{"id":235275,"date":"2026-08-26T21:41:58","date_gmt":"2026-08-26T18:41:58","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.vilnius-events.lt\/?post_type=event&p=235275"},"modified":"2026-08-26T21:41:58","modified_gmt":"2026-08-26T18:41:58","slug":"lt-sivaizduojama-m-k-iurlionio-opera-j-rat-en-an-imaginary-m-k-iurlionis-opera-j-rat-ru-sivaizduojama-m-k-iurlionio-opera-j-rat","status":"publish","type":"event","link":"https:\/\/www.vilnius-events.lt\/en\/event\/an-imaginary-m-k-iurlionis-opera-j-rat\/","title":{"rendered":"An Imaginary M. K. \u010ciurlionis opera \u201cJ\u016brat\u0117\u201d"},"content":{"rendered":"

Mikalojus Konstantinas \u010ciurlionis (1875\u20131911) had a profound understanding of the weight and significance of the opera genre for the entire cultural field. In January 1906, he wrote to his brother Povilas (even before the first national opera, Birut\u0117 by Mikas Petrauskas): \u201cAre you familiar with the Lithuanian movement? I am determined to devote all my past and future works to Lithuania. We are learning the Lithuanian language, and I am preparing to write a Lithuanian opera\u201d. Thus, the composer singled out opera as a particularly significant form of expression of national musical cultural identity.<\/strong><\/p>\n

The idea to write a Lithuanian opera became a specific goal for M. K. \u010ciurlionis after meeting a young writer, Sofija Kymantait\u0117, who later became his wife. By the summer of 1908, the theme of the opera was already known as well. The opera was to be based on the legend The Queen of the Baltic Sea, created around 1830 by Liudvikas Adomas Jucevi\u010dius, a Lithuanian writer, ethnographer, folklorist, historian, and translator. The surviving sketches of M. K. \u010ciurlionis\u2019 set designs and correspondence about the libretto Sofija was working on clearly demonstrate that they relied on this version of the legend about the love of J\u016brat\u0117 and Kastytis.<\/p>\n

We know from correspondence that Sofija had finished the libretto and sent it to St. Petersburg, where Konstantinas was staying at the time. We also know that the composer spent a considerable amount of time at the piano with the libretto, searching for the sound of J\u016brat\u0117. After reading the libretto, Konstantinas wrote to Sofija about the musical language and staging ideas for the future opera: \u201cMy fascination with J\u016brat\u0117 is growing every day, and today I heard a little bit of the music in it. Zose, Zose, advise me. Should I avoid folk melodies in it, or not? Should I take technical challenges into account, or not? When you think that our people are so poor and have nothing, I feel sorry that this work will pass them by, and yet you and I want to give them something. You understand me, Zosele, that I don\u2019t want to offend myself, I just want to set myself a more difficult task. I want it to be possible to perform it even in Warsaw, and when the time comes, in Vilnius, but a lot of water will flow under the bridge before that happens\u201d.<\/p>\n

It is obvious from the letters that the composer already had a clear and thorough vision of the opera\u2019s beginning and its first scene \u2013 the order of the characters\u2019 appearances, the arrangement of the opera parts, the sequence of the choir\u2019s entries, and similar details \u2013 but none of this was written and recorded in musical notation. In 1906\u20131909, when the composer was considering the possibilities of creating an opera, \u010ciurlionis\u2019 works from that period, which have survived mainly in the form of sketches, reveal the composer\u2019s diverse and subtle artistic world, dominated by marine imagery and fragments of folk songs, testifying to his very bold compositional strategies for that time. These sketches and fragments reveal how deeply \u010ciurlionis was immersed in his planned Lithuanian opera J\u016brat\u0117.<\/p>\n

Based on these sketches and fragments, the ideas and set drawings laid out in \u010ciurlionis\u2019 letters, and artificial intelligence (AI) tools to generate musical material, the large creative team created an imaginary opera J\u016brat\u0117 by M. K.<\/strong> \u010ciurlionis<\/strong> \u2013 a dream that Konstantinas himself never managed to fulfil.<\/p>\n

The opera tells the legend of J\u016brat\u0117, the queen of the sea, whose amber palace lies at the bottom of the Baltic Sea. J\u016brat\u0117 falls in love with a man from the land \u2013 Kastytis, a brave and simple fisherman who disobeys the will of the gods and fishes in sacred waters forbidden to humans.<\/p>\n

The gods, especially the mighty Perk\u016bnas (Thunder), are enraged by the forbidden love between the divine queen and a mortal man. He strikes J\u016brat\u0117\u2019s amber palace with lightning, destroying it and separating the lovers. Kastytis drowns in the stormy sea, while J\u016brat\u0117 is condemned to mourn her lost love forever and shed amber tears on the shores of the Baltic Sea. In fact, \u010ciurlionis wanted his opera to be open to interpretation and perhaps to testify to eternal love, so, as he had intended, the finale of imaginary opera J\u016brat\u0117 features the Eternal Duet. M. K. \u010ciurlionis\u2019 imaginary opera J\u016brat\u0117 was created for the stage of the Old Theatre of Vilnius and its compact orchestra pit. This venue was not chosen by chance. After all, it was the Old Theatre of Vilnius, built at the beginning of the 20th century and opened in 1913, that could have become the stage on which the fruits of Sofija and Kastukas\u2019 joint creative endeavour would have been performed.<\/p>\n

\n

Historical consultant: Rokas Zubovas
\nLibretto author: Julius Keleras
\nComposers: Mantautas Krukauskas, Arvydas Malcys, Mykolas Natalevi\u010dius
\nDirector and puppet designer: Gintar\u0117 Radvilavi\u010di\u016bt\u0117
\nChoreographer: Sigita Mikalauskait\u0117
\nSet and costume designer: Renata Val\u010dik
\nLighting designer: Eugenijus Sabaliauskas
\nConductor: Karolis Variakojis<\/p>\n

Soloists:
\nJ\u016brat\u0117 \u2013 Lauryna Bend\u017ei\u016bnait\u0117 (soprano)
\nKastytis \u2013 Romanas Kudria\u0161ovas (baritone)
\nPerk\u016bnas \u2013 Raimundas Juzuitis (bass)<\/p>\n

Actors:
\nKonstantinas \u2013 Telman Ragimov
\nSofija \u2013 Sigita Mikalauskait\u0117
\nAlso appearing \u2013 Viktorija Aliukon\u0117-Miro\u0161nikova, Nikolaj Antonov, Jauhenas Bakala, Larisa Popova<\/p>\n

Vilnius City Municipality St. Christopher Chamber Orchestra (artistic director and conductor Modestas Barkauskas), Vytenis Gurstis (flute), Ugnius Di\u010di\u016bnas (oboe), Karolis Kolakauskas (clarinet), Vytautas Giedraitis (bass clarinet), Tomas Rubinas (bassoon), Stefano Berluti (first horn), Albinas Stonys (second horn), Andrius Stankevi\u010dius (trumpet), Jonas Kun\u010dius (trombone), Danielius Patrikas Ki\u0161\u016bnas (tuba), Lukas Budzinauskas, Jose Vicente Fusco Rojas (percussion), Liucil\u0117 Ur\u0161ul\u0117 Vilimait\u0117 (harp)<\/p>\n

Vilnius City Municipality Choir Jauna Muzika (artistic director and conductor Vaclovas Augustinas)<\/p>\n

Production assistant: Gina Busko
\nThe opera libretto was translated into English by Julius Keleras<\/p>\n

Producer: Operomanija
\nCo-producer: Vilnius Old Theatre
\nPartners: Lithuanian Academy of Music and Theatre, Klaip\u0117da Puppet Theatre, New Theatre, Lithuanian Composers\u2019 Union<\/p>\n

In 2026, the opera \u201cJ\u016brat\u0117\u201d was awarded the Lithuanian Professional Performing Arts Award, the \u201cGolden Stage Cross \u201d \u2013 Telman Ragimov and Sigita Mikalauskait\u0117, who portrayed the roles of Konstantinas and Sofija, were recognised in the Dancers category.<\/p>","protected":false},"featured_media":235276,"template":"","categories":[4,7],"tags":[],"ticket-vendor":[21],"class_list":["post-235275","event","type-event","status-publish","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-koncertai","category-spektakliai","ticket-vendor-bilietai-lt"],"acf":[],"aioseo_notices":[],"aioseo_head":"\n\t\t\n\t\n\t\n\t\n\t\n\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t