The Lithuanian National Opera and Ballet Theatre is changing its repertoire and eliminating the works of Russian composers. On 10, 11 and 14 February, instead of Sergei Prokofiev's ballet "Romeo and Juliet", the ballet "Barbora Radvilaitė" will be performed, and on 23, 24 and 25 February, instead of the diptych of one-act ballets that includes Igor Stravinsky's "The Rite of Spring", the ballet "Der Prozess" will be performed.
Both ballets, which will replace the aforementioned productions, are highly acclaimed national stage productions. Choreographer Anželika Cholina's ballet "Barbora Radvilaitė" has been successfully performed for the twelfth season, since spring of 2011, and tickets for this production are still difficult to get. The set design of the ballet, which features music by Stasys Vainiūnas, Arvydas Malcys and other composers, was created by the artist Marijus Jacovskis, and the dancers' costumes were made by Juozas Statkevičius. The audience fell in love with this production precisely because of the expressive musical composition, the visuals and the exciting love story of Barbora and Žygimantas Augustas, conveyed in the sensitive language of movement that everyone can understand.
The audience first saw choreographer Martynas Rimeikis' full-length production "Der Prozess" in December 2017. Soon, the production was awarded two "Golden Cross of the Stage Awards", which were received by M. Rimeikis and composer Mindaugas Urbaitis, who prepared the musical composition of the ballet. M. Jacovskis created the stage design for this ballet based on Franz Kafka's famous novel "Der Prozess", costumes were designed by Jurgita Jankutė. The collective work of the Lithuanian creative team also received international appreciation: the ballet "Der Prozess" was invited to tour in Poland and the Czech Republic, and in 2019 it became the first production of Lithuanian theatres that was accepted into the program of the worldwide-watched French "Mezzo" TV channel.
"We apologize to the members of the audience who bought tickets for one ballet performance in advance, and will see another when they come. However, LNOBT decided to follow the recommendation of the Ministry of Culture and temporarily, until the end of war in Ukraine, refrain from public presentations of works by Russian authors, because culture in Russia is too closely associated with the aggressive politics of this country. Oleksandr Tkachenko, the Minister of Culture of Ukraine, also requested this while addressing the cultural community of the world. We hope that LNOBT's audience will understand the geopolitical situation and support our decision, especially since instead of rejected works, we will show ballets that are very popular with the audience", - says Jurgita Skiotytė-Norvaišienė, head of LNOBT's Artistic Activities Department.
All tickets are valid. If you do not want to watch the changed performance, we offer the opportunity to exchange tickets for a gift voucher of the appropriate value, which you can use to buy tickets to any LNOBT performance of your choice. To exchange for a gift voucher or return tickets, please contact us by e-mail at info@opera.lt.
