maritime climate, but also by waiting. The characters are planning to go by boat to a lighthouse on the other shore, so they keep waiting for good weather. Their anxiety caused by the waiting runs as an underwater stream upon the peaceful surface of vacation sea.
Librettist Gabrielė Labanauskaitė-Diena:
"I was writing the libretto in our port city Klaipėda and Venice, so there was always plenty of water around. Woolf's novel, which has served as the basis for creating or rewriting the text, is also fluid, just like the unconscious flow expressing the hopes, expectations and wishes of the characters."
Composer Rita Mačiliūnaitė:
"The sound expression of the summer atmosphere, the maritime climate and the infinite waiting - that is how I describe this opera of mine. It is designed not only for holidaymakers, whose pace of living is dictated by the weather, but also for those who are not afraid to separate themselves from the outside world, dive into the sounds of the sea, lighthouse and books, and experience the mannerism, longing, naivety, and love musically."
Director Loreta Vaskova:
"As for the very piece of work by Virginia Woolf, many literary scholars call it one of the writer‘s brightest novels. What else could be more relevant than our own personal life, which, in this chamber opera, equates to that constant desire to get moving towards the lighthouse?"
Librettist Gabrielė Labanauskaitė-Diena
Composer Rita Mačiliūnaitė
Stage director Loreta Vaskova
Music director and conductor Vytautas Valys
Set designer and costume director Olga Nikitina
Video artist Dmitry Sobolev
Sound director Jonas Raudonius
Assistant director Milginta Palubinskaitė
Assistant director Rūta Bunikytė
Makeup artist Aira Brazdienė
Lighting designer Donatas Šimonis
Chief property master Jekaterina Novikienė
Producer Klaipėda State Music Theatre
Performers:
Mr. Ramsay - Artūras Kozlovskis
Mrs. Ramsay - Dalia Kužmarskytė
James Ramsay (as a child) - Jokūbas Kulevičius
James Ramsay (10 years later) - Rokas Spalinskas
Lily Briscoe - Rita Petrauskaitė
Charles Tansley - Aurimas Raulinavičius
Mrs. McNab - Aurelija Dovydaitienė
Musicians of Klaipėda State Music Theatre orchestra:
Gabija Kochanskaitė (flute)
Dainius Čiuberkis (clarinet)
Audronė Jurkonytė (violin)
Monika Longo (viola)
Vilija Veličkienė (cello)
Carmelo Giuseppe Longo (harpsichord)
Première: May 12, 2017 at Klaipėda State Music Theatre.
Duration: 90 mins.
In Lithuanian with English surtitles.
