Pandemic, war, inflation – many adversities had to be overcome by the crew of the theater ship moored in Dane. Its captain, the head of the Klaipėda State Musical Theater (KVMT), Laima Vilimienė admitted that it was one of the most important trips of her life.
Last weekend, representatives of national and state theaters, concert organizations, cultural institutions, and businesses came to Klaipėda from all over Lithuania to evaluate the new cultural sanctuary and to congratulate its creators and hosts, as well as guests from Latvia, Estonia, and Poland.
The people of Klaipėda surprised them not only with the theater spaces that breathe the aura of the sea, but also with an occasional piece – that’s how you can call the impressive festive program directed by Daliaus Abaris.
This program reminded of important dates and personalities in the history of the theater, invited to look at new theater spaces (the action of the stage was complemented by video projection and broadcast on the screen), to think about being and creation (actor Giedrius Arbačiauskas read the texts of Mindaugas Nastaravičius, the author of the script of the event).
Excerpts from Richard Wagner’s opera “The Flying Dutchman”, which became the theater’s business card, from the first performance in the newly founded Klaipėda State Music Theater in 1988 – Audronė Žigaitytė’s opera “Mažvydas”, from the first national work staged in Klaipėda after the country regained its independence – Giedrias Kuprevičius’s opera “Prūsai”, the history opera “Klaipėda” dedicated to the centenary of Lithuania, connecting Klaipėda region, other works.
The concert featured artists Vladimiras Prudnikovas, Vytautas Juozapaitis, Almas Švilpa, popular with the port city audience, Katerina Tretjakova, who started her career here, KVMT stars, theater orchestra, choir, ballet troupe, conductors of KVMT collectives and the first honorary conductor Stasys Domarkas, guests – Gintaras Rinkevičius and Robertas Shervenik.
The epic lasted for decades
“When I entered the new theater, I cried from excitement, an avalanche of memories came flooding in. Few people can appreciate the work done by theater director L. Vilimienė and her team like me. I myself put a lot of effort into creating a new theater building in Klaipėda”, said Audronė Žigaitytė-Nekrošienė, the composer of the opera “Mažvydas”, who managed the Klaipėda Musical Theater in 2005-2010.
She remembered that when the musical theater was being founded in Klaipėda in 1988, a much larger plot of 1.5 hectares by the Danė river was planned for its new building.
“It was because of the new theater that I wanted to work in Klaipėda. I had a vivid vision of him. We were far advanced in implementing it – we had a feasibility study, visualization. However, the winds of the era of change blew everything away, and the Klaipėda authorities did not allocate the mentioned plot to the theater.
Everyone who touched the construction of the Klaipėda Theater went to the Way of the Cross. L. Vilimienė’s team did a tremendous job with infinite dedication, which is equivalent to a miracle. The builders used the small area of the theater to the maximum – there is probably nowhere as many rooms for groups and artists as here, the acoustics of the big hall are also very good”, A. Žigaitytė-Nekrošienė shared her impressions.
G. Rinkevičius, who conducted Klaipėda residents for the first time after the premiere of “Mažvyda” in 1988, called the new theater a ray of light in our musical culture.
“There was nothing in Lithuania for so many years – only sports arenas opened, and now we have new cultural spaces in Klaipėda and Vilnius.
I congratulate the director of the theater for the courage that, despite some work not yet completed, she achieved her goal – the opening took place,” the maestro was happy.
I had to build underground
According to L. Vilimienė, the new theater was built in a strategically excellent place, easily accessible to everyone. True, due to the limited space and height requirements, rehearsal rooms and decoration storage had to be installed 12 meters underground. The builders had to turn their heads, how to protect the walls of the building from the nearby river, how to strengthen the foundations of the old part. Only the historical tower and the administrative part remained from the old building, and the other part was newly built.
The limited height of the structure also led to unique acoustic solutions: an internal acoustic shell with movable panels was created for the great hall, which allows modeling the acoustics according to the genre of the event. This was not necessary at the opening concert – the acoustics were natural, as they will be in the opera performances. Transformations will be needed when organizing conferences and showing musicals.
According to L. Vilimienė, in order to appreciate the true qualities of the great hall, you need to visit performances when there will be no screen on the stage, and the musicians will be playing in their box.
Already on Saturday, the first performance – “Dreams and Cacti” by Alexander Ekman and Robert Bondara, recognized as the best theatrical work of Klaipėda in 2023, will be shown in the big theater hall “Jūra”.
The small “Marių” hall will be opened on May 11 with the opera “Elixir of Love” by Gaetano Donizetti.
Each performance will be almost equal to the premiere, because it will be necessary to adapt its decorations and lights to the new space, and for the performers to get used to it, so there will be longer breaks between performances for a while. From autumn, the events will take place at full speed, visitors will also be waiting for the events before the performances in the ornate theater foyer.
The road to Vilnius is already clear
L. Vilimienė has been leading the Klaipėda State Musical Theater since 2018. August, replacing Jonas Sakalauskas, who returned to the capital from Klaipėda to lead the Lithuanian National Opera and Ballet Theater (LNOBT).
At the beginning of last year, at the end of her first term in Klaipėda, L. Vilimienė won the competition announced by the Ministry of Culture to lead LNOBT. But after J. Sakalauskas appealed the results of the competition to the court, she returned to manage the Klaipėda Musical Theater last summer through another competition.
Now that J. Sakalauskas has finally lost the court, the path to LNOBT is open again for L. Vilimiene. However, the manager of the theater admitted that she did not have time to consider changing jobs. She was happy that the protracted vicissitudes of the competition made it possible to successfully complete one of the most important works of her life.
“When you walk such a path, you become very strong and realize that you can go even further,” said L. Vilimienė.
Hand over 1500 door keys
After the demolition of the former culture house, which was unsuitable for the activities of the Musical Theater, the area of the new building doubled to 9,000 square meters.
Previously, the theater hall could accommodate 500 spectators. Now the big hall “Jūra” will accommodate about 700 guests, and the small one “Marių” – about 160. Spectators’ seats in the big hall can also appear in the orchestra box, which will be movable, as needed.
Both halls are equipped with modern sound and lighting equipment, the latest heating and ventilation systems, and people with mobility disabilities will be able to comfortably watch the events. There was one elevator in the old theater building, but now there will be as many as four.
The builders handed over 1,500 different door keys to the theater administration. The new building has spacious rehearsal studios, storage for costumes and decorations, a costume sewing room, modern make-up rooms, comfortable leisure areas and spaces for the audience. The observation deck at the top of the theater tower will also be used for small events.
The interior decoration of the theater uses materials and colors typical of the city (the author of the interior design is M. Mateika). Copying the wind and sand landscapes on the seashore, the walls of the theater were decorated with clay plaster by UAB “Barzdoti vabalai”.
Since part of the building was reconstructed, and the other half was newly presented, the aim was to combine the history of the theater with modern architectural and engineering solutions. The most impressive accent that has been preserved from the old theater is the original chandelier created by the famous metal artist K.Simanonis. Matched with the new interior, it shines in the lobby over three floors.
The interior design of the building was prepared by “Mama architects”, the acoustics were created by “Akustika plus”, the modernization project was led by the deputy manager of the theater N. Stancikas.
