The collective of Vilnius City Opera is in great excitement: soloists from various corners of the world and their colleagues who work here are preparing for the grand premiere of the season for Piotr Tchaikovsky's opera The Queen of Spades. On February 20-24, the performance is shown - the last one this season, to which the troupe, often called simply "Bohemians", and the Lithuanian State Symphony Orchestra will be invited, at the Palace of Congresses, after which this hall will be closed for repairs.
"This premiere will be an important step for the entire creative team and collective - either the first or the last. After it, we will move to other halls, completely unsuitable for classical music, without knowing when or if we will return to the Congress Palace stage at all. Such circumstances encourage us, as creators, not only to be sad, but also to raise our heads again to take other artistic decisions. For the first time in the history of "bohemian" performances, Dick Bird's multi-functional moving scenery, which has become commonplace, will be replaced by video projections and, together with the costumes of Juoz Statkevičius, will accompany the audience from the close-to-reality XNUMXth century to the supernatural, surreal side of the same era, filled with faith in destiny, mystified success, legends or even ghosts. This time we will not attempt to change the era in the opera's libretto, but we will try to show it in our own way and use the most interesting aspects and colors it offers, choosing German's obsession with playing cards and all its consequences as the main axis of the performance," says Dalia Ibelhauptaitė, the director of the performance.
Intrigues and surprises will not freeze the audience. Perhaps the biggest is the meeting of Lithuanian opera prima donnas of different generations, the legendary soprano Irena Milkevičiūtė and her daughter Asmik Grigorian, who has already become a world star, on one stage. The old "Ladies of Queens" Countess and the young Liza will make a memorable sound, both performers are looking forward to this performance impatiently and with excitement.
"I'm happy, I'm proud that my child is next to me, so I want everything to be even better, I live even more - both for myself and for her." Although maybe you shouldn't worry about her anymore... - smiles Irena Milkevičiūtė. - However, I know how busy she is, how much she works, prepares roles. Instead, I'm still living so that everything will be fine, that I'll be in time, that my health will last. Especially since she is getting so much attention after her success at the Salzburg Festival - she will sing at New York's Metropolitan, Milan's La Scala - everyone will come to see what she is like here diva. "
The famous soloist guesses that the VCO director Dalia Ibelhauptaitė invited them both to the Queen of Spades stage in order to make a gift to both her and Asmik and the Vilnius audience. "Previously, she had offered me to sing the Nanny in Onegin." I thought: After all, a nanny is like a mother, why shouldn't she be in the play for her child", says Irena Milkevičiūtė, who appeared in the performances of "Onegin" together with her daughter and grandson Noah.
"Meetings on stage with my mother are rare. I will worry doubly - for myself and for a close person. It is impossible to draw boundaries that we will only be colleagues on stage. At least for me. Because a mother is always and will remain first and foremost a mother, not a teacher, a teacher or a soloist," says Asmik Grigorian, emphasizing that her mother's voice is very young. And this is determined not by the age of the performer, but by the technique, the ability to sing.
"The Queen of Spades" is also being rehearsed by baritone Kostas Smoriginas, who just sang the role of Tomsky at the Bolshoi Theater in Moscow, mezzo-soprano Jurgita Adamonytė, who came from Italy, where she lives and works, and baritone Ilya Kutiukhinas, who recently won a prestigious vocal competition in Paris. In the performance, we will also see a lot of talented young people of the Lithuanian Opera, who, as maestro Gintaras Rinkevičius and director Dalia Ibelhauptaitė hope, will grow into a new generation of VCO soloists. Unexpected in this production will be the performance of the Kaunas State Choir (director Petras Bingelis), who together with the VCO ensemble and dancers work day and night, polishing the sophisticated choreography of the British choreographer John Ross.
Another surprise for the audience will be the costumes of the performers - the spectacular outfits for the soloists of "Ladies of Spades" are created by designer Juozas Statkevičius, who returned to the VCO family after a five-year break.
