„There is no specific story on which this opera is based. There are texts specially written for this opera by director Robert Wilson, as well as texts selected by dramaturge Konrad Kuhn. All of them are related to the theme of snow, ice, the north, and travel. R. Wilson’s texts are, I would say, quite surrealistic.
Reading them, you enter a dream world and no longer understand how things are connected, but the atmosphere of the dream permeates so much that everything naturally connects,“ said the premiere’s composer, laureate of the Lithuanian National Prize for Culture and Arts Žibuoklė Martinaitytė.
Her dream to create an opera together with the famous R. Wilson was not destined to be fully realized, as the director did not live to see the premiere. Instead, Nicola Panzer, who had worked with R. Wilson for 38 years, took over the leadership of the “Inverted Reality” production team.
The team included set designer Stephanie Engeln, costume designer Sarah Mittenbühler, lighting designer Marcello Lumaca, makeup and wig artist Manu Halligan, video projection artist Robert Pflanzas, and choreographer Alexis Fousekis, who also appeared on stage as a dancer on the premiere night.
Read more Before Oktoberfest – Bayern goal festival: scored as many as seven
The main opera roles in the first “Inverted Reality” performance were performed by soloists Indyana Schneider, Tadas Girininkas, Monika Pleškytė, Viktoriia Zhytkova, Vladimiras Prudnikovas, Joana Gedmintaitė, Gabija Kušleikaitė, Šarūnas Šapalas, and the young singer Jokūbas Ardišauskas. The LNOBT choir was prepared for this production by Povilas Butkus.
The premiere’s music director and conductor Modestas Pitrėnas, who devoted himself fully to the opera rehearsed for seven weeks, has said: “Ž. Martinaitytė constantly embarks on experiments, on a journey. The score of this opera is also a journey in search of sounds.
Although the author has a distinctive style, each of her works is a different sound image. She travels through sounds, timbres, colors, and textures.”
Read more “Chelsea” – shamefully crushed by England’s mid-table team
