Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart

LE NOZZE DI FIGARO

November 8 & 9, 2013

February 26 & 27, 2014
an opera in 2 parts, sung in Italian with Lithuanian and English surtitles

Music Director and Conductor Martynas Staškus
Director Emilio Sagi (Spain)
Set Designer Daniel Bianco (Spain)
Costume Designer Renata Schussheim (Argentina)
Lighting Designer Eduardo Bravo (Spain, AAI)
Choreographer Nuria Castejón (Spain)
Chorus Master Česlovas Radžiūnas

Production of the LNOBT in collaboration with Teatro Real de Madrid, Teatro Pérez Galdós de Las Palmas de Gran Canaria ir Asociación Bilbaína de Amigos de la Opera (A.B.A.O.)

Premiere: 5 February, 2010

It is difficult to evaluate Mozart’s works and their impact. The more we know about him, the more valuable treasures we discover in his music. An ever-growing number of articles and books dedicated to this creator reveals only one thing – we will never manage to fully discover the essence of his personality. Every generation discovers something new in his works and also gains experience through his music. This music is like a universe – it envelops and transcends everything.

“Le nozze di Figaro” premiered on the 4th  of July in 1786 at the Burgtheater in Vienna and was conducted by Mozart himself. The audience asked to repeat all of the major numbers in the opera, thus the whole performance lasted twice as long than it was originally planned. Later the repeats became so frequent that Joseph II released an order which prohibited encores during this particular opera. Meanwhile Mozart wrote to his father: “Everybody is talking only about Figaro; no one plays, sings or whistles anything else but Figaro. And nobody goes to see any other opera – only Figaro!”

“Le nozze di Figaro” was a revolution of the operatic genre, and not only because of the complex plot. For the first time in history, music was speaking about real people, revealing their inner states and psychology. According to Wagner, “Le nozze di Figaro” is opera buffa that has been set free and turned into masterful musical comedy. No other opera – not even Mozart’s – can surpass the overwhelming harmony and naturalism of “Le nozze di Figaro”.

The quintessential axis of “Le nozze di Figaro” is the almighty Love that throughout the opera reveals itself in different shades: here we have the Count, who is driven by lust and sexual cravings, Cherubino, who is in love with love itself; the Countess is surrounded by gentle nostalgia and attempts to win back her husband’s love, Figaro is overtaken by jealousy and Susanna waits anxiously to discover all aspects of love… It is love that creates all turns in the plot and can be found even in the darkest corners of Almaviva’s castle.

At the LNOBT this French-Austrian-Spanish masterpiece was brought to life by the creative team from Spain: director Emilio Sagi, set designer Daniel Bianco, lighting designer Eduardo Bravo, choreographer Nuria Castejón, and a costume designer from Argentina Renata Schussheim. Music director and conductor of the production is Martynas Staškus, chorus master – Česlovas Radžiūnas. The main roles in “Le nozze di Figaro” are sung by Lithuania’s beloved soloists: Joana Gedmintaitė, Regina Šilinskaitė (Susanna); Sigutė Stonytė, Sandra Janušaitė (the Countess Rosina Almaviva); Vytautas Juozapaitis, Dainius Stumbras (the Count Almaviva); Egidijus Dauskurdis, Liudas Mikalauskas (Figaro); Vilija Mikštaitė, Marta Lukošiūtė (Cherubino) and others.

Lithuanian National Opera and Ballet Theatre, A. Vienuolio 1, 01104 Vilnius, Lithuania