22 September 2017, 7pm
Duration: 2 hours
Price: €15,00 - €35,00
Venue: Vilnius Congress Hall (Vilniaus Str. 6-1, Vilnius)
Tenor Edgaras Montvidas
Baritone Kostas Smoriginas
Soprano Viktorija Miškūnaitė
Choir Kaunas State Choir (Art Director Petras Bingelis)
Orchestra Lithuanian State Symphony Orchestra
Conductor Gintaras Rinkevičius

PROGRAMME

Giacomo Puccini Messa di Gloria
Arias, scenes and duets from Giacomo Puccini's Tosca, La Bohème, La Rondine and Gaetano Donizetti's Lucia di Lammermoor

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The talented tenor Edgaras Montvidas – one of the most distinguished Lithuanian singers on the opera stage worldwide – makes regular appearances at the Royal Opera Covent Garden, Grand Théâtre de Genève, English National Opera, Alte Oper Frankfurt, Bavarian State Opera, Hamburg State Opera, Dutch National Opera and other major opera houses all over the world. A rare guest in Lithuania, the tenor enjoys great reception by audiences and critics alike: "A true master of the voice, wizard of nuances, poet, philosopher, great artist. These are the words that come to one's mind when they are to describe Edgaras Montvidas, who has stepped into a creative phase when the impeccable vocal technique and the artist's personal magnetism seamlessly fuse together," says Asta Andrikonytė in her review of Montvidas' perfomances with the Lithuanian State Symphony Orchestra under the baton of Gintaras Rinkevičius.

Edgaras Montvidas will be partnered on stage by his colleague at the Royal Opera House, the Lithuanian baritone Kostas Smoriginas, whose career path took him to La Scala Milan and other famous opera houses. According to the Bachtrack's classical music statistics, Smoriginas ranked as one of the three busiest bass-baritones in the world in 2014.

The concert will also feature an award-winning soprano Viktorija Miškūnaitė. Launching leading roles in productions of the Lithuanian National Opera and Ballet Theatre right after graduation, Miškūnaitė went on to win the highest award for scenic artists in Lithuania, the Golden Cross of Stage, in 2016.

The programme of the Season Opening Concert will include the stupendous Messa di Gloria by the Italian classical music genius Giacomo Puccini. This work is like a symbolic goodbye to the tradition of nurturing sacred music passed on from generation to generation and marks the composer's readiness to devote his life and creative work for the vibrant and colourful world of operatic drama. The second part of the concert will offer arias and duets from Puccini's Tosca, La Bohème, La Rondine and Donizetti's Lucia di Lammermoor.

The Lithuanian State Symphony Orchestra will be led by its founder, artistic director and chief conductor, a Lithuanian National Prize winner, Maestro Gintaras Rinkevičius.