Klaipeda opera night

During one of our previous trips to Klaipeda we had discovered the Klaipedos ValstybinisMuzinkiis Teatras and purchased tickets to the Moonlight Sonata aboard the Musical Ferry ( see a previous post) We also bought tickets for the opera, Don Zuanas (Don Giovanni).. So on August 9th, I met Tom out at the Mazieikiai Nafta plant about 5:30 pm and started out on the 120 Km drive. The weather was extremely hot that day, so Tom had the 240 air conditioner going (2 open windows while driving 120!)
I was worried ( cause that is what i do best) about getting to the theatre in enough time to park, get seated, etc. Well my worry was unfounded. We breezed through town with no traffic snarls, and drove right into a nearly empty parking and free (!!!!!) parking lot right next to the theatre. Looking around I was a bit bemused by the fact that it was approximately 30 minutes before the start of the opera but no one was around. Going inside we found we among the first to arrive and in fact the performers and musicians were still arriving.
We had time therefore to look around this small theatre. It boasted numerous photos of various visiting "star" ballet performers, but oddly no pictures of the musicians or previous operatic productions.
We were greeted immediately by 2 young girls handing out what they referred to as 'lottery' forms for us to complete. We still are not clear what the prize is or when the draw is, but we complied with their request as it was free! I had of course worried about what one wears to the opera in Klaipeda. I opted for a simple black dress, heels and a shawl. For the first time in Lithuania, I felt that I was a bit overdressed, as these girls were in jeans and many of the arriving patrons were dressed fairly casually. In hindsight, I think this is more a reflection of Klaipeda attitudes ...it is not what we would see at an opera in Vilnius I think, but we will find out I am sure sometime later in the fall.
While having a glass of wine we watched the crowd arrive. In trooped about 20 naval cadets accompanied by an officer. The cadets were very respectful and were careful to never crowd in front of line ups ,etc.,despite their youth.
When we received the 5 minute warning and went in to find our seats, these cadets waited until everyone else was seated prior to taking their own seats at the back of the hall. The officer sat with some other companions near the front with us.

Unfortunately no pictures today to show so I must try to describe the venue. It was a very small intimate theatre which would likely hold at the max about 300 people. In attendance tough fro this performance was about 75. So obviously it was a sparse crowd with lots of seating available. We noticed that people hung back to the last and then filled in the seats at the front. So even though we had purchased very good seats at the front, those coming in at the last were able to sit right in front of us. ( We changed at intermission!)

There was nothing ornate about this theatre and it had standard red velvet curtains etc. So we did not know what to expect. The orchestra started warming up and then played the opening.

The curtains rose to a very minimalist set.But from that moment on I was captivated. This has to go down as one of my favourite opera performances. One of the female leads, Dona Ana, played by Asmik Grigorian was extremely good. She easily outshone and out sang everyone else, despite being quite a bit younger. However, what the some of the others may have lacked in voice they made up for in their acting ability.
This opera was performed in Lithuanian, though did retain some of the Italian words. Another refreshing aspect was that in casting the parts , they made very believable choices. For a change you could truly believe that this guy had the testosterone to be a Don Juan! I checked Asmik Grigorian out on Google later and found that she is a very respected up and coming singer who has performed in England as well as the other Baltic operas and in Russia. You can listen to her singing on YOUTUBE if you google her.

After the performance, back in the lobby, we watched as all the cadets lined up under the direction of the officer. He then gave them a command and they in unison hollered out "Aciu!"(pronounced just like the sneeze) which means Thank You!

This little adventure has whet our appetite for more...I am sure that some of the larger operas houses will have even more spectacular performances as they have such a wealth of talent from which to choose. SO...I have started to look into Riga and Vilnius productions....but who knows...maybe even Prague or farther afield.
IKI!