"From that opera" - a different exhibition about the backstage of the theater (photos)

From September 3rd, a unique project - the joint exhibition "From that Opera" by the Ministry of Culture and Vilnius City Opera (VCO) - will start operating at the Museum of the Ministry of Culture. "Bohemians", who shook the world of Lithuanian opera more than a decade ago, are coming this time to surprise the visitors of the museum. In the new exhibition "From that opera" MO Museum visitors will be able to experience a different journey behind the scenes of the theater and get to know up close as many as 27 international opera stars who have appeared there.

A new interdisciplinary exhibition at the MO Museum

What is new to theater traditions may not be discovered by museum visitors either: "From the very beginning, we have been organizing exhibitions combining various disciplines in the Small Hall of the MO Museum. An exhibition was already located here - a laboratory, and an exhibition created together with experience designers was presented to visitors. This time, opening the exhibition together with VCO, we offer visitors a project-installation that combines opera, theater art and visual arts", says Milda Ivanauskienė, director of the MO Museum. 

According to her, VCO has been on the other side of the traditional opera for a long time, so unconventional, uncharacteristic exhibition methods and forms were sought to reveal their history. 

The road to the other side of the opera house

The original idea in the scenography of Marijaus Jacovskis and Dick Bird with the costumes of Juozas Statkevičius was presented in the ancient XNUMXth century. the invented technique Mindaugas Meškauskas' portraits of "bohemians" were completed by the famous media artist Rimas Sakalauskas. His video projections contain not only many layers of meaning, but also layers of time, leading the visitor not only physically, but also along the path of the troupe's memories. R. Sakalauskas created not only original projections, but also technically modified collages of archival VCO material. And this and more...

In video projections - Dexter Fletcher 

The news is that the impressive exhibition "Why is it so hard to love?" by Saskia Boddeke and Peter Greenaway is currently taking place in MO. At the opening of the new exhibition "From that opera", representatives of MO and VCO were eager to reveal one thread that connects them. 

Dexter Fletcher was the subject of Mr. Greenaway's exhibition on filmmaker Derek Jarman many years ago and spent eight hours motionless behind glass in the museum. Now, not anywhere else, but precisely at MO, the paths of these two film artists cross on different floors of the museum.

How will D. Fletcher reveal himself at the exhibition? He will fulfill his old dream of playing the role of Tod the Star! Inside the installation, on the original VCO decorations, visitors will see a projection of scenes filmed live according to the plot of the musical. One last detail: this material was prepared by the creative team just a few days before the opening of the exhibition!

An exceptional exhibition team

The exhibition "From that opera" brought together a huge team of professionals in their fields. Together with the director D. Ibelhauptaite, it is led by the curator Algė Gudaitytė, who looks at this interdisciplinary project with special care and openness. 

"The purpose of the exhibition was to tell the story of the VCO, revealing its uniqueness in the general context of Lithuanian opera. "Bohemians" creates an alternative, very alive, rich, different world of opera, so to tell their story we looked for forms that are not typical for opera exhibitions. From the very beginning, we sought to reveal the essential idea that behind the final image of the theater, visible to the audience, lies a huge, rarely accessible other side of the opera - a structure made up not only of decorations, props, costumes, but most importantly - people, personalities. A multitude of elements also make up the exhibition - like a giant experiential installation that invites visitors to come back again and again", - the idea of ​​the exhibition is presented by its curator A. Gudaitytė

"The architectural concept of the exhibition was to expose the real backbone of the performance: real people who become characters, theatrical constructions that create real impressions and creative ideas without which the magic of the theater itself would not exist. In the exhibition, the viewer is invited to become a participant, traveling through the backstage, prepared as if right before the start of the performance, when every detail is waiting for its turn to step on stage. Here, one gradually discovers and gets to know the history of VCO so closely that at the end one finds oneself in the place of the soloist himself, who is applauded by the audience after the performance", says the architect of the exhibition, Ieva Cicėnaitė.

Authentic stories

However, no symbol or object can tell the experience of a living person. This is how an interview was created especially for this occasion at the exhibition. In them, visitors will see maestro Gintaras Rinkevičius himself, such stars of the scene as Asmik Grigorian, Edgaras Montvidas, Kostas Smorigins and others. Well, the whims of the most curious will be answered by the open stories of "gray cardinals". 

The most secret behind-the-scenes stories will be shared by Stefanija Jokštytė, the long-time assistants of the main creators, the director of the troupe and the inventor of the name of the exhibition itself, the author of exclusive VCO advertising solutions. By the way, visitors will also find a lot of original prints that have become the second specialty of "bohemians" at the exhibition, which was taken care of by designer Tadas Karpavičius.

Exhibition presentation events 

MO Museum visitors can see the exhibition "From the Opera" from September 3. The specific format of the exhibition-installation requires you to experience it as personally as possible, so don't be surprised if you have to wait a while. But time will not last long - the team is preparing additional exhibitions in the spaces next to the Small Exhibition Hall.

On the opening evening, there will be a talk by the two founders of VCO - D. Ibelhauptaitė and G. Rinkevičius. During it, it will be possible to find out how they created an alternative to the usual opera theater in unconventional ways in a space not suitable for theater, gathered the opera youth that nobody cared about in Lithuania at the time and inspired them to reach international heights.

During the evening, there will also be a meeting with soloists who have conquered the most important international opera stages. These are Aušrinė Stundytė, Kostas Smoriginas, Vida Miknevičiūtė and Justina Gringytė, who could only be detained in Vilnius at the same time because the pandemic changed the repertoire plans of opera theaters around the world.

The evening will end with a musical part - concert, where the very "bohemian" talents will appear: Vida Miknevičiūtė, Romanas Kudriašovas, Edgaras Davidovičius and Monika Pleškytė. Concertmaster Justas Čeponis. 

"From that opera" team

A wide team contributed to the creation of the exhibition "From that opera". Exhibition director - Dalia Ibelhauptaitė, exhibition curator - Algė Gudaitytė, architect - Ieva Cicėnaitė, author of photos - Mindaugas Meškauskas, author of video projections - Rimas Sakalauskas, lighting artists: Eugenijus Sabaliauskas and Andrius Stasiulis, scenographer - Elvita Brazdylytė, exhibition design: KlimaiteKlimaite.