April 5-8 G. Verdi's music will thunder in the Vilnius Palace of Congresses - the most popular performance of the Vilnius City Opera "Troubadūras" is coming back. Together with the Lithuanian State Symphony Orchestra led by Gintaras Rinkevičius, "Bohemians" will once again involve the audience in a story that is not inferior to today's best thrillers or "War of Thrones" with plot twists. Here we will also find biblical fratricide, burning fires and burning people, deadly curses, heroic, selfish and cynical acts, restless love and bright characters.
Today, more than ever before, differences and commonality become sensitive and crucial topics, as does the identity, identity and value of each of us. At a time when some are forced to flee their home and country with only a few of the most valuable things, while others cannot decide to put the things they need for a vacation abroad into a few suitcases. As parents and their children embark on deadly journeys for the slim chance of a better tomorrow, their neighbors build their highest fences to protect those weaker than themselves. When religion is considered a tool of struggle, and a weapon in the hand of a teenager sows death every day where the voices of children cry. And these are just a few examples that prove that the seemingly mythical world of the opera plot, full of hatred for strangers and strangers, is actually painfully piercing today. After all, are we really so different, and do we really know how to recognize the closest person?
The story of "The Troubadour" tells about how revenge and hatred destroy the human soul, it immerses the viewer in a vortex of love and jealousy, anger and war. The noble family and wandering gypsies were chosen by the author of the opera's libretto. In VCO's interpretation, Jon Morrell's exquisite costumes replace the Roma image with a work of Japanese fashion and Gothic details, thus erasing nationality, race or any markers that distinguish people. After all, this is what this drama is really about: about two brothers separated by fate, who cannot recognize each other because of their different clothes and the environment in which they grew up. Only something deep inside them can vibrate at that fateful moment…
"G. Verdi's music is the closest to me personally of all - in temperament, inexorable avalanche of emotions and in its inner dramatic force. I had to wait even ten years for Troubadour since my last Verdi production - after all, we always created our repertoire according to the soloists' voices and their capabilities, and only in the last years did they mature enough to freely perform Verdi's music, which requires strong dramatic voices. It is true that in these performances you will hear a number of foreign soloists who have already managed to become full-blooded members of the VCO family, but this only proves the great success of our soloists on world stages. I am always happy that this music is performed by the orchestra conducted by Gintars in our performances. For me personally, there is no other conductor in the world who conducts Verdi's music so perfectly. Eighteen years ago, we met during the production of Verdi's "Masquerade Balls" and that fateful meeting changed the lives and careers of not only us, but also many other people," said director Dalia Ibelhauptaitė, who is looking forward to seeing the newly reborn history of "Troubadūr" with an updated line-up of soloists. .
In the performances, you will see: Brazilian tenor Thiago Arancam, who shone last season in the interpretation of the role of de Grijeux in the "bohemian" Manon Lesko performances, Latvian baritone Janis Apeinis, Ieva Prudnikovaitė, who will make her debut in the role of Azučena, and Jovita Vaškevičiūtė, Sandra Janušaitė, Tada Girininka, who sang in the premieres. Also - the Kaunas State Choir and the ensemble of young soloists of the Vilnius City Opera, which blend perfectly into the action of the drama.
