The new 2015-2016 season of the LNOBT already acquired some great interest - for instance, the premiere performance of ""La boheme"" is almost sold out. However, this season is going to be very busy - there shall be around 150 events all in all, so appreciators of opera and ballet can certainly pick their favourites and still have a possibility to select great seats. And for those who want an overview of the upcoming season - please the words of LNOBT's general manager Gintautas Kėvišas below:
""I am very glad to be able to introduce to you the diverse and intensive 96th Season of the Lithuanian National Opera and Ballet Theatre. I’m always repeating that theatre must be available by all means: it must cultivate new tendencies of directing, different interpretations, aesthetic trends, give way to productions that represent various styles and epochs.
During the 2015-2016 Season we shall be presenting five premieres – three operas and two ballets. In September we shall launch the new season with J. Massenet’s Manon, the masterpiece of French lyric opera. At the Lithuanian National Opera it was produced twice – in 1939 and 1964. The production shall be created by French creative team, lead by director Vincent Boussard and conductor Cyril Diederich, who is already known to the Lithuanian audience. It is also important to mention that Manon is a co-production between LNOBT, San Francisco Opera and the Israeli Opera.
Another premiere that requires special attention is G. Verdi’s Don Carlo – a masterpiece that has its roots deep in the history of Lithuanian operatic tradition. Many of us still remember set designs and costumes produced by artist Liudas Truikys for the production of this opera. This new version of Don Carlo will manifest different aesthetics and shall be produced by German director Günter Krämer, who once already enchanted the audience of the LNOBT with a staging of J. F. Halévy’s La juive. The music director of Don Carlo is a sought-after French conductor Pierre Vallet. We shall welcome the New Year with the premiere of G. Puccini’s La boheme, produced by Cristina Mazzavillani Muti and co-produced with the Ravenna Festival (Italy).
In November we shall return to the classical work of the 20th century - a ballet by E. Balsys Eglė the Queen of Grass Snakes that shall be created by artists from United Kingdom. Choreographer George Williamson already introduced a very interesting concept, and the musical side of the production shall be perfected by David Geringas. In spring we will present the merry ballet by L. Minkus Don Quixote, choreographed by Vasily Medvedev.
LNOBT is also continuing its cycle Best Orchestras of the World at the Opera and Ballet Theatre: in May we shall welcome the London Symphony Orchestra with one of the most prominent contemporary conductors Antonio Pappano. The soloist of the concert is violinist Nikolaj Znaider.
The 2015-2016 Season is also characterized by an abundance of anniversaries: we will celebrate jubilees of maestro Virgilijus Noreika, the unforgettable Irena Jasiūnaitė, LNOBT’s chorus master Česlovas Radžiūnas and many others. The theatre will also mark the 90th Anniversary of ballet in Lithuania with an exclusive Ballet Week, which shall be launched by Coppélia, the symbol of the beginning of ballet in Lithuania. We will also present our newest ballet productions Eglė the Queen of Grass Snakes, Bolero+ and The Nutcracker. Jurgita Dronina’s Gala Concert will bring together her colleagues from the USA, the Netherlands, United Kingdom and France.
I hope that our theatregoers, who always award us with their unwavering attention, will also stay with the LNOBT during the new season – we are keeping our mission to present only the best works of opera and ballet, created by the best artistic personalities of our days.""
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