It was a pleasure to enjoy the new Figaros Wedding by Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart, (1756-1791), premiered 5th February 2010 at The Lithuanian National Opera.

I enjoy when a theatre is trying not to modernize everything they do, and in this case, they have let the staging director made it in a traditional way, which is a success for the opera house.

In an old fashion frame, with a very beautiful and well functioning scenography by and in beautiful costumes with inspiration from the time when the history is going on, it looked right.

It starts with that the opera house has let produce a simplified version of the original front carpet from Palais Garnier in Paris, but in this case this is a see through carpet, which is helping to give brilliant illusions during different parts of the performance. In addition does the open scenography/ set design, by Daniel Bianco  (Spain), that it is possible to follow what is going on also outside the part of the history which is being played right now, so to say that we observe that somebody are arriving, and our fantasy then can prepare us for the continuation, this gives a lively and sometimes really funny effects, which is a big help for that this production has been so good.

As usual in Vilnius there are two or even three casts In the leading roles. My evening I enjoyed Egidijus Dauskurdis as Figaro, he is looking good in the role, functioning perfect together with his Susanna, Joana Gedmintaite. Dauskurdis  is best in the middle and the deep part of the singing, and are not managing to reach the high tunes on “SI”, this he should work with, because he is so close to being perfect, that I wish that seriously for him to be.

Vytautas Juozopaitis is good as the Count, and as we know that he too can joke and play comedy, in addition to playing wonderful, he is a hit for this performance. I only hope that he during the time will learn all the recitative text, so he don’t need so much help from the suffly, this disturbed his usually well floating play a bit, but it was only in the spoken parts, in the singing it sounded perfect.

It is a great pleasure to enjoy one of the opera houses big stars, Sigute Stonyte as the Countess, this is perhaps her best role right now, she has the capacity to sing this difficult part so it is feeling like beautiful velvet material, the long lines, her softness, pianissimo, is outstanding, but still so we hear all details. In addition she is playing the role well, managing to get the audience to understand the history and all the underlines well, and she is specially good in the cooplaying with Susanna and Cherubino.

In this casting in this performance there are two pleasant surprises. Rafailas Karpis as Don Basilio, wow, he can sing, and I am so happy to observe that the casting director is letting him play and sing all the time when there is a possibility to do it in this production. He is a hit. I am looking forward to hear him as Don Ottavio. Honestly I have observed him earlier, first time in The Merry Widow, , with his funn “dvidesi melonas”, and after that in Wienna Blood, the evening when he sung the house waiter role for the first evening, so I did know that here is coming an unique talent for the opera house

. In addition the costume, by Renata Schussheim (Arentina), hair and mask for him is perfect.

The same was the matter with Cherubino, Vilija Mikstaite, she is wonderful. One thing is that she can sing, she looks like what she shall be in the role, –  a young innocent guy, flirting, allways present everywhere. How will the Rosencavalier be for her? A great pleasure. I am looking forward to follow the two carriers of Rafailas Karpis and Vilija Milkstaite in the future. I sincere hope the operahouse will take good care of them

The conductor, Martynas Statkus, knows his Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart, good tempi, a good cooperation with the singers on stage did that the musically part of Figaros Wedding too became a success. Some of the soloists in the orchestra is really good, this time I noticed specially the Fagot soloist in a difficult solo. And the great following up in the recitatives by Jolanta Silkauskiene on harpsichord and Aiste Tamoseviciene on cello.

 

 

This new Figaros wedding is staged by Emilio Sagi (Spain)
. Scenography, as mentioned, by Daniel Bianco (Spain). Costumes by Renata Schussheim (Argentina). Choreographer is Nuria Castejon (Spain) and lighting designer Eduardo Bravo (Spain). Choire master, as usual, Ceslovas Radziunas, who has very well prepared the choir.

Production of the LNOBT in collaboration with Teatro Real de Madrid, Teatro Pérez Galdós de Las Palmas de Gran Canaria ir Asociación Bilbaína de Amigos de la Opera (A.B.A.O.)

 The summer season is finished in the operahouse, only two summer operas at Trakai with Vytautas Klovas opera Pileniai is left, but Mozarts Figaros wedding will open the autumn season with performances 17th. 18th. 19th. September 2010.

The main roles in Le nozze di Figaro are sung by Lithuania’s soloists: Joana Gedmintaitė, Regina Šilinskaitė, Asmik Grigorian, (Susanna); Sigutė Stonytė, Sandra Janušaitė (the Countess Rosina Almaviva); LNOBT’s guest Klemens Sander, Deividas Staponkus (the Count Almaviva), Egidijus Dauskurdis, Kostas Smoriginas, (Figaro), Vilija Mikštaitė  and Ona Kolobovaitė (Cherubino).

Followed by La Sylphide 22th and La Traviata 23th September. At these two performances Kulturkompasset will be present.

The quintessential axis of Le nozze di Figaro is the almighty Love that throughout the opera reveals itself in different shades: here we have the Count, who is driven by lust and sexual cravings, Cherubino, who is in love with love itself; the Countess is surrounded by gentle nostalgia and attempts to win back her husband’s love, Figaro is overtaken by jealousy and Susanna waits anxiously to discover all aspects of love… It is love that creates all turns in the plot and can be found even in the darkest corners of Almaviva’s castle.